Stanford Park Hotel

Well I dont know. I came down here for one night and had to pay $ 600 for a typical room. The room was not ready when they said it would be ready. There were people outside in the courtyard making noise and I couldn’t sleep. And generally speaking hotel is just average. It’s in a great location, but I’m sure you could save hundreds of dollars per night. Also there’s a train that goes by the hotel every hour or two that will also keep you awake.

Had a very pleasant stay at the Stanford Park Hotel. There was some big event at the University the weekend we were there and they handled the spike in visitors very well — never seemed understaffed or anything.
The hotel has a beautiful, regal lobby and an awesome courtyard. The décor is nice — has an academic feel to it (lots of bookshelves) and big comfy furniture everywhere. The rooms are big and cozy.
Wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again.

It’s been a long time since I last updated a Unilocal review of mine, but I’ll revisit my recent Stanford Park Hotel review and raise the star level to four. After our dissatisfaction with the hotel became known, we received a most gracious communication from Mr. James Minch, the hotel’s director of food and beverage, who expressed chagrin at the way our food order had been handled and promised to make amends. The message sounded sincere, to the extent that I feel confident the hotel truly wants to please its patrons and will do what it can to achieve that goal.

Fancy smancy hotel!
Hotel toiletries are so fragrant and great quality!
Pillows are amazingly soft!
Booked a regular King deluxe room and was upgraded to a courtyard room with double queens! The room was big and comfy, sectioned bathrooms with two sinks. Daily free snacks!
Free wine tasting between 5−6pm by the lobby!
Reception stinks here, so get on their free WIFI! However, this should be a mini getaway, so detox from the web unless you gotta hustle.

My friends were in the hotel lounge about a week ago and waited forever to be served despite several waiters standing near the bar. They finally had to ask to be waited on and were greeted by a very rude man. My friends are very attractive and well dressed and one is a gay man. The waiter was very rude to him and actually imitated my friend responding to him in a very feminine and rude voice. They were shocked and left immediately stating they had changed their minds. I used to go to this hotel and lounge and my family stayed at the hotel many times over the years with several meals there but hearing this I will never go back. The hotel needs to focus on training their staff so there is not the perception or the actual behavior of gender bias. This is a terrible way to be treated in a city like Palo Alto or anywhere!!!

Very decent hotel, beautiful grounds. Rooms are clean and pretty up to date. Pillows were very comfy but beds too soft for our liking, woke up with sore backs! I like that they have two sinks (one in toilet/​shower room and one in between) makes getting ready with husband in the morning much more efficient. Gym looked decent (didn’t use it of course) and pool was peaceful. Did the trick for our quick short get away from home and close to downtown PA!

Gorgeous place for a Stanford grad party. The hosts called last minute and were able to rent out a fire pit. Can’t tell you much about the food, but the atmosphere was elegant and classy and the service was very good.

A great place to «hang your hat» when you are visiting the Menlo Park/​Palo Alto area.
Beautiful hotel with extremely nice accommodations. Nice firepit area outside with great areas to relax.

I’ve come here a couple times with family for Easter or Mother’s Day. Nice relaxing place. Good food and great location. Nice to go here then go shopping at the mall down the street. Good beverage selection too!

This would be a great hotel, if only they had power the entire time, and better service. I feel like for the prices the hotel charges, they should have a backup generator that provides power in case of emergency.
Admittedly, I stayed at the hotel during one of the worst storms in recent years, but still, for 500 a night, the least I would expect is electricity throughout the entire stay.
The hotel amenities are very nice, and the rooms and building is gorgeous. The hotel also has a very well kept and well equipped gym. I didn’t use the sauna or pool during my stay. While the amenities are nice, I wish the service was better so that guests could use them. For example, apparently each room contains a flashlight and an umbrella in the closet that guests can use. However, I didn’t actually find out about these until the last day of my stay when I finally saw the inside of the closet (the first night I came in late and crashed. There was no electricity the second night). I feel like the front desk should have informed me of the umbrella when I checked in or the doorman when leaving the hotel the first day because of the storm.
Finally, the lack of electricity created a unique experience, to say the least, and further exaggerated how terrible the service at the hotel is, and how unprepared it was for a storm. When pulling my car up the second night, the hotel building and parking lot was completely dark. Not only did this make it difficult to park, it made it very difficult to find the hotel lobby from the parking lot because they only had a few emergency lights inside the hotel (and seemingly none outside). Once I finally found the lobby (completely drenched btw), I asked for an extra room key for my, ahem, guest. Lo and behold, they couldn’t make one because no electricity.
My guest and I then tried to find our way back to my room, and man was that quite an adventure. We walked around the first floor of the hotel looking for the elevator but couldn’t find it. We decided to take the stairs to our floor and try to find the room. We tried walking around the floor a few times for fifteen minutes and could not find it. Finally, my guest noticed a door that looked like it was for staff only, but we decided to open it anyways. Apparently, that door led to a long hallway that led to our rooms. The door was closed because it was held open magnetically, which wouldn’t work without the electricity. Finally, that hallway was completely dark and it was super scary walking through there. When we got to the room, we discovered that not a single light was working in the room, so we decided to pay the bar a visit.
Surprise surprise! The bar wasn’t serving drinks because they couldn’t accept payment, not even if we were going to pay in cash. The ambiance of the bar seemed nice though.
This hotel is apparently the best spot to bring a date in the area. First, you can take your date to the bar and enjoy the ambiance. You won’t even have to pay anything, and the lack of lighting will really help in case your date isn’t a killer in the looks department. Finally, you can take your date back to your room. Trying to get back will make it seem like you are going through a maze, and the lack of light will add a horror/​thriller element. You can even have one of your friends jump out and scare you as you round a corner, so that your date will jump right into your arms! There’s something there for everybody!
I feel like if the hotel staff knew that some hallway doors were closed and hallway lights off, they should have offered to at least help you find your room when you enter the hotel (and tell you about the available flashlight). They should have also not closed the bar. Overall, the staff should have handled the situation better.
Avoid this hotel at all costs and spend your hard earned money elsewhere.

Stayed here with a wedding party over the weekend and had a blast! While the hotel itself with a little old-​school, it was very classy and well kept. We were in the bridal suite which was huge and spacious and the wait staff was so incredible. We dined in the resturuant downstairs for lunch and it was delicious with a set menu and everything. We also rented out a fire pit in the back patio for the night before the wedding and got the whole family together outside which was very nice.
We also saw Jerry Rice which was a nice little added bonus. Overall, had a very good experience.

Great staff! Super friendly & accommodating! Menlo Grill restaurant is fairly priced & has great food. Wine Tasting is free from 5−6pm weekdays. Fresh baked cookies nightly from 9−10pm…yum!
Clean rooms. Great all around find! We’ll be back.

It’s ok.
Cons: no covered parking, dining and reception air circulation is smokey and greasy from the kitchen.
WIFI is slow.

Fabulous grounds in a nice and historic setting, but not sure that this really makes up for the plain rooms and an overall lack of attention to detail… at least not at this price. The location is great and convenient… I was visiting a client whose offices are on Sand Hill Road, and I probably would not have stayed here if they hadn’t booked it for me. It was pleasant enough, but like I said, if it were my money, I would not pay these high prices for what you get… my room was just unremarkable. One of the redeeming factors, on the other hand, is a pretty nice bar & grill with good food, that stays open late… that was a lifesaver upon my late arrival.

Not impressed with this hotel. The grounds are beautiful and the location is great It’s handy for a quick meet up in the bar. Lots of aging VC’s and discrete staff ;-) Any gal can find something there to float the boat! The beds are comfortable and I’m in love with the pillows! And that’s it for the pros. The rooms are otherwise, very ordinary.
We would have expected to pay for parking in the City b/​c of limited parking, but it was almost creepy how empty the parking lot was, and this is, after all (upscale) suburbia. I’d expect, if they really need to charge for parking, just build it into the price of the room and be done with it.
So, it’s all about location and lots of polished wood. Lot’s of «hardwood», but that’s in the bar. Honestly it was so mediocre. The Marriott would have been a better choice, and I think it may have cost a little less.
Linette

Comfortable hotel with great service and even better food. Beautiful courtyard area with firepits and lots of seating — great for spring cocktails. When we arrived the front desk apologized that they did not have a room with a great view for us (even though we hadn’t requested one) and upgraded us to a suite.

We were in a deluxe King, the room was very large — but some of the furniture was missing — recent upgrade and the new pieces had not yet arrived. They did offer to put a loveseat in the room, we didn’t need it so we declined. I always check in corners and under bed for dust bunnies, our room was very clean — no dust bunnies, no mold in the grout in the bathroom, two sinks in the bathroom, all the light bulbs worked and the best part of the room — the lamps on the nightstands had 2 power outlets. I was able to charge my phone and my kindle without hunting for plugins. The restaurant is tiny so expect to wait for a table. The food was excellent, so it was worth the wait. Location is perfect if you need to attend anything at Stanford University, or for great shopping at Stanford Mall.
I was not expecting to like this hotel as much as I did — but the service was great (Nick B. at the front desk was extra helpful), the food was wonderful, and the room was lovely. I don’t give kudos easily. But I did love this hotel, and plan to return on my next trip to the Bay area.

Terrible incompetent valet service. We stayed at this $ 600/​night hotel, and the doorman valet was incredibly rude. I’m 20 weeks pregnant an after checking out, the concierge did not offer any help after we checked out with our bags. I waited in front for my husband to get the car, and when he arrived I pulled my bag towards the trunk and the valet appeared to come to try to help. Then he said, «I’m not here to help you, I was going to the other car,» and I said ‘thanks do you know I’m pregnant?” And he said in a snippy way, «oh, congratulations,» then proceeded to go back to his station where there was no one needing help.
After this I was mad, I said, «you know you could have at least offered to help!» And he just smiled. When I said then, «you know this is incredibly rude, I’m going to write a review,» all he said was, «I’m sure you will.» Unbelievable!
I think this is insane. I have never had such horrible service at a 4 star hotel. This valet should be reported to the management. He was Caucasian, light brown hair with glasses. Maybe he was racist? I’m an Asian woman, I have never experienced this before anywhere in the Bay Area.
Save your money. This place is old and crumbling, the Garden Court in Palo Alto is MUCH more luxurious and clean, and people are much more attentive and courteous.

I didn’t stay overnight at this hotel, but I did see the rooms and spend 3 consecutive days here. My company held a convention on the premises and we were catered for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. I can speak on the exceptional service we received from all the staff members that I encountered. From the catering staff, door men, front desk, bartenders to even the janitors, they were all very accommodating and friendly.
The food: they have OUTSTANDING food! I’m usually pretty picky about food and I don’t expect much from a hotel since they are catering to a large crowd (hundreds of people), so I went into it thinking they would have mediocre food. Boy, was I wrong. Almost all the food I tried was delicious and cooked perfectly. Some of my favorites: steak, salmon, herb chicken, pasta, cheese platter (including Humboldt Fog, my fave!), and the bread pudding. Their bread pudding is worth mentioning because was the best I’ve ever had! I even took some back to my meeting room because I was too full from lunch and it was still delicious a few hours later.
The rooms have a very classic and homely feel to them. The décor resembles something you would find in London — gold hardware, old wood, stripes, deep fabrics. They were overall very clean and decently sized.
I’d definitely consider having another corporate event or reception here in the future.

I think one of the things I like most about the Stanford Park Hotel is the fact that it brings back fond memories of childhood. When I was young, we used to come up to Palo Alto to the Stanford Hospital for various reasons. Our pick for hotels was consistently and repeatedly SPH. I had fond memories of the Duck Restaurant (which has now changed and I can’t for the life of me remember the name).
I am the worst at describing decorations but here goes nothing. The SPH is more of an older classic feel to a hotel. If you’re looking for modern, this is not your place. I do guarantee that you will feel relaxed and comfortable just as you would any «modern» place around. It’s very homey and of course kept really clean. When you walk into the lobby, you’ll understand the environment they want you to experience.
They have free wifi and free parking overnight so you don’t have to worry about that. There’s a Safeway down the street. It’s next to Stacks for breakfast and just a stone’s throw away from the Stanford University campus. Another thing to note is that in the evening, they have warm chocolate chip cookies that they set out for the hotel guests. As a child, I used to take a handful (I had big hands) back to my room to enjoy. No, I didn’t share.
SPH is part of a group of hotels throughout California which all give you that same feel and look. I’ve stayed at the one at Bodega Bay which was equally comfortable and attractive!
The hotel rates can be pricey but if you shop online sometimes you’ll find a deal that beats anything they can give you on the phone and will beat any of the other Palo Alto hotels. If you never stayed here before, I suggest you give it a try!