hotel review: crowne plaza palo alto

(Palo Alto).   We spent Thanksgiving this year with family in Palo Alto and stayed at the Crowne Plaza Palo Alto, mainly due to its location near our relatives' homes.  We weren't really planning on visiting any tourist attractions - to be honest, I'm not sure if there are any - and we weren't there for business - although I imagine with the booming economy in the Silicon Valley, there is probably a great need for business hotels in the area.


We simply needed a quiet and comfortable place to sleep and a strong WiFi connection since I had to do some work remotely.  And for those basic needs, the hotel did deliver.  The bed was acceptable and the WiFi worked well.

Other than that however, the hotel was pretty unremarkable.  There was a weird musty smell in our room when we first arrived, but we were able to air it out.  Bathroom was pretty standard but the red wallpaper was a bit off-putting.

There did seem to be a bit of identity crisis since the hotel wanted to be - all at once - a beach resort, a business hotel, and a hip boutique hotel - all without particular success.

As a "beach resort" - there were a lot of tropical room names and tropical themed decor, but let's be serious.  It's in Palo Alto - which is not at all reminiscent of the Greek islands or the Caribbean or whatever they were trying to conjure.  

As a business hotel - it's passable, except there are no room safes.  I simply do not understand why any hotel (especially a business hotel) does not have safes in this day and age.  (I'm especially irked  by this, because my company policy is if I can't lock up my computer in a safe when I'm traveling, I have to carry it with me at all times.)

Then they threw in some bold colored furniture in the lobby and bar area to be 'cool'.

All that being said, the service was efficient.  The breakfast for room service was good and delivered promptly.  There was a little coffee machine in the room, which I appreciate.  Generally, the hotel met our particular needs for this trip, but I don't think I can really recommend it since nothing about it really stood out in my mind.  In fact, the entire time, I thought we were staying at a Marriott Courtyard until I sat down to write this blog.