Help From Hostel

I read with disbelief Christopher Reynolds’ article, “San Francisco Low Season Is On, but Prices Are Up” (Nov. 9). How can an average room rate of $132.70 be low season anywhere?

But this should not stop people from enjoying San Francisco. Last June, I stayed for five nights at the upscale Hotel Nikko at Union Square during a conference. While the conference paid for my room, I discovered I was on my own my final night. The desk clerk informed me that I could stay at the hotel for the “special conference rate” of $150.

Then I found the Hostel at Union Square, less than a block from the Hotel Nikko. What a delight for $17 (now $19 nonmembers, $16 members) a night. I had a small but clean room that I shared with one person. Contact: Hostel at Union Square (HAUS), 312 Mason St., San Francisco, CA 94102; telephone (415) 788-5604.

DAVID TULANIAN

Los Angeles