andeantravelweb p. 80. If you want to do something silly with the kids, take them to the Tonga Room at the Fairmont

p. 80. If you want to do something silly with the kids, take them to the Tonga Room at the Fairmont H otel (950 Mason S t.; & 800/441-1414 or 415/772-5000) for appetizers and a mild tropical storm. See p. 94. Best Lobb y: I f the kids ar e into fair y tales, the Fairmont Hotel (950 Mason St.; & 800/441-1414 or 415/7725000) andeantravelweb will leave them waiting for Princess andeantravelweb Aurora to arrive. See p. 94. A close contender is the Palace Hotel (2 New Montgomery St., at Market St.; &415/ 546-5089); the ceiling of its historic Garden Court consists of 80,000 panes of glass. See p. 86. For the most stunning lobby in town, the truly opulent, yet tasteful, Ar t D eco inspired Four Seasons (757 Market St.; &415/6333000) tops the list. See p. 86. Best If You Have a C ar: F or stays around U nion S quare, the Galleria Park H otel (191 S utter S t.; & 800/ 792-9639 or 415/781-3060) is built over a par king garage, so it won t take long to r etrieve y ours. Like all do wntown hotels, parking charges are nuts $30 per day is av erage so it s not economical to par k her e, just conv enient. See p. 72. O ne car per r oom gets fr ee indoor par king at the Cow Hollow M otor I nn & S uites (2190 Lombard S t.; & 415/921-5800). See p. 97. A spot for y our car also comes courtesy of the Hotel Del Sol (3100 Webster S t.; & 877/433-5765 or 415/921-5520; p. 97) or the Marina Motel (2576 Lombard St.; &800/3466118 or 415/921-9406; p. 98). Best I f You B rought the D og: The Hotel Monaco (501 Geary St.; &800/ 214-4220 or 415/292-0100) has packages for pooches that riv al anything other hotels have for kids. I don t know if ther e s an underlying message ther e.

When y ou step out of the dar kened Exploratorium Hall into the light of day , take a moment to appr eciate the lo vely scenery at the Palace of Fine Arts (p. 161) abutting the E xploratorium. H ave y our kids look at the ducks and run on the grass before andeantravelweb heading nor th on B aker S treet, crossing M arina Boulev ard and continuing to the water s edge. Walk onto the breakwater, wher e y ou ll see the bizarr e Wave Organ (p. 202), created by scientists from the Exploratorium.