Family-Friendly Hotels

The Best Family-Friendly Hotels

Argonaut Hotel -- Not only is it near all the funky kid fun of Fisherman's Wharf and the National Maritime Museum, but this bayside hotel, a winner for the whole family, also has kid-friendly perks like the opportunity for each child to grab a gift from the hotel's "treasure chest."

Cow Hollow Motor Inn & Suites -- Two-bedroom suites allow kids to shack up in style instead of camping on the pull-out couch.

Hotel Diva -- The Diva is so sleek and ultramodern that it won "Best Hotel Design" from Interiors magazine not long after it opened and is still as svelte as ever. Families should inquire about their two-room Little Divas Suite, designed for kids, that can accommodate a family of four.

The Fairmont San Francisco -- While the glamorous lobby and spectacular city views will please parents, kids will be thrilled by the hotel's Tonga Room, a fantastically kitsch Disneyland-like tropical bar and restaurant where "rain" falls every 30 minutes.

Handlery Union Square Hotel -- Never mind that it's been completely renovated. The real kid-friendly kickers here are the adjoining rooms in the "newer" addition; a heated, clean, outdoor pool; and the adjoining restaurant, the Daily Grill, which offers the gamut of American favorites.

Hotel Del Sol -- It's colorful enough to represent a Crayola selection, but tots are more likely to be impressed by the "Kids are VIPs" program that includes a lending library, toys and videos, evening cookies and milk, and accouterments for the heated pool (think sunglasses, visors, beach balls). Parental perks include access to a bonded babysitting service and three baby-proofed rooms and family suite (three adjoining rooms).

Hotel Metropolis -- The lobby walls at this playful yet serene hotel are covered with more than 80 works of colorful (and curiously abstract) art created by children. The three-room Urban Explorers Kids Suite, which sleeps up to six adults and three children, is filled with pint-sized furniture, bunk beds, a computer, a chalkboard wall, toys, and rubber ducky decor in the bathroom.

San Francisco Airport North Travelodge -- It's nothing fancy, but if you've got an early flight out, want to stay near the airport, and don't want to rent an extra room to accommodate the little ones, this place (with pull-out couches in 20 out of the 199 rooms) is a good bet.

Stanyan Park Hotel -- Plenty of elbowroom and a half-block walk to Golden Gate Park's Children's Playground make this a prime spot for crashing family style. But the biggest bonuses are the suites, which come with one or two bedrooms, a full kitchen, and a dining area.

Westin St. Francis -- A classic San Francisco hotel down to its hospitality, the Westin welcomes the little ones with fun gifts and free drink refills at its restaurants.