I've been here for 7 days (July 16, 2004). I tagged along with my husband while he was here on business so I could get some R&R during the day. The only plus for this hotel so far is the shower. The water pressure is great, so the spa shower head is great. Other notables: you get USA Today delivered to your door each day and you can pay $45 for 7 days of high speed internet service (otherwise it's $12/day). I used the internet each day to work remotely. We had a power outage for a few minutes and I almost lost my work. Oh, the towels are thick and absorbent. There is a coffee pot, blow dryer, iron, and ironing board in the room which we found useful. The positives stop here. The phones, which I utilize heavily, are awful. They are full of static and none of the shortcut buttons work on either of the 2 phones (1 at desk and other bedside). The volume is always too low and the number pad doesn't work well on either. Since the shortcut buttons don't work, I have to call the front desk to be connected to the voice mail. The TV color is awful (too much color). There are no buttons to control the TV settings. The volume fluctuates from station to station and between commercials - very frustrating. You have to jiggle the lamp to turn it on. You can tell that they have done some renovations, but they failed to include the electrical, audio, and video equipment.
The lobby is basic, but nice. The front desk staff is accommodating and were able to give basic information about the rail system. However, they could not recommend any particular restaurant in the city. If you stay in San Jose, please try Lou's Village. The food is excellent although the location doesn't seem too safe (San Jose looks like it is stuck in a 70's time warp, except for the silicon companies areas).
The restaurant, San Fresco, is light and has bright decor. The room furniture is updated, but the bathroom is another story. The tile is chipped and the toilet seat needs to be replaced. The toilet doesn't flush completely unless you hold down the lever. These are small things, but they become a big nuisance by day 3 of 7. The vanity is the smallest vanity I have ever seen in a hotel. There is literally no room to put anything on it. The coffee pot takes up one side! The bed linen is below par (a little scratchy). The pillows are tiny and lumpy.
The location is not convenient to restaurants if you want to walk. There is a chinese restaurant and a japanese restaurant across the street. The chinese restaurant was just ok. The light rail system is across the street, but I didn't have the nerve to use it. It doesn't look extremely safe around here. A taxi to the mall or anywhere is $20. Also, there is no drug store or shopping center close by if you need extras.
They have a small workout facility overlooking the pool. The treadmill needs the belt replaced badly, but it works. Today, the A/C was out, so it was a little warm while walking the treadmill.
I didn't get in the pool but it looked clean. The weather here has been perfect each day.
I ate at the hotel's San Fresco restaurant 2 days for lunch. The salmon sandwich with the fresh fruit was good. The fresh fruit, especially the pineapple was excellent. I had the same waiter both days and he was very accommodating. Today, I missed the lunch hour and had to order from the bar. BIG MISTAKE. The bartender was rude when I asked him to use something other than his hands to handle the lemons that I requested (and this was after a generous tip for nothing). He had just handled money and I told him that it was not sanitary or safe to handle food with his hands while handling money. That was the last straw. I can't wait til morning to leave. We drive to San Francisco tomorrow. I hope the Pan Pacific Hotel in Union Square is a much better experience!
hotel reviews