Luxury Hotels - Staying 150 nights in Silicon Valley this year: How do I optimize hotel happiness?

I will be staying in Silicon Valley approximately 150 nights this year (4-5 nights per week between June 1 and Dec 30) and want to optimize my hotel happiness. I will be working in Sunnyvale.

I am looking at the Four Seasons, Garden Court, and Stanford Park. What I would like is either (1) a discount of at least 30% on a standard room or (2) a suite for the price of the standard room rate. I also would like free WiFi and parking.

Calls by my PA to the hotels have produced discounts up to 27% but no better.

Any thoughts on how to go about obtaining these discounts? Are they within reason? (I am also open to any other interesting ideas from members either on the thread or via PM.)

I stay at the Sofitel frequently. It's quite a lot a cheaper. I'm quite a stickler on staying in the best hotels, but I find the Sofitel quite nice. Only drawback is that it's a little further.

The best of the bunch IMO is the four Seasons. You will be competing with all high tech firms in the valley on the discount so what your PA has received sounds pretty good unless your co. Can do better overall with many visitors at high volume. I also like the Rosewood on Sand Hill Road. Garden court and Stanford court are not or me. Garden Court the best location for evening walks to Palo Alo restaurants, but tiny rooms and further from the freeway. I would do four seasons even though not as nice as some other four seasons. Rosewood for when you want a change and more removed from the hustle bustle but longer commute to Sunnyvale. FS will store clothes and such for you and have waiting in your room. There are quite a few who do this.
Garden court and Stanford park are 4 stars not luxury. Four seasons PA is not quite either but modern clean rooms with a good restaurant, good service, and easy freeway access to sunnyvale. They have a hotel car to take you into downtown palo alto for dinner. Then you don't have to deal with parking.

If you're really interested in saving money, rent a furnished apartment.

hotel valencia @ santana row.

If you're really interested in saving money, rent a furnished apartment.

^

I noticed that Dewey & LeBoeuf is one of the major tenants of the office park where the FS Palo Alto is located. I wonder if the demise of the law firm will have any impact on occupancy rates. My guess is it's pretty miniscule.

I haven't had a chance to stay at either the Rosewood Sand Hill or FS Palo Alto as I live in SF. However, I've had several meals at Madera and many meals at Quattro. The service at the FS, IMO, considerably better.

at rosewood could do 3rd nt free each time (or 3rd+6th?)
only really valuable upgrade would be suite to villa
interesting, i wonder how many and if theyre ever available >
http://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/sandhill/accommodations/villas_estate_home/

If you're really interested in saving money, rent a furnished apartment.

Agreed. For what you'd spend on a standard hotel room at ~30% off nightly rates, you could easily rent a fully furnished unit in a very high-end building.

Also, having lived for long periods of time in luxury hotels, any more than 30-40 days without a kitchen starts to get tedious, and any more than 15 days in a standard room makes you feel a little cramped. If you really enjoy hotel services, then the best of both worlds is to find your way into a suite with a kitchenette, but that's likely a waste of money given the plethora of luxury apartments you could find at that price point. The problem with your arrangement is that you're (presumably, based on reading your post) going to be leaving on weekends. That means the hotel is still going to clean your room, re-occupy it, then clean it again for you. It may actually be more cost effective to book a room through a consecutive time period. Don't quote me on California law, but you should also receive a tax abatement after 30 days in residence--providing a discount you otherwise wouldn't get. You'll have a good deal more bargaining power if you wanted to go this route, and the additional night charges would probably be offset by the tax discount, general ease of not having to pack up at all, and a real long-term discount.

Finally, re internet and parking--you can probably get internet free if you negotiate for it, but I'd be surprised if they offer anything less than 50% off parking. Perhaps there's an alternate lot nearby though.

Thanks all for your comments.

Re: Staying in an apartment. I did that for 4+ months last year and am loathe to repeat the experience. Heating was out for three days, no one (Verizon, Sprint, etc.) got a cell phone signal, gym closed at 10pm, they didn't take credit cards, etc. If you have experience with a specific apartment building near Sunnyvale, I would appreciate hearing it.

its too bad its not possible to do a month to month rental and then have hotel put back in inventory, like a condohotel owner

rosewood lists some dates as sold out, but if not occupying during those dates..

Rosewood Sand Hill without doubt. Normally hotels will do very good deals for someone staying that number of nights!

Ugggh. The question here is what options 'sucks the least'? You are clearly familiar with silicon valley as I am, so I'll just babble.

- FS EPA is the best overall hotel in silicon valley. The surrounding area is atrocious, so you are stuck on the weekends watching the hordes cart their new purchases thru the parking lot at IKEA. The restaurant, Quattro, continues its run as the worst restaurant I've ever been subjected to in the FS chain, although FS Seattle gives EPA some competition. I straighten my spine and grimace just thinking about having to eat at Quattro more than twice a week for 150 days. Bleeech! The menu is opaque to the point of being indecipherable and the food poor. BK is good. You choose the FS and you are going to have to force the kitchen to cook something off menu for your entire stay. Driving into downtown Palo Alto would be OK if it wasn't so difficult to park.

- I've fired the Rosewood Sand Hill after **profound** unrecoverable errors during my last visit a few weeks ago. The Rosewood has turned into some sort of trendy-meeting-place-cougar-partytown-scene for all of silicon valley, and the place is so crowded that it is simply impossible for the staff to provide ANYTHING resembling decent service. This might be OK if the party people were young, but they're not. On Thursday of my last stay, the wait for the restaurant was running 2+ hours, and the bar was packed due to the party crowd. I had to park two complexes over and walk to get back to my room. I learned a new phrase from my last visit here. The correct term for 'None existent service' or 'service that sucks' is 'compression'. Not gonna go back to the Rosewood until I get some sort of guarantee from the GM that I CAN EAT at the resort. I couldn't for the last two days of my last stay and I checked out of the place mad and hungry. This really shouldn't be an issue at a 5* place, but it is at RW SH.

- Don't know what the other options would be. I'd do the apartment thing in the Stanford area, but you've indicated you did that last time. Why was that so bad?

PS -- I have no idea where you would park at the Garden Court. For an extended stay, I cannot imagine using the valet.
PPS -- Rosewood is a LONG drive from Sunnyvale. Trust me on that ... And they LIKE giving speeding tickets on 280.

If OP isn't familiar with the area, it could be wise to experiment a bit initially with different hotels in different locations so as to experience driving and traffic conditions and idiosyncrasies of the hotels themselves. Personally, I think Palo Alto Village is fun, but five months of that congestion could become frustrating. Does OP plan to eat in real restaurants almost every night or does his/her worksite have some sort of employee dining facility that is open in the early evening? Proximity to either quick and casual acceptable restaurants, takeout places, or grocery stores with good selections of prepared foods could be a major convenience.

If OP participates in hotel programs, he/she should be certain to clarify the points/nights/stays credit situation of any negotiated room rates.

A not as luxurious but perhaps more comfortable choice would be to consider upper end extended stay properties. Also, some areas have very upscale fully furnished serviced apartments available that provide good amenities and concierge/doorman services. For example, in some localities, Marriott Executive Stay Apartments have choices in top rental and condo buildings, but dedicated serviced apartment buildings might provide services that are closer to luxury hotels.

I've rented a luxury loft at Santana Row for a few months in 2010 and it sure beat staying in any hotel. Averaged out to be $100/night for a 1000sqft loft that was a media lover's dream. 4 flatscreens, huge projector, turntables, the works. Made a few friends too who happened to play for the San Francisco 49ers.

To counter the Santana Row comments a bit, as a local, I note that there is often significant traffic congestion in and around the area. Parking can also require a lot of circling in huge parking structures. I haven't checked out rooms at the hotel there but looked at the lobby and environment and it is definitely not a luxury hotel.

I think you will likely only get a speeding ticket on I280 for going over 75, but there are often times when that is very tempting to do.

Don't know anything about the Rosewood other than the locally famous cougar hangout reputation. Have been to several meals at the FS East Palo Alto and looked at rooms. If that is the best service in Silicon Valley, it is a bit scary. However, there is always ample parking. Virtually your only meal option without driving is the hotel itself. There appears to be only one casual food place left in the complex, open only at weekday lunchtime and maybe morning.

I've rented a luxury loft at Santana Row for a few months in 2010 and it sure beat staying in any hotel. Averaged out to be $100/night for a 1000sqft loft that was a media lover's dream. 4 flatscreens, huge projector, turntables, the works. Made a few friends too who happened to play for the San Francisco 49ers.

so rental from owner - which building? i see 3 units on homeaway/vrbo
villas - 21 units
de forest - 98 units
margo - 100 units

http://www.santanarow.com/living/
$2210 > $5655 - santana heights & serrano - 295 units - pool (townhomes from $3990 have garage)
$2135 > $7000 - levare - 108 units - no access to pool?
not sure where underground residential parking is
http://www.federalrealty.com/media/leasing_kit_documents/FRS-1204_SR_Leasing_Bi-Fold_2012_02ipad1.pdf
http://www.hotelvalencia-santanarow.com/

http://www.360residences.com/
built as condo at 360 South Market Street, San Jose
$1930 > $11015 - 213 units - pool

Thanks all for your comments.

Re: Staying in an apartment. I did that for 4+ months last year and am loathe to repeat the experience. Heating was out for three days, no one (Verizon, Sprint, etc.) got a cell phone signal, gym closed at 10pm, they didn't take credit cards, etc. If you have experience with a specific apartment building near Sunnyvale, I would appreciate hearing it.

We don't usually worry about heat in California. A/C maybe, but heat, not so much. Silicon Valley is pretty wired - there aren't very many dead zones around here.

Credit cards? ok that's an issue.

To counter the Santana Row comments a bit, as a local, I note that there is often significant traffic congestion in and around the area. Parking can also require a lot of circling in huge parking structures. I haven't checked out rooms at the hotel there but looked at the lobby and environment and it is definitely not a luxury hotel.

I think you will likely only get a speeding ticket on I280 for going over 75, but there are often times when that is very tempting to do.

Don't know anything about the Rosewood other than the locally famous cougar hangout reputation. Have been to several meals at the FS East Palo Alto and looked at rooms. If that is the best service in Silicon Valley, it is a bit scary. However, there is always ample parking. Virtually your only meal option without driving is the hotel itself. There appears to be only one casual food place left in the complex, open only at weekday lunchtime and maybe morning.

Thursday night is the serious cougar night at the Rosewood. If you're a guy looking for action, wear a suit and talk loud about the private equity funding you just completed. Instant nooky.

If you are working in Sunnyvale, it would be a terrible commute to the Rosewood. You'd have to go south 85 then north 280 or you would go north 101 and a long drive across Sand Hill. Not really the easiest commute. Four Seasons is right off the 101 and is an easier drive.

If you are staying at Santana Row, there is designated parking for residents and hotel valet parking. Parking is not an issue for residents/hotel guests.