Hampton Inn & Suites Fresno {US-CA}
 

The Fresno Hampton Inn and Suites is now open.

A brief quote from today's Fresno newspaper:
"The newest Hampton Inn Suites has opened at 327 E. Fir Ave., near Freeway 41 and Herndon Avenue in northeast Fresno.

The 85-room, four-story inn, which caters to business types, has enjoyed a good reception and has been nearly sold out, officials say.

Hampton Inn Suites is part of the Hilton chain, but the Fresno location is owned by Nick and Dilip Dahya, who also own hotels in other parts of the state."

Property details at:
http://www.hamptoninn.com/en/hp/hote...tyhocn=FATCAHX

Excellent. Now I can stop staying in Bakersfield, when I really need to be in Fresno! That morning commute was a little long........

Thanks! Excellent news.

A little long??? I sure take my hat off to you for staying loyal to the Hilton brand. I don't think I would be driving back and forth just for that.

I do look forward to staying there. It was a long time since we had a choice in the FAT area.

Good news for the day.

My trips to Fresno are usually for one working day. I'll leave LA in late afternoon, stop in Bakersfield at the Doubletree or HGI, then drive to FAT at 7:00am. When I'm done in late afternoon in Fresno, I'll just drive home (about 230 miles).

One thing about staying in Bakersfield, one can have dinner at Benjie's Basque Restaurant, just west of the Hilton complex (under a half mile). Six course old-country style meal for $17-23!

I may be a Hilton loyalist, but I haven't completely lost my mind :D .

Exactly! I mean, wouldn't you also think Visalia or Tulare would have at least one Hilton-brand property? It astounds me.

Ah, yes. How many towns let you indulge your preference for Basque food whether French, Italian or Spanish?

I agree that Benji's -- the French variety -- is excellent. You might also venture downtown sometime and sample Woolgrower's (Spanish). But I guess you'll be staying in Fresno from now on, so never mind. :o)

Give it a little more time. Visalia just hit 100,000 people. That population level seems to be attracting more interest from number crunchers in a variety of industries like retail, food, and lodging. Since they already have Holiday Inn, Radisson, a fairly new Marriotts Fairfield Inn, BW, and others, a Hilton brand can't be far behind.

The National Park Service is currently in the process of setting up a shuttle bus service from Visalia to Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP, possibly as early as late in 2005. The thought is to reduce auto traffic in the National Parks by using Visalia as the base for tourists visiting the parks. That may be the final move that gets the attention of someone to add a Hilton brand to that area.

Don't forget that Fresni itself has Basque restraurants.

In my youth, we would either go to the hotel in Chiantown (at Mariposa and F Strets, IIRC) or the Hotel Yturri (next to the Basque bread bakery) on P street IIRC, or to the Santa Fe Hotel, across from the Amtrak station. It was an experience to be there when the Basque boarders came in for their communal meal.

I know that the Santa Fe has moved to Shields ann Maroa (in the old Casa Canales site):

http://www.santafebasque.com


I'm not sure if the others are still there.

BTW, the plan to stay in Bakersfield and then drive up Highway 99 in the early morning does go out the window on foggy days :(

Thanks for the restaurant tips. I must admit to not knowing Fresno too well.

Yes, you are wise to avoid the Tule fog that settles in north of Bakersfield. It can feel like hitting a solid wall. Too many traffic deaths due to that vile stuff.

It is the housing industry that is fueling the growth in their other business sectors. Visalia constructed 1,800 new single-family homes in 2004 alone. That's exactly the level of Bakersfield's growth in the year 2000.

Also, now that national builders like Centex and D.R. Horton have set up shop there, Visalia's days as a sleepy little burg are over.

The Santa Fe's old location across from Amtrak is now occupied by another Basque place, Shepherd's Inn. Across the street, the city bought has restored the 100 year old original station building (not the old baggage building that Amtrak has used for years). The main floor will return to its old look and use as a train waiting area. The upper floor will be leased for offices. Should make the area nicer for visits to the restaurant also.

The Old Basque Hotel restaurant on F Street in Chinatown is still there. Chinatown is beginning redevelopment by a major developer with new shops and housing so I don't know what will happen to the hotel and restaurant.

Unfortunately, Yturri is closed. Used to be one of the best places.

Yep, know several people negotiating land deals on vacant farmland there right now. Also know a couple of commercial developers and construction company managers. The boom has driven per acre prices to levels many of them thought they would never live to see.

I've no idea where Fresno's Chinatown is located. Is it adjacent to downtown proper, the government center, or...?

Chinatown was/is on the other side of the Southern Pacific tracks. If you stood at the corner of Tulare and H (Greyhound station and the new baseball stadium) then walked over the tracks, you'd be there.

A (very general) boundary would be the rectangle formed by Frersno Street, Freeway 99, Inyo Street and G Street. Despite its name, Chinatown also had Japanese places (like the Aki Department Store at Kern and G Streets) and several Mexican places, such as the Mexico Cafe on E Street and F Street's Azteca Theatre, a movie theatre where my father took my siblings and myself in a (vain) attempt to have us absorb Spanish. My father was a cook, and he knew most of the restaurant/coffee shop employees in the area - when I about 5 years old I would often tag along as he visited his friends in these places on his day off.

There was (is) also a big Buddhist temple at Kern and E, next to the Danish Creramery dairy.