Hospitality has been a practiced art in San Francisco since the 1849 Gold Rush, when prospectors sold their nuggets and dust, raised hell, and piled together in canvas tents to sleep it off. Since our last visit to the City by the Bay three years ago, new hotels have sprung up, and existing hostelries have spruced up. In addition, the economic downturn has hit San Francisco particularly hard, partly due to the demise of many dot-com companies.

I thought it was time to revisit San Francisco with our contributing editor, Chris Barnett, a Los Angeles transplant and travel writer. I asked him to return to the trenches to see what's happened on the hotel front and to identify a solid list of stylish but well priced places to stay. This is the first part of his report; we'll publish the second part next month.

Chris says it should come as no surprise that hotel rates have taken a tumble with the drop-off in local as well as convention business.

"Wheeling and dealing," he told me, "is now a varsity sport for the savviest travelers."

But despite the city's well-publicized woes, travelers still rank San Francisco as their favorite destination in the world; the city topped Sydney on the last balloting by Conde Nast Traveler in 2002. And August is a great time to visit, especially because the weather can be so oppressive this time of year elsewhere in the US.

The arrogant, $150,000-a-year, twenty-something geeks who bloated restaurant prices and grabbed the best tables and choicest parking spots are gone. Or asking if you'd like fries with your burger at Wendy's. Prices have dropped on almost everything. The nightlife and music scene are still hot. Locals are still fun and friendly. August weather is crisp and clear. And the city views, sights, smells, and tastes represent something of a sensory ride through Paris, Shanghai, Lucca in Italy, San Salvador, and Victorian England--just for starters. Bring a sweater, but you probably won't need it.

The town is rife with steals, deals, and great values. Plus, the new hotels that were planned, financed, and built before the high-tech bubble burst are practically begging for guests. Tip: Settle on a hotel, but before you book, check the big Internet travel sites such as Expedia.com, Orbitz.com, Travelocity.com, Hotels.com, Hotwire.com, and QuickBook.com for specials, discounts, and promotional prices. For dramatic discounts, contact San Francisco Reservations (hotelres.com, 800- 677-1500) which has excess rooms from 200 Bay Area hotels and resells them at a small markup.

You say money's tight, but you still want style and value? The frugal former editor of Los Angeles Magazine loves San Francisco and combs the web sites for deals before jetting north. He recently scored a king-bedded room for $99 a night at the luxe Grand Hyatt on Union Square. And on another trip, he landed a nice room with a view for $89 a night (plus free parking and a full breakfast) at a wonderful but sleeper theater-district hotel called the Donatello that has an undiscovered gem of an Italian restaurant on the ground floor. If you pull off a similar coup in San Francisco, let us know. We'll share it with your friends and fellow travelers.

New Kids on the Block

A landmark office building on California Street built in 1926 was transformed more than a year ago into the 362-room Omni San Francisco (omnisanfrancisco.com, 415- 677-9494). It stayed true to its Roaring '20s roots with a gilded, golden, lushly textured decor. You can almost see Al Capone swaggering through the lobby with his thugs and flappers in tow. In fact, the Omni's lobby is fast becoming the city's rendezvous spot for pinstriped soldiers of commerce and über-casual creatives. The hotel restaurant, Bob's Steak and Chop House, an outpost of the original Dallas beefeatery, is pricey and rarely packed, but the bar bustles with financial district wheeler-dealers, despite the steep drink tariffs in a down economy.

Bottom line: Omni's surroundings just feel good. Tip: There's a free, self-serve business center off the lobby anyone can use to read and send e-mails or pound out a letter of agreement on a deal sealed over sirloins. Rooms have lounge chairs, oversize desks, and T-1 speed Internet access, and the lobby is wired for WiFi (wireless) net connections. Room rates swing widely. The Omni quotes $249 nightly during the week, but savvy shoppers can snag rooms for under $200 online. A recent weekend special includes a $149 room with free overnight valet parking. And as a nice bonus, Omni staffers are exceptionally friendly and professional.

Two smaller boutique hotels opened this summer and are priced right. San Francisco hotel lord Chip Conley's 171- room Hotel Adagio (thehoteladagio.com, 800-228- 8830) was formerly the Shannon Court, long a home-away- from- home in the theater district for actors and musicians. Behind its Spanish Colonial facade, it fancies itself a more livable, affordable version of the Clift a block away. Every room has city views; clean, contemporary furnishings; romantic touches such as candles, fresh flowers, and deeply textured fabrics; plus a Sony flat-screen, high-definition TV, a CD player, a two-line cordless phone, free high-speed Internet access, and Nintendo games. The Adagio has a well- equipped fitness center and free town car rides to the financial district. Get-acquainted rates start at $119 a night.

A century-old brick warehouse in the heart of Fisherman's Wharf, once the biggest vegetable cannery in the US, is reborn this month as the family-friendly, 252-room Argonaut Hotel (argonauthotel.com, 800-790- 1415). Decked out in ship-themed paraphernalia, this Kimpton hotel blends the gritty romance of the city's waterfront circa 1900 with the wharf's kitschy carnival atmosphere today. Floors are wooden planks, lobby windows are portholes, guest rooms have captain's chairs and telescopes, and, for authenticity, foghorns on San Francisco Bay bleat like a sorrowful, baritone chorus all night long-- no charge. For more nautical lore, the visitor center for San Francisco's Maritime National Historic Park--consisting of several ancient ships moored at the Hyde Street Pier--is anchored in the lobby. Booking passage at the Argonaut may take some haggling. The hotel's PR rep quoted me a rack rate of $199 nightly--sheer piracy for a new hotel on the touristy wharf--but tenacity can net you a $129 grand- opening rate. Check the online travel web sites for an even better price.

Prefer Fisherman's Wharf? The 221-room Best Western Tuscan Inn (bestwestern.com, 415-561-1100) home of Cafe Pescatore, is a great value with rates starting at $119 nightly.

Former Wall Streeter, the late Bill Kimpton, started the nationwide trend of putting new faces on once-seedy hotels in San Francisco, and his company has done it again. The Hotel Bedford, Kimpton's first hotel, was aging and sagging, so an outfit called Fun Design was summoned, and the 1929 building was reborn this spring as the 144-room Hotel Cosmo (hotel-cosmo.com, 415-673-6040). This is a steal. Rates begin at $89 a night, rooms are moderately sized with retro decor--a sleek and artsy ambiance with lots of blues, lavenders, and browns. The lobby is stocked with good local art, and artists themselves sometimes schmooze with guests during the nightly "wine hour" reception or periodic art shows. The location isn't all that terrific--on a tired block of Post Street, three blocks west of Union Square- -but there's free town car service to Union Square and state offices. High- speed Internet access is only in the lobby, but Hotel Cosmo is almost brand-new and bargain priced, so who's complaining?

The 217-room Palomar Hotel (hotelpalomar.com, 866-373-4941) is another new entry from Kimpton since Chris last surveyed San Francisco's hotel scene. This is a flat-out business hotel at Fourth and Market Street, with in- room faxes; free, high-speed Internet access; cordless phones; and king-sized desks; but it's also near lots of shopping, the huge Metreon entertainment complex, museums, and other attractions. And since business is down in San Francisco, the Palomar is wooing families and other vacationers with deals such as a $165-a-night package that includes two, full-sized beds, movies, free parking, and a $10 mini-bar credit. A better deal is a room, full breakfast either via room service or in the hotel's superb French restaurant, the Fifth Floor, plus parking for $149.

It doesn't get much publicity, but the two-year-old Courtyard by Marriott (marriott.com, 800-321-2211) has 405 rooms and doesn't look or seem much like the traditional business bunkhouse from Marriott. This one is 18 stories tall, located in funky-but-safe South of Market (near Pac Bell Park), and was originally designed to house all those dot-commers. It has valet parking, dry cleaning, and room service as well as full dinners served in the hotel lobby around the fireplace. Its Cafe 290 is a popular coffee and latte saloon. Weekend rates start at $125, which includes free parking, normally a $30 expense.

Next month, Chris takes a look at some of San Francisco's grande dames that have spiffed up quite nicely and tells you how to find the bargains.

(Research assistance: Nicole Freeling.)

What's Old Is New Again

- San Francisco's hotel scene is a spicy bouillabaisse as eclectic as the city itself. Some old favorites have added new surprises in the past few years. The 62-room Hotel Griffon (hotelgriffon.com, 800-321-2201) is homey and has panoramic waterfront views, a generous continental breakfast buffet, free passes to the Embarcadero YMCA gym, and a private door to Ozumo's, deemed the city's best--and best looking--Japanese restaurant. Ozumo's late-afternoon happy hour has sushi and drinks at near-giveaway prices. Griffon's weekend rates start at $175 a night, and, with just 62 rooms, it's tough to haggle for a better deal.

- The downtown iconic, 417-room Sir Francis Drake Hotel (sirfrancisdrake.com, 800-795-7129) is celebrating its 75th year with special deals such as $139 a night with breakfast. (Or, if your timing's right, get the room for $124 on Travelocity, trek a block north, and dive into the pancakes at Stears.) The Drake is big, beautiful, a block off Union Square, and home to Harry Denton's Starlight Room, a hip 1930s-style skyroom saloon and nightclub with dancing. Denton, San Francisco's own Toots Shore, is usually there holding court or dancing on his bar.

- The 236-room Spanish Renaissance-styled Serrano Hotel (serranohotel.com, 877-294-9709) is adding to its collection of 50 board games for tired tourists who want to relax over a Chinese puzzle. The hotel is quirky and fun. Bow-tied manager David von Winckler is always tethered to the hotel's Boston terrier mascot named Haido, so you know the Serrano is pet-friendly. Summer rates begin at $159 a night.

- Chris has always loved the tiny (20-room) Nob Hill Lambourne (nobhilllambourne.com, 800-274- 8466), around the corner from the Ritz Carlton, ever since it hired a big-name, New York interior designer to create mini-sized Manhattan studios with galley kitchens. Now its mission is to "keep business travelers healthy" with mini- bars stocked with health food and vitamins and with turn- down service, deep-water tubs, and hand-sewn mattresses. The $189 romantic retreat package includes a room-service breakfast, good wines at night, and champagne at check-in.

- Another little-known treasure is the Hotel Nikko (hotelnikkosf.com, 800-645-5687). At first glance, it looks like a cold, all-marble business hotel. But its mega- Sunday brunch, showcasing "the world's cuisines" ($42), is the best in town; one-hour parking is validated. Classical music station KDFC broadcasts live from the brunch, and visitors and VIPs are often interviewed. Here's a well-kept secret: Nikko has a little-used health club with a huge indoor pool. Book its $159 "Park, Stay, Play" package good until the end of the month and get a deluxe room with free parking.

- Many major US cities have a W Hotel to lure free-spending, youngish hotties and trendies, but the 423-room San Francisco version (whotels.com; 415-777-5300) near the Moscone Center is hurting because it was completed just before the technology and dot-com sector imploded. Last time Chris visited, he reported you could go bowling in the lobby. This may be the time to check in, and not just because business is off. Staffers are friendly and grateful for your patronage, and the W's XYZ restaurant, bar, and nightclub are, once again, very happening places in town. Rooms-- festooned with gadgets and gear (the electric-blue Etch-a- Sketch is novel) and billowy "seven layer" beds--begin at $159 on weekends.

August 2003