yvr76

Have a stay upcoming at this property. Does anyone know if it participates in the green program?

Also, if the GM is still monitoring this thread, I noticed that the 4P San Jose has opted to exclude itself from the upcoming Better by the Night Promo. I'm part of a larger group that will be staying in the area regularly this quarter and come October we will likely opt elsewhere due to this.

4pbssjdt

Hi:

We are not currently participating in the green program; however, we will by the end of the year.

As to the promo, we passed mainly due to timing issues; our occupancy over the selected dates was already strong. (It is intended to help over weaker dates).

Hope that clarifies; drop me a PM before you arrive and we'll see that you're comfortable!

Thanks

Randy Zimmerman
General Manager

yvr76

Just completed a 3 night stay here. Definitely one of the nicest Four Points I've ever been to. Stayed in a Deluxe King which was nice and spacious.

Couple suggestions for the GM since he monitors this thread:

1) Create room rates that have parking included. Even if the rates are $20 more per night, it would at least give us a chance to get Starpoints for parking.

2) The Platinum breakfast option is very inflexible. You get juice, coffee, fruit, a muffin and a croissant (no yogurt even though the cards state it should be included). Most properties let you upgrade or substitute, but not here. Frustrating if you're on some longer stays.
Offer the juice/coffee, and either the fruit/muffin/croissant or a $7 credit (the price of oatmeal) to something else from the a la carte menu.

4pbssjdt

Hi: sorry for the delay in responding, have been out on vacation.

1) One way or another we will get this done. We currently do have a package with parking available, but it's for 3+ nights so we're trying to amend it down to one night. To my knowledge, SPG points do apply to parking, but that's yet to be verified. If not, then at least the package can take care of it.

2) The b'fast most definitely should have included yogurt, as it specifies on the card. I've addressed this with the F&B team so they won't make the same error again. We've tried to keep this benefit exactly to Starwood SOP/spec, (which allows for no substitutions), so pls. forgive our inflexibility here.

Thanks for the feedback!

- Randy Zimmerman, General Manager
Four Points by Sheraton San Jose Downtown

4pbssjdt

Hi:

The parking package has been updated, and reflects the cost of the parking ($20/night) into the room rate.

This rate is available when a "best available" rate is being sold (which is pretty much all the time), the only caveat being when we are selling "Rack rates" only. It applies to any number of nights, from 1 - 30.

Thanks for the idea, hope this helps.

- Randy Zimmerman, General Manager
Four Points by Sheraton San Jose Downtown

magendim

I usually stay here on an extended stay for the local film festival and was back again for it earlier this month. I contacted Randy ahead of time and although they were completely booked the first two nights, he put us in a fairly large king room and then blocked out a corner suite for the remainder of our stay. The first two nights included breakfast which is a $15 credit at the restaurant. Worked fine and was able to have a nice full breakfast for that amount.

The rooms are typical 4P but the beds are very comfortable and there is a coffee maker + small fridge as well. As far as the $23 parking fee, you can't stay anywhere downtown San Jose w/o paying for parking (most of the hotels like the Fairmont charge even more). There's a couple of lots in the area you could find a little cheaper parking but it wasn't worth the hassle. Will stay here again.... Thanks Randy!

James52msu

I've stayed here ~25 times in the last year or so, and it's certainly the best Four Points that I've stayed at. The hotel is sometimes a bit loud depending on where your room is, but since there's not a whole lot going on in San Jose during the week, it usually quiets down pretty quickly. Note that the parking is now $23/night (+ tax), and that they've (very) recently started participating in the Make a Green Choice program. Overall, I don't mind staying here at all, and it's nice to have a Starwood option. The Marriott San Jose is a bit better, but not by a whole lot.

skylane

The Bally's across the way from the hotel is nice and free if you present your room key and associated card. However, the gym requests that they keep your hotel key and have you write down your room number!! That's just a recipe for theft.

4pbssjdt

Thanks for letting us know; I certainly share your concern.

Met with Bally management today to discuss; this seems to be an isolated case, as they do not (nor have they - officially - in the past) require any additional verification aside from the hotel-issued card (the paper "Bally pass", not your room key).

There was some speculation that the room key may have been asked for, as a means to ensure return of their towels, and/or confusion with a similar program/requirement for Fairmont Hotel guests (who have similar club use privileges).

In any case, your concern is absolutely valid; that said, Bally does not require that you surrender your room key under any circumstances. If it happens again, please contact me directly ASAP.

Thanks

Randy Zimmerman, General Manager
Four Points by Sheraton San Jose Downtown
408-282-8810
[email protected]

bumblebee986

Hi there -

Longtime lurker, first time poster here. Quick question since I see that the GM checks these posts. Was wondering if the hotel typically upgrades Plats?

4pbssjdt

Hi, thanks for the post!

Yes, absolutely we do upgrade Platinums. That said.... roughly 80% of our peak occupancy are SPG members (vs. a national average of 40%), and of that, roughly half of those are Platinums.

Numerically speaking, we have 9 suites in the upgrade program, and roughly half of those are sold in advance. That leaves about 4-5 per day we can use as upgrades (and roughly 35 Platinums vying for them). Plus...we hold a couple of them for sale through the day, only releasing them late at night when we're convinced they aren't going to be sold. Since we sell out 5 or 6 nights per week, they end up usually being sold later in the day.

So the "aircraft equivalent" is an elite heavy, popular route....your chances, no matter your status, are slim, unless you buy the upgrade in advance.

To offset that, we've taken the (unusual) step of designating every single room in the hotel as "SPG", as opposed to just a certain percentage. Further, our Platinum guests receive a property-issued drink/breakfast item voucher (over and above the Starwood mandated perks). Not to mention the Bally program (discussed in earlier posts).

I wish we had more of an inventory with which to work....that said, we're certainly appreciative of the fact we're so popular, esp. with the top level SPG elites!

- Randy Zimmerman, General Manager
Four Points by Sheraton San Jose Downtown

gabo02

Completed a one night stay this past SAturday. I've stayed here several times. Never had a problem. Some how got stuck in front on the elevator, I know the hotel was over sold. But oh well. Only thing I found annoying was the self parking. There was times that there was no parking space for guests. Even though we had paid for overnight parking. We were sent to a nearby lot. When I checked out we walked to the lot and it is closed on Sundays. I really didnt have time to wait for my car to be let out so just took a taxi to the airport. Would I come back to this hotel, YES. I think the people here are great.

chimark

Just completed three nights here. Good service, nice rooms. The hotel was sold out when I initially booked, so I had to book three different reservations as rooms opened up. Contacted Randy, who had me blocked into the same room for the entire stay witching a couple of hours of emailing. Had breakfast downstairs the first morning with a vendor and was surprised at how reasonable the prices were (by hotel standards)

obnoxoid

Stayed here a long while back, but I had a very positive stay and am just now finding the time to write about it.

Quite possibly one of the best Four Points in the country. Booked the parking package, which worked well, and was in contact with Randy about some special requests, which were all fulfilled. Staff was impeccable, and all around were very nice. Beds were comfortable and everything worked well in our room. Also, the location worked great for me--SJC is one of my old stomping grounds, and easy access to some of my favorite taquerias was a great selling point. Parking was very simple as well.

As we were leaving the hotel, we noticed someone being very belligerent and yelling at a staff member. This person even threatened legal action for some reason. This staff member dealt with the situation gracefully and really only improved my opinion of the hotel.

I'd stay here again. In my opinion, this is a great operation.

LIH Prem

Based on all the positive reviews here I'm going to try this property. I hope I find one I like in the area. The Sheraton "San Jose" isn't really doing it for me.

-David