See and Be Seen
Written: Aug 11 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Posh, plush, blinging, not too expensive, great location, great environment
Cons: Rooms a tad small, but adequate
The Bottom Line: Bring your ferarri, or don't...it doesn't matter, you'll have fun.
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| titaniumtommy's Full Review: Hotel Valencia Santana Row |
This hotel is quite an interesting by product of mass engineered cool. What once was a Chevy dealer, now sits one of the slickest shopping/dining/living spaces in the entire Silicon Valley. The Hotel Valencia is a great place to stay to soak it all in. Here's why:
1. Location. Right off the 280 and 880 freeways. You can get to just about anywhere quickly from here. It's dead smack in the middle of Santana Row which has a nice movie theater that shows indie flick (mainstream blockbusters are shown across the street at the old Century domes), all kinds of eateries, and of course tons of high end shops. I haven't purchased much here, but it's fun to window shop. It also has a Border's book store which is a nice place to hangout and catch up on reading (just be sure to get there early if you want to actually find a seat to sit and read for a while). Santana Row seems to be abuzz with activity through the wee hours of the morning on most weekend nights, while week nights see night life taper off to a manageable level around 11pm. You can also checkout the Winchester mystery house since it's right across the street, but I wouldn't make it a point to go...it's pricey and really not worth the entry fee. Also, across the street is the Valley Fair mall. It's your usual mall, but is nice because of the Nordstroms, Apple Store, California Pizza Kitchen, and decent food court.
2. Great, but smallish rooms. The rooms are well designed and modern looking. They have really nice furniture and fixtures. The beds and sheets are very nice too. Aveda soaps, hair stuff, and lotion.
3. Lobby. Nice alcoves to just sit and talk. Has a happening bar that gets very crowded with locals on the weekends.
4. Rooftop wine bar. It's great for the fourth of July or just hanging out and watching the sunset over the Santa Cruz mountains.
5. Club One. A truly awesome gym. Every machine has a flat TV with private remote control and earphone jack. Very luxurious and very well kept.
6. Farmer's market on Sundays. They've finally figured out that no one wants to get up at 7am on Sunday to go to the market and made the hours reasonable (10am-3pm). But get there right around open so your fruits and veggies are fresh and won't have the unpleasantness of roasting in the sun for half a day before you buy them.
7. Price. Not too bad. we paid $129/night. They usually have decent packages on their website
I can't really say there are many downsides to the Valencia. My folks have stayed there once and I'm a frequent visitor to the hotel and Santana Row as I live a few blocks away. Aside from the throngs of people on the weekends, it's a really nice place. And the throngs aren't so bad and are easily avoided in the quite nooks of the row.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
titaniumtommy
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Reviews written: 27
Trusted by: 1 member
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