My father and I visited SF for 5 days. He had been before, but I hadn't. I was in charge of finding the place and I was so thrilled with our stay. We ended up going to MOMA, a Giants game, visiting and hiking Muir woods twice, Golden Gate State park twice, renting electric bikes, Haight-Ashbury, and lunch in Sausalito. First off, the plentiful parking just outside the unit is fantastic. There were always 5 or 6 spaces right outside the door. Beautiful view! The place is near tons of restaurants and has easy highway access to downtown and the road that leads to the bridge and Muir Woods. The place has everything you need. My Dad slept on the bed and it was great. The futon is not the most comfortable bed I (age 42) have ever slept on but it didn't make me sore or anything like that. Kitchen is well equipped as is the bath. The wi-fi was great and the TV and Satellite were a breeze. Getting the heat from the fireplace to turn on accurately with the remote is kind of a pain, but this is the fault of the engineer that designed it. Just look in the book for the instructions and know you need a little patience every time you turn it on. The binder has everything you need to know about the place. Alice also has lots of touristy info in a basket along with the Lonely Planet SF Guide which was nice. Check-in was a breeze with the unique door code. Would definitely stay here again! Thanks Alice!
P.S. Renting electric bikes from SF Wheels on Cole St is some of the best money we ever spent. The $80/day (full 24 hours!) pedal-assist models are amazing. We did 19 miles on crazy hills all over the city. Fly around the city all day without breaking a sweat while mere mortals on regular bikes gawk at your perceived superpowers.
P.P.S As true novices, we had a rental car the entire time. I think I would do it the same way again. Parking downtown takes a little effort, but I didn't regret having a car. Even though we thought about taking advantage of public transportation, I personally don't have the patience for figuring it all out. We were there the week AFTER July 4th so I think the city was a little less busy traffic-wise than normal.