This is a beautiful hotel. There are fountains, a restaurant, and a wonderful gift shop. I should know, I work there!

The hotel serves a diverse population - from business travelers to families - but can do so without detracting from the experience for any group. There is always something to see or do in the hotel.

There are decent restaurants on-site with rather good prices.

The gift shop is a lot of fun and has pretty much anything you'd need along with fun toys for the kids (in case you forgot anything!).

Although I grew up in San Francisco and going the California Academy of Science, I haven't been back since the Academy re-opened last year. So, we were very excited to be asked to review the new Extreme Mammal Exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. I must say that the Academy did not disappoint! From young to old, we all found something interesting and exciting to be enjoyed at the Academy.

Cast:

Grammy, 67. Never visited the Academy before.

Heather, 37. Visited the Academy on field trips as a kid, but haven’t been since the remodel. BLOWN AWAY by the remodel!

Joshua, 6. Animal expert. He’s been twice before with school. He acted as our guide.

Natalie, 5. Never been. She loves sea turtles and clown fish. She was not disappointed.

The first stop we made at the Academy was at the very rare albino crocodile. I had never seen such a thing! The kids were fascinated and delighted in observing the crocodile and watching him move. Helen, our docent, explained that the crocodile hardly ever moved, so it was a rare treat to see him active.

Next, we toured the ground floor where our docent showed us several “highlights” including the rain forest dome, and the “teaser” exhibit for the Extreme Mammals exhibit. She also answered questions on the various differences between the new Academy and the Academy I remember from my youth. I thought the renovation was exquisite and tasteful. Just enough of the old to respect the history of the building mixed with enough of the new to propel the Academy through several more decades. The one thing I really appreciated was they kept the sense of exploration and learning that always existed in the old Academy.

One of the main highlights the Academy is the Rainforest Dome. To get into the Rainforest, you enter another guarded door, where it is explained to you that you must climb to the top and then take an elevator down to the aquarium level. There is no other exit. For this reason, do not go into the Rainforest unless you can spend at least 20 minutes in there. However, once you’re in, you’ll discover that the Rainforest is awesome. There are butterflies flying by you, parrots, and all sorts of creatures. You ascend on a winding walkway which takes you through the various levels of the rainforest – from the ground up. Once at the top, you can overlook the Rainforest as if you were in the canopy! Two warnings: as it is a Rainforest, it is very temperate inside. If you do not tolerate warmer temperatures, this is an exhibit best observed from outside the exhibit. Second, ou will have butterflies flying on you, at you, and all around you! While inside the Rainforest, we even saw a bird busy building its nest. It was noisy, hot, and colorful in there – its hard to describe, but it felt like we had been transported into a real rainforest! It was great!

Once done, we descended by elevator to the aquarium level. Unfortunately, we did not have much time left before I had to leave for work, so we just made a brief visit to the aquarium. I cannot wait to go back for some more time! The aquarium has several sections, all filled with amazing views of the fish, sea turtles, sharks, and other creatures of the deep. There is even a peek-a-boo spot just for kids! The kids loved that part the best – especially since they had to describe what they were seeing to me and Grammy. According to my kids, “[it was] AWESOME!”

Finally, we just *had* to check out the gift shop. Here, we found quite a treasure or two! There are all kinds of neat and unique gift items here. They have an expansive book collection, organic clothing and bags, and beautiful artwork. The best part is that it was, for the most part, reasonably priced.

We had a really amazing day at the Academy of Sciences and cannot wait to go back. We hope to become members soon so we can spend our time exploring each of the areas extensively. While you can do a short trip like we did, it is best to save the trip for a day when you can give it a lot of time. Keep in mind that we went on an off-day; during the weekend and especially during holiday weeks, it can get quite crowded.

The best deal, in my opinion, would be to become a member – even if you are only visiting for a short time. Family memberships are reasonably priced and most come with discounts you can use at the shop. Single-day tickets can be steep, especially when you add-on parking.

*This review is based on a complimentary visit to Academy of Sciences. I received no other compensation and the business owner did not state any requirements that I express a particular point of view.

We had my son's 4th birthday party here. It is an awesome place to have a party! For under $400, we were able to have ponies and unlimited train rides for up to 30 kids. The area we were assigned even had its own bouncy house and plenty of space for our guests/food.

There is so much for kids to do here, besides horses and trains. There is also a fully-loaded playground, chicken coops, goat feeding - you name it.

This aquarium is ho-hum. The underwater sea walk is kind of neat, but a little claustrophobic, too. Other than that, there is nothing to see that you haven't seen elsewhere - and better. For the price, it would be much better to go to Monterey Aquarium, if you can afford the time. We went here on a rainy day when we were meeting some out of town friends later. Not wanting to wait out in the cold at Pier 39, we went inside. My kids ran through the place in about 15 minutes. There just isn't much there.

Who doesn't love Lombard Street? Heck, I've lived here all my life and STILL love to travel down Lombard whenever I get a chance. Its a hard street to drive, but loads of fun. Besides, there is so much history on the street. First, its made all of bricks, harkening back to the days before the 1906 earthquake when every street was either cobblestone or brick. Second, there is the MTV Real World house.

Its like not going to Abbey Road if you're a Beatles Fan.

Go, enjoy!