A Business Traveller in San Jose, CA

This is the best hotel I've stayed at in San Jose. I've stayed all over San Jose, and I now only stay here.

PROS: Any room I've stayed in at this hotel has been immaculate, and very quiet. The continental breakfast is awesome, they go above and beyond what most hotels do. Sometimes they have breakfast burritos and bagel sandwiches wrapped and ready to go, which is especially nice for the business traveller on the run. They also offer complimentary snacks in the afternoon, adequate for some as dinner (I'm vegetarian, so I'm definitely not eating the hot dogs!). Also, it's right next to Starbucks, so you can go there in the AM - if you can handle the lines. Of course, there's also the obvious, the fact that it's a suites hotel, which is great, you'll have plenty of room to spread out, cook for yourself, they even offer a shopping service, or they'll take you to a nearby Safeway. I like the fact that they also have free high speed internet, and a free business center if you didn't bring your laptop.

CONS: For some strange reason I've noticed some hotels no longer give conditioner (they do give shampoo, though). This is one of them, so bring your own! The hotel staff wasn't too friendly to me until I had stayed there several times and they started to recognize me. Also, one time they even gave me incorrect directions (they told me to get on 880W, and it is a N/S freeway). Additionally, the hotel is in a business area, which is great if you're doing business nearby, not so great if you're a tourist visiting downtown. Although, you can't beat free parking (I've stayed downtown and paid $19 per night). The pool isn't really anything special, but I haven't really stayed anywhere in San Jose that does have a nice pool. Even the Hilton towers downtown SJ doesn't have a nice pool. By the way, if you are disputing between the Hilton downtown and the Homewood (also a Hilton property) I would highly recommend satying here.

I stayed here only because many times I tried to get into San Jose area this place was sold out. Honestly, I don't know why. I didn't really think it was all that! I stayed here for 4 nights. It was quiet and the bed was okay, sheets were kind of scratchy, and I was surprised that they didn't give any toiletries other than soap! The only reason I can see why people would like this place would be for the free food. I would go with the Homewood Suites (also reviewed) which is close by.

Steer clear of this place! I had expected to stay here for 5 days, but it was so bad I only ended up staying for 1 night! I am a Gold Hilton Honors member, and they gave me a really terrible room. The room was not clean, it was old and dingy, and they shut off the air-conditioning in the middle of the night. Then, when I called about this (at 2am) they acted like they didn't believe me, saying that no one else had complained, blah, blah, and we can change your room. Who wants to change rooms at 2am? I did end up changing rooms, only to have the same problem. They made something up about the A/C unit being out on my floor. I think they turned it off in the middle of the night to save money. After that experience, I will never go back there.

This place is also very expensive, they charge a lot of money for parking, and nothing is included in room. No Internet access, breakfast, nada! They claim to have a pool, but I'd call it more of a wading pool. I'd recommend any other place than here.

This is a San Jose landmark. Kind of far from downtown, but most definitely worth a trip! I have been to SJ many times and have only recently discovered this place and will now go there every time I go. I had the falafel sandwich and pita chips (which were amazing). I heard the person before me asking for extra hot sauce, so make sure you do that! It's spicy ketchup, but it makes everything that much better.

After you're done eating, you can head to nearby Westfield mall to walk off the calories, or hip Santana Row for drinks and atmosphere. Of course, both of these places also offer excellent shopping!

I would recommend this place to anyone, just for atmosphere alone. It's certainly not a fancy restaurant, but the food is great and an excellent value.

I am a vegetarian who loves spicy food. This is my favorite Indian restaurant of all time! The food there is so amazing. Since the food is Southern Indian, it is different from many of the Indian restaurants, since many in America are Northern Indian. They are known for their dosai. Dosai is this amazing cream of wheat style giant crepe thing with some kind of filling. I always get the Masala Dosai, because it's spicy and good, but I also have tried the one with green chiles, garlic, and onions which is excellent. Their chutneys are great, make sure to request them, because they don't always bring them out. Also, they have excellent samosas, perhaps the best samosas I've tried. I also have gotten the Thali there (which is a combination of basically many different things), but I wasn't as thrilled with it as just ordering the Dosai. The mango lassi is also very good to cool off the spice, but be careful because it's very filling! The owner is a very nice man and very helpful if you do not know what to order or are confused by the menu.

Since I work every day until 5, this is the only museum that is open past then! I think in the summer, that's not entirely true, because the Winchester House is open late, too, but that's a different kind of museum. Back to the topic, though, I very much enjoyed this museum. The interactive tours were great, and it was interesting to find out about all sorts of interesting high tech things, not just Intel chips! It's also great that this place is free, and when I went I got a nice little notepad from them for free, too.