I recently stayed in an amazing suite at the Holiday Inn Shanghai Pudong, I don’t think the room was quite representative of the general room, but one of my colleagues was in a normal room and said it was quite nice. I suspect that the hotel was built as either an Intercontinental or a Crown Plaza but someone decided there were already too many of each in Shanghai. Either that or Holiday Inn has gotten much nicer since I last stayed at one by the side of a highway. In either case I would certainly stay there again if I have to go back to Shanghai a city I could easily skip (expecially given the long flights involved).
The Hilton Santa Clara is a little disappointing. As one would expect from a name brand hotel the beds and fixtures are quite good, but the network connectivity is slow and the selection of on site restaurants a little limited. While all the food I have tried was quite good there were no simple options. I find that after a long day with customers or at a trade show (the Santa Clara Convention Center across the street being a prime draw for the hotel) all I want is something easy and uncomplicated. The simplest I could find was the pulled pork sandwich with seasoned fries on cibatta bread. The squid ink ravioli with some sort of complex sauce was probably second. No club sandwich in sight.
Also there is no lobby shop as such. There is an automated machine that takes credit cards an sells most of the stuff you expect (water, batteries, iPods, etc…) but its not the same.
All said I would not hesitate to go back when I need to stay in the area though at the moment I’m inclined to try the Hyatt unless it continues to be more expensive.
The Austin Renaissance is one of my favorite hotels. The rooms and service are excellent, as would be expected at a full service Marriott, and the breakfast buffet is amazing.
The rooms differ from the Marriott standard in that they have a certain TX flavour. I can’t think of any other hotel that has a cow hide (with hair) ottomon and pictures of suprs.
The downside is the frequent overpricing, though I have frequently found discount (corporate and weekend rates) that bring the price below that of the local Courtyards.
The buffet is a little more than Marriott standard price, though the selection is also greater. Be sure to get to breakfast on the early side as the staff trys to clear the place by about 8:30am. The lobby coffee shop is good though the selection is odd, no standard bottled water but several types of designer water in glass bottles.
For a number of reasons I tried the Fairfield SJC rather than the Marriott Courtyard SJC I usually stay at when visiting SJC.
The fixtures in the room were quite new and included a flat panel TV, free internet (wired and possibly wireless), small fridge and microwave. The bed was Fairfield standard, firm supportive and comfortable, but a bit on the bouncy side, thus not a nice as the courtyard/Marriott bed but in no way detrimental to a good night’s sleep (it is a bit springy but not an issue once lying down, though it can be distracting if your partner isn’t sleeping well).
The complimentary breakfast was one of the best I’ve seen of the class. The class being free, self-serve, hotel breakfasts. The main reason was that the breakfast room was about twice as large as usual and they had to fill the larger space with something.
The treadmills, stationary bike, and stair master in exercise room were all in working order.
Bottom line: if the courtyard or double tree are available for a reasonable price I’d go there but in cases where they are either unavailable or > $250 I wouldn’t hesitate to fall back to the Fairfield.