Your favorite SF dining spot?

Looking to dine in style while you're here?

There's no shortage of upscale restaurants in San Francisco. Some of our favorites include Boulevard along the Embarcadero, Wolfgang Puck’s Postrio, and the aptly named seafood restaurant Aqua. For more casual fare in the South of Market area, we recommend Ristorante Umbria at 2nd and Howard for Italian food or Tres Agaves on Townsend and 2nd for Mexican. There are dozens of other choices within a few blocks of the hotel, so you might also just want to stroll around and see what you find.

For those of you who have been to the city before or are from here, what are some of your favorites?

Getting from Oakland Airport to The Palace Hotel

A while back I blogged about getting from SFO to the Palace Hotel, and Tim asked about getting there from Oakland airport. Well, here goes...

Pretty much all the same options apply, though taxis and shuttles may be slightly more expensive since the Oakland airport is slightly farther away.  Taxi and shuttle services are fairly easy to come by right outside the terminals, but if you want to call ahead of time and schedule a pick up, you can find a list of service providers here.

Bart also runs right past the Oakland airport. Here's information about how and where to pick it up.

For more information on getting from either of the airports to downtown, try this page at SF Gate.com.

Hope that helps!

Where to find a cup of joe

Let me answer one of the most important questions anyone will ask during the event: Where can i find a good cup of coffee nearby?

The hotel serves fresh brewed coffee every morning, but for those of you who prefer to sip an espresso or specialty coffee, there are several choices within a short walk of the hotel.

My favorite is Café Madeleine at 149 New Montgomery St. between Minna & Natoma. They serve great coffee and even better baked goods.

Of course, there’s also a Starbucks located at 74 New Montgomery Street between Aldrich Alley & Jessie Street. And there’s a Peet’s right around the corner at 595 Mission Street between 2nd and Anthony.

Getting from SFO to The Palace

Haven't figured out yet how to get from the airport to the hotel? Don't worry, it's easy. Here are 5 simple ways you can do it...

1. Cabs are always waiting at the airport (at the Baggage Claim levels of all terminals) and can drive you to the hotel for somewhere between $35 and $45.

2. You can pick up a shuttle at the airport for more like $15 - $20, if you don’t mind riding with other passengers and making a few stops along the way. The major shuttle services include Super Shuttle and Bay Porter Express.

3. The airport also houses most major car rental companies (on the fourth floor), including Hertz, Avis, Budget, and more. A full listing can be found here.

4. You can also take the BART train from the airport to the city. Take the Dublin/Pleasanton train to the Montgomery St. station and you'll be about 2 blocks from the hotel. Here are directions.

5. Or, if you prefer to arrive in style, call 4 Seasons Limousine at (415) 225-2959. Tell them Brad Inman sent you!

Beer Lovers visit the ThirstyBear

Looking for a good place to grab a home brewed beer after the conference? Head over to the ThirstyBear Restaurant and Brewery just around the corner at 661 Howard Street. Directions from the Palace Hotel are here. They serve 7 organic house brews every day, including the Polar Bear Lager, Valencia Wheat, Golden Vanilla, Meyer E.S.B, Howard Street I.P.A. and Kozlov Stout. But my personal favorite is the Brown Bear Ale, pictured here.

Art lovers check out 'First Thursday'

If you're coming to Real Estate Connect in San Francisco this August and you love original, non-hoity-toity, nitty-gritty, fresh-off-the-innovation-train art, you are in luck! This year's Connect conference falls during the first Thursday of the month (Aug. 2), which San Franciscans know is the best night of the month to take yourself out and tour the art galleries around downtown. If you're not sure where to go, visit Yelp.com and search for "First Thursday" and you'll find a few galleries listed to get you started. Start with one nearest your hotel and ask some of the other attendees where the next closest gallery is. It's that easy. Nearly all the downtown galleries will be open to visitors and have plenty of art to check out.

Things to do in San Francisco

Belly Dancing
San Francisco Watering Holes
San Francisco AA meetings

Places to See in SF

Check out Chinatown!

Ten things to do before Connect

From Inman News Blog

Here are ten tips to prepare for Connect:

1. Sign up for our Connect  LinkedIn account.

2. Sign up for our Connect FaceBook account.

3. If you need transportation, make a reservation with my favorite SF driver, Mauricio (415) 225-2959.

4. Go onto the Connect blog closer to the event and ask about any cool private parties during Connect.

5. Sign up for our Connect Twitter account.

6. Send an email to Brad@inman.com telling us to stop the Connect marketing emails.

7. If you need a restaurant for a private dinner, call Jack Fallstaff  for a reservation. Nice walk back to Palace after a full stomach.

8. If you want to go to a private party the Saturday before Connect in Sonoma, send me an email.

9. Plan a small meet up over a martini at the Big Four on California St.. If you are under 40, meet at the Wish bar on Folsom or Medjool at 2522 Mission St (at 21st) - awesome roof deck bar.

10. For TRUE dive bars in SF, watch this movie.

The worth of one man's life

The Palace Hotel's web site describes the building's inauspicious debut as such: "Inspired by visionary, William Ralston, the Palace Hotel was the result of one man's dream of turning the city from boom town into a booming metropolis, simply by erecting a hotel of timeless elegance and unprecedented luxury... To finance his dream and its $5 million price tag, he exhausted his banking empire. Just weeks before the Palace's grand opening, he was told the Bank of California would close. The next day, Ralston's body was found floating in the San Francisco Bay."

Numerous earthquakes, fires and restorations later, The Palace Hotel stands today as one of the most elegant hotels in one of the most elegant cities in the world.

2007 will be the 6th straight year we've held RE Connect at The Palace, and we couldn't think of a better place to have it. Thank you, Mr. Ralston.