Post: #1

I've got a work trip to Santa Clara coming up soon. I'm going to be spending most of my time near the convention center and Levi stadium and need some help finding a hotel in an area that isnt a total shithole.

Work is being cheap so I'm not going to be able to stay down by the stadium. It's looking like something in the $150 per night range under 15 minute drive to the convention center.

I've never been North of LA so I'm unfamiliar with the area. The only places I am finding are in Koreatown on 82 and on N Matilda in Sunnyvale.

Just wondering if either of these areas would be ok or if there are any other suggestions. From what I'm seeing on Google maps anything North of 85 and west of 87 don't look too bad.


Edit: I'm seeing a couple newer places called the Aloft just north of the Convention center and the Courtyard by Marriot San Jose. Not much else in the area for walking distance but the places dont look like a total hellholes.


Thanks in advance.

Post: #2

My next question is what is a guy in his late 30s supposed to do after dark around these parts.

Post: #3

All right, I talked them in to the Marriot south of the stadium by Mission college. Now, what to do after hours.

Post: #4

Last time I was there, there was good happy hour scenes at Santana Row. Its like a street of restaurants and upscale bars. Ideally, you should stay near there if you want to set up dates with girls you meet. They'll actually want to come out there.

Downtown San Jose has some nightlife, but I think it was pretty ghetto at a lot of the spots. There were some ok lounges attached to some of the hotels that I drank at.

Post: #5

Downtown San Jose has some ghetto pockets but overall it's pretty tame. There isn't a lot going on during the week and you will be surprised at how dead everything is considering San Jose is one of the largest cities in California. I liked the San Pedro Square area which is pretty close to downtown (walkable).

Santana Row is really good, there's a lot of activity during lunch and evenings are good as well. Friday and Saturdays it gets really packed.

Will you have a car? Downtown Mountain View has some bars, lounges, and lots of places to eat. It's hit or miss though, mostly miss.

If you are staying over the weekend you should head up to SF.

Post: #6

Unfortunately there's practically no nightlife in that part of Santa Clara -- mostly just offices, apartments, and retail (e.g. Santa Clara Square recently opened). Nightlife in SV gets old after a while, but just off the top of my head:

In San Jose, check-out San Pedro Square Market which has good mix of Young Professionals and University Students. There are a couple of Breweries and Santa Row (as mentioned before)

In Santa Clara's downtown there's a small brewery called Taplands that's decent.

Mountain View's downtown has two beer gardens that are good and crowded most nights of the week: Bierhaus & Stein's.

Palo Alto has a few good spots near University Ave, such as The Rose, The Taproom, The Old Pro.

Lastly, Campbell's downtown has a bunch of spots and tends to attract mostly young professionals. Check out Khartoum Bar or Aqui Cal-Mex.

Post: #7

The only reason to game San Jose is for ABGs (urbandictionary it if you are ignorant)

Better work on your hired gun game

http://mrnguyen.org/?p=54

http://mrnguyen.org/?p=79

Post: #8

Thanks for the help everyone. Looking at google maps and ya, it does look like office buildings as far as the eye can see. I will have a car though so I will be able to get around.