My Travel Choices

MTC comparison

Los Angeles or San Francisco for a January week?

Choose Los Angeles for Hollywood, Downtown and a car-scale city; choose San Francisco for walkable neighbourhoods and the bay. Both sets use the same dates, party and room basis and are priced in US dollars.

Scope, dates and party

These are dated ground-cost illustrations for two adults sharing one room, six nights over seven days, 19–25 January 2027. Hotel prices are public room-table observations from 2 October 2026, not checkout-reconciled quotes. Flights, visas, insurance and regional trips are excluded. They are not bookable and not year-round ranges or calculator defaults.

What is specific to this budget

  • Hotel tax: Los Angeles hotel prices exclude tax, so each total carries a provisional reserve; the San Francisco prices were gross and tax-inclusive, so no reserve is added there — that is not a claim that every fee is covered.
  • Restaurants: Los Angeles adds a 10.25% sales-tax provision; San Francisco adds a disclosed 5% surcharge and an 8.625% sales-tax provision. Voluntary tips are excluded in both.
  • Breakfast is credited only at Hampton in San Francisco; all three Los Angeles rates are room only.

Trade-offs

Los Angeles distances and traffic make transport the biggest uncertainty; San Francisco is cooler and often damp in January. Theme parks, Santa Monica, Napa and Muir Woods are excluded from both.

Dated ground cost side by side

Basket A at each named hotel, same party and dates, flights excluded. Samples 1–3 follow each city's observed room-price order only; they are not matched quality tiers, and the hotels in a row are not equivalents. Scopes differ, so read the full itemised examples on each cost guide before deciding.

Hotel sampleLos AngelesSan Francisco
Sample 1citizenM Los Angeles Downtown2,673.71 USD190.98 USD per person per ground dayIncludes a PROVISIONAL tax reserve of 141.59 USD (16.2% hotel tax as displayed for this hotel). Subtotal before the reserve: 2,532.12 USD. The tax is mandatory, not optional, but this is a calculated reserve — not an observed checkout total or a guaranteed maximum; replace it with the actual charge and never pay any part twice. Dated illustration, NOT checkout-reconciled and not an annual or calculator default: hotel prices are public room-table observations in whole US dollars; deposits and unlisted extras are unknown, not zero. Hotels are listed by observed room price alone, not quality. A Downtown base. The room table shows 16.2% tax excluded. Room only: all 14 breakfasts use the MTC allowance; optional hotel breakfast prices are not credits.Handlery Union Square2,836.84 USD202.63 USD per person per ground daySubtotal before any tax reserve: 2,836.84 USD (no reserve added). No separate tax reserve is added because the dated public table says taxes and charges are included; the displayed gross total is counted once. This is not a claim that every tax or fee is covered or that the checkout bill is reconciled: unlisted mandatory fees are unknown, not zero. All three offers allow free cancellation only within 24 hours of booking — not until arrival. Restaurant prices carry the disclosed 5% surcharge and an 8.625% sales-tax provision. Qualified illustration, not a checkout quote: hotel prices are dated public room-table observations in whole currency units; deposits and unlisted extras are unknown, not zero. Hotels are listed by observed room price alone, not quality. The observed price reflects a 7% discount displayed on 2 October 2026, which is not guaranteed. Deposits are unknown. Room only: all 14 breakfasts use the MTC allowance.
Sample 2The Hollywood Franklin Hotel near Universal Studios2,721.84 USD194.42 USD per person per ground dayIncludes a PROVISIONAL tax reserve of 146.72 USD (16% hotel tax as displayed for this hotel). Subtotal before the reserve: 2,575.12 USD. The tax is mandatory, not optional, but this is a calculated reserve — not an observed checkout total or a guaranteed maximum; replace it with the actual charge and never pay any part twice. Dated illustration, NOT checkout-reconciled and not an annual or calculator default: hotel prices are public room-table observations in whole US dollars; deposits and unlisted extras are unknown, not zero. Hotels are listed by observed room price alone, not quality. Its 10 USD per night resort fee is already included, so 60 USD is not added again. The table shows 14% tax and 2% city tax excluded; both are reserved provisionally as 16% of the displayed amount, pending the exact tax base. Room only: all 14 breakfasts use the MTC allowance; optional hotel breakfast prices are not credits.Hampton Inn San Francisco Downtown/Convention Center2,988.84 USD213.49 USD per person per ground daySubtotal before any tax reserve: 2,988.84 USD (no reserve added). No separate tax reserve is added because the dated public table says taxes and charges are included; the displayed gross total is counted once. This is not a claim that every tax or fee is covered or that the checkout bill is reconciled: unlisted mandatory fees are unknown, not zero. All three offers allow free cancellation only within 24 hours of booking — not until arrival. Restaurant prices carry the disclosed 5% surcharge and an 8.625% sales-tax provision. Qualified illustration, not a checkout quote: hotel prices are dated public room-table observations in whole currency units; deposits and unlisted extras are unknown, not zero. Hotels are listed by observed room price alone, not quality. A city hotel, not an SFO airport hotel. Its refundable 75 USD deposit is not a consumed cost and is excluded. Breakfast for two is included, so 12 breakfasts are credited once and two outside breakfasts are budgeted.
Sample 3Loews Hollywood Hotel3,930.99 USD280.79 USD per person per ground dayIncludes a PROVISIONAL tax reserve of 316.87 USD (16.2% hotel tax as displayed for this hotel). Subtotal before the reserve: 3,614.12 USD. The tax is mandatory, not optional, but this is a calculated reserve — not an observed checkout total or a guaranteed maximum; replace it with the actual charge and never pay any part twice. Dated illustration, NOT checkout-reconciled and not an annual or calculator default: hotel prices are public room-table observations in whole US dollars; deposits and unlisted extras are unknown, not zero. Hotels are listed by observed room price alone, not quality. Its 35 USD per night resort fee is already included, so 210 USD is not added again. The table shows 16.2% tax excluded. Room only: all 14 breakfasts use the MTC allowance; optional hotel breakfast prices are not credits.Hilton San Francisco Union Square3,431.84 USD245.13 USD per person per ground daySubtotal before any tax reserve: 3,431.84 USD (no reserve added). No separate tax reserve is added because the dated public table says taxes and charges are included; the displayed gross total is counted once. This is not a claim that every tax or fee is covered or that the checkout bill is reconciled: unlisted mandatory fees are unknown, not zero. All three offers allow free cancellation only within 24 hours of booking — not until arrival. Restaurant prices carry the disclosed 5% surcharge and an 8.625% sales-tax provision. Qualified illustration, not a checkout quote: hotel prices are dated public room-table observations in whole currency units; deposits and unlisted extras are unknown, not zero. Hotels are listed by observed room price alone, not quality. The hotel's current official amenities page states no destination-fee amount, while older listings conflict. The observed gross price is kept; whether any destination fee is added must be reconfirmed — it is unknown, not zero, and no guessed amount or food-and-beverage credit is used. Room only: all 14 breakfasts use the MTC allowance.

Compiled and totalled by My Travel Choices (MTC) from the dated sources credited with each example. Research estimates, not bookable offers. How we build these examples · Cite this guide

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