Looking for a place to store one small piece of luggage for a few
hours in downtown San Francisco, e.g. luggage locker or a luggage
check.  Any ideas?

Hello guidobegal-ga,

You didn?t indicate how you will be traveling to San Francisco, where
you will be staying, and whether you will be attending any formal
functions. The best bet for finding a place to store your luggage for
a few hours would be in association with places you?re visiting.

If you will be staying at a local hotel, use the hotel?s temporary
luggage storage services. If you have a membership with a hotel chain
(i.e., Hyatt Gold Passport) you can probably use the luggage services
of a member hotel even if you?re not staying there.

Another option for using a hotel?s luggage services is to book a room
at one of the very moderately priced hostels available in San
Francisco. The cheapest one I found was $13 per night.

http://www.hostels.com/us.ca.sf.html
Hostels in San Francisco
***** Choose from a long list of hostels, many of them downtown. 

http://www.hostels.com/en/availability.php/HostelNumber.4752
Travellers Inn Hostel, San Francisco, United States
374 5th st
4 Bed Mixed Dorm 13.00
FACILITIES -- Luggage Storage

http://www.youthhostelsanfrancisco.com/hostels.php
Hostels in San Francisco

http://www.sfbg.com/superlists/sl672.html 
American Youth Hostel at Union Square (Hostelling
International-Downtown) AYH has 230 beds available for $19 a night
($16 for AYH members). ? Coin-operated lockers are available for
storage. Maximum stay: 14 nights. 312 Mason. (415) 788-5604.


Another possibility is to use the hat check services at one of the
museums downtown. The Museum of Modern Art next to Moscone Center
would be a good choice. You would have to buy an admission ticket for
$10.

http://www.sfmoma.org/visit/visitinfo_hours.asp
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
151 Third Street (between Mission and Howard Streets ? view map ) 
San Francisco, CA 94103-3159
Telephone: 415.357.4000
TDD: 415.357.4154
Fax: 415.357.4037

Coat Check + Lost and Found
All umbrellas, backpacks, and large bags must be checked. For lost
items, see Atrium security or call 415.357.4139.


If you are attending a convention or conference at Moscone Center or
some other facility, the convention organizers will be providing
luggage storage services.

Many of the larger department stores also offer package storage for
people while they are shopping at the store. Nordstrom?s at San
Francisco Centre at Fifth and Market and Macy?s at Union Square are
just two such stores. Since this is a service for shoppers, you will
have to convince them that you are shopping there and that?s why you
need to use their service.


Do you belong to a health club? If you have a membership that allows
you to use out of town facilities you may be able to leave your small
bag for a few hours at the health club locker room.

Finally, if you?re visiting someone in San Francisco your best bet may
be to ask them to take care of your luggage while you attend to your
business.

It seems that since 9/11 there are no readily available public luggage
storage facilities. You have to look for a way to establish a
connection with a hotel, store or other service provider to be able to
use their luggage/hat check services.

I hope this research will help you find what you need for your few
hours in San Francisco.

Wishing you well.

~ czh ~



SEARCH STRATEGY

lockers  san francisco
luggage storage san Francisco
hat check San Francisco

There's the Greyhound bus depot at 425 Mission St. It probably has luggage lockers.

Hello guidobegal-ga,

I started researching your question and came across an item that
indicates there might be a problem with finding a public storage
locker. I came across an article that shows that because of post-9/11
jitters luggage check options that I was thinking about may no longer
be available.

http://www.examiner.com/bruce_bellingham/default.jsp?story=n.bellingham.0506w
New York actually stopped on 9/11," said the driver on the way to JFK.
"Can you imagine anything bringing N.Y. to a stand-still? The kids
still don't play in the parks in Lower Manhattan." I found I could not
store my suitcase anywhere. In all of N.Y., you can no longer find a
locker. This is for security reasons. No lockers at Port Authority. No
storing bags at hotels unless you are a guest.

I don?t know if you?ll be staying at a local hotel. If yes, you should
be able to check your luggage for the day with them. If not, do you
have a frequent traveler card with some hotels? If yes, you may still
be able to use the hotel option.

Museums usually have a coat check / bag check facility. The Museum of
Modern art is at 3rd and Mission. You would have to pay the $10
admission but this may be an option.

Another possibility is to use concierge services with some shopping
centers or departments stores. I confirmed with Nordstrom in San
Francisco Shopping Centre at Fifth and Market that they offer this
service (414-243-8500 ask for concierge) but she made it very clear
that they don?t store luggage for the day. Maybe you could disguise it
in a Nordstrom shopping bag. :-)

http://www.sfguide.com/shopping/shopping_centers.htm
San Francisco Shopping Centers

I?m not posting this as a comment because I?m not sure if any of these
suggestions would work. Please let me know if you would accept my
comment as an answer.

Good luck.

~ czh ~