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6.13.2012

Getaway For a Day

I travel a lot. I live out of hotels for anywhere between 150 - 350 days a year, mostly for work. I would like to say that all hotels are equal, but that is definitely not the case. Some of them are nice; some of them are not so nice. I am a bit spoiled; I admit it. It's amazing how you tend to start choosing hotels based on the bed, the breakfast buffet, the soap, the front desk staff...the list goes on. Here is my usual criteria. 

1) Location: Is it good? Can you walk around easily? Is there a good place for dinner nearby? 2) Staff: First impressions are everything. When I walk up to the check-in desk, I judge the staff right away based on how the front desk person acts. 3) Room: Is the bed comfortable? Is the room bright enough? Are the sheets soft (this is the one that really makes me keep coming back.)? Is there enough room for two people or do you feel like two sardines in the room? How's the view?  4) Amenities: This includes pool, gym, free breakfast, happy hour, welcome gift etc. 5) The Hotel: Is there a hang out area in the main lobby? How are the bars and restaurants?

Mr. Lovely and I took a trip to San Jose last weekend to stay at the Hotel Valencia Santana Row. The Hotel, as the name states, is located on Santana Row, which is home to more than 100 restaurants (like LB Steak and Maggiano's Little Italy) and stores (such as Anthropologie and Lululemon Athletica). I had never been to Santana Row before; in fact I have only been to San Jose a couple of times and Mr. Lovely has never been, so it was a fun way for both of us to explore a new area.

We arrived in the afternoon and checked in. The front desk staff was very nice. Our room was very large and had a really nice balcony with a view of Santana Row. You know me, the first thing I went and checked out was the pool and the gym! I knew I was going to have an indulgent night and wanted to get my run in early. The gym was fantastic. It had french doors that you could open up to a balcony, so you could see the view while you were running. It also had 4 treadmills and a few elliptical, as well as weights, exercise balls and other assorted items. There were towels and cold water and oranges for after. 

Our room (source)

After I finished my run, we started off our stay by relaxing and having a couple of glasses of wine, which was our welcome gift from the hotel. After that, we wandered around the Row, which was quite busy. It seems to be the place to be, to see and to been seen on a Friday night! 

For dinner, we walked to the nearby White Shallot, which is a French Vietnamese restaurant. Everything was delicious, but the best thing was the dessert! We had a the Cafe Gormand, which was a trio of desserts, featuring chocolate cake, an almond tart, and a vanilla bean panna cotta. I am a sucker for a good panna cotta, and this one was no disappointment! We also had the tofu custard with coconut creme, which I loved but Mr. Lovely was so-so about. I think if he wouldn't have known about the tofu, he may have liked it more. 

We went back to the hotel and went to sleep on the (very comfortable with the softest sheets EVER) king sized bed (heaven). The next morning we had a complimentary continental breakfast at Citrus, one of the the hotel's restaurants. Sometimes when you get a  continental breakfast, it is just some bread and jam and coffee, but this was a great spread. There were pancakes, oatmeal, omelets, tons of pastries and fresh fruit and a cured meat plate with tons of meats and cheeses! I have to admit, I only tried the fruit and an omelet, but thanks to Mr. Lovely, we tried one of everything and the verdict was that everything was great! 

After breakfast, we wandered around the shared spaces of the hotel. The main level had a great outdoor sitting area with fountains. The pool and hot tub were up on the 5th floor and had a great view. After finishing our self tour, we settled down in our room to watch the Euro cup before heading home. This rounded out our stay nicely (except that Portugal lost). My only regret was that we didn't have more time. We could have easily stayed longer! 

The outdoor courtyard (source)
  
Do you ever take a day to get away from home, even if the getaway is close to home? What criteria do you look for in a hotel? 

*Disclaimer: I received this room for free in return for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

18 comments:

  1. I never take a day but I should. Your getaway sounds heavenly. Location and amenities are the first to check out when looking for a hotel.

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  2. Wow, that looks like a beautiful hotel! What a fun little getaway for you guys! I am not very good about taking little trips away in my area, I mostly save my money for big trips!

    When it comes to hotels, I am all about the location! Besides that, I am not too picky. I do stay at nicer properties when I travel for work as our hotel options are fairly generous - like I stayed at a 4 Seasons in Austin and a Fairmount in Dallas. But if I am footing the bill, I go for the cheaper option that is in a good location!

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  3. This looks like a beautiful hotel! We don't do many "staycations" although I would LOVE to! For our anniversary we did stay the night in Providence in a great hotel! Before kids we stayed at least once a year in Boston for the night. We usually look for a nice comfy room in a great location. I love the amenities and we do look for a good gym. A lot of times in Boston the hotel is affiliated with a big gym.

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  4. Looks like a nice hotel! I tend to avoid hotels at all costs. I just don't like staying in them and am not the best traveler! :)

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  5. Sometimes we will get a hotel room in Chapel Hill or someplace nearby and quaint if we find a good groupon for it. How fun!

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  6. Sometimes we'll go away for a day or two just a couple of hours from our home. It's always nice for a little R&R. I've had a couple of disappointments at hotels. Twice I've stayed somewhere where the air conditioning was not working well. Now those were miserable and hot nights. I love when the continental breakfast is more than just toast and coffee. It's not a requirement but I like to soak in the hot tub after dinner and I enjoy a decent fitness room if I'm staying for a long period of time.

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  7. Fun! I have done this before and it is a fun getaway without having to travel:)

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  8. Beautiful hotel!! I want to live there.
    I love Santana Row. My husband & I were there last Saturday. We had lunch at the Left Bank Brasserie which was amazing.

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  9. I never get away for a day, but that's probably because in the Midwest, I'd either end up in a cornfield or Detroit, the only things within a day's drive. hahaha. Your day in San Jose sounds lovely!

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  10. That's a great idea to get away without going far. I'm stuck on your dessert... sounds amazing!

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  11. Beautiful. Makes me totally jealous. While we travel a few times a year, our travels remain rare enough that hotels are still a big deal for us.

    Price is always our main concern followed closely by breakfast buffett (for me), high speed internet (for MacGyver), and a pool (for the kids).

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  13. What a great getaway. That hotel looks gorgeous. We used to do short getaways before kids... someday it'll happen again ;-)

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  14. Unfortunately, the only criteria I can realistically have for hotels these days is that they are cheap. When I am back home and employed however, the criteria changes immensely. Pretty much the same as yours. I am a sucker for soft, clean sheets and a big comfy bed though, and will pay whatever it takes to get them. This hotel you stayed at looks incredible!

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  15. I usually only stay at nice hotels when I'm traveling to conferences, and then I usually can only justify it to myself if I'm splitting the room cost with someone else.

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  16. When it comes to picking a hotel, i look for modern boutique hotels when possible - they normally are more personal, give you more free perks and are taken nice care of...location is very important too though!

    xoxo from Trinidad

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  17. I hate when fancy, expensive hotels still have something stupid wrong with them, like the shower door doesn't close properly so water gets all over the floor. In the same hotel, the furniture was so tightly packed into the sitting area that I couldn't roll my suitcase through to the bedroom area (and I had refused help with my luggage).

    Now that I'm a mom I would totally take more days off if I could! For my last birthday my husband's present was 24 hours in a nice hotel all by myself and I loved it. I used the treadmill, got a massage and a mani/pedi, ate sushi, ordered a single glass of wine from room service. And didn't have to worry about waking up during the night or early in the morning. Ahhhh.

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  18. This hotel sounds phenomenal!

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