nothing official

is the whitcomb a great place to stay. How far is it from the bill gram?

the whitcomb is real nice, and you could literally throw a stone from the front door of the hotel and hit the roof of BGCA.
I think that this year i will definitely be trying to stay at the whitcomb if i can afford it. we stayed in a gnarly ass hotel in the beautiful tenderloin of san francisco, some crazy shit went down in and around that hotel that night.

cosmiccharlesgdf wrote:

Well, we were going to stay there last year until we read the reviews. This one made it clear that we were staying elsewhere:

“You are not alone....”
Decent public spaces, bad rooms.... was trying to stay positive but threw in the towel when 2... let's call them large mice... ran across my room..." From Expedia.

My wife and I are both rodentiaphobes... Plus, there were other reasons not to stay there. Do yourself a favor and check out the reviews of the place. Oh yeah, and bedbugs....bleeeehhh!

Stayed at the Whitcomb last year. I choose an updated room for a little more $$$.

No bedbugs. No mice. Quite clean and spacious.

Booked it again for this year!

Strider1 wrote:

You know, if I ever go out there, the Whitcomb seems like the party place to be. And I can work around the bedbugs and mice, especially if there are some upgraded rooms. The part I'm still struggling with is Funky420's description of the hotel hallways being just like those in the "Redrum" scary little girl twins scene from the Shining. Now that make me think twice!!

i'm counting on it. they play san francisco every year. already got the hotel booked. i would be pretty sad if they didnt do a new years run in sf this year, especially with them always doing fall tour on the west coast during harvest season and spending the rest of the year on the east coast. gotta show some love to their home town!

Downtown SF is shady period, it doesn't matter where you stay. The street rats in downtown are downright mean. Every year I have had some sort of weird confrontation with them. It makes you not want to walk around much. Plus it is fuggin expensive. After trying out several places the last few years I prefer driving/cabbing/walking the extra few blocks to stay on the wharf, same price but with much better scenery, better places to eat, and more touristy.

I've stayed at the Whitcomb on Market the last 3 years and it is fine. It is an older hotel, but nice and definitely party central. As you walk down the hallways each doorway has a different smell The neighborhood is a little iffy, but there are plenty of people walking around so I never felt uncomfortable. Easy to get to because there is a bart station right next door and a pretty decent bar in the hotel. I've booked it again or New Years 2013 in hopes they will do a repeat of last year.

And by the way, I was at the Greek and Santa Barbara and they are sounding better than ever!

Denver Man wrote:


I'd have to agree. Maybe we're getting older??? I just don't like dealing with sketchy folks anymore...at one time, it was okay, but now...god knows what you are going to run up against. Of course, that could be because we live in the land of Columbine and Aurora....

I can completely understand the reservation about staying in the area. I mean for the MCU shows I didn't get a hotel close to the venue for just that reason. I stayed on the Golden Arrow, but that was over an hour away by train.

I like the party atmosphere at the Whitcomb. Lots of other cool heads there and it's great, actually perfect, for pre and post show debauchery. If I have any energy during the day before showtime I can always take a cab to the tourist areas.

I do agree that the street scene around BGCA leaves alot to be desired, but that's a price I'll pay to be so close to the venue and the party!!!

i did an online search for hotels near the Bill Graham Civic Center and was surprised to find some very good hotels at very decent rates... www.hotels.com/search.do?destination=Bil...1707433&hotelId=

1) Best Western Hotel California - $151 per night
2) Hotel Adagio - $167 per night
3) Hilton San Francisco Union Square - $152 (this is a steal by SF standards)
4) Park 55 Wyndamm San Francisco (Union Square) $193 per night

i know these places are more expensive than most of us are used to, but in SF even the "cheap" hotels aren't cheap. i'll keep searching and will post more options as i locate them. also feel free to PM me with any questions and i'll do my best to help.