My wife and I go to the Bridge School benefit concert held in Mountain View at the Shorline ampitheater every October (a GREAT show this year). We live in Fort Bragg, Ca - about 170 miles North of Mt.View, I'm manager of the Beach House Inn, one of the nicer places on the coast :) Anyways this year we choose to stay at the W partly because of the concert package they offered and partly because they are pet friendly and I won't travel without my Corgi, Morgi.

WOW, what a perfect hotel!!!!!!

The W web site shows how nice it is but it may be even a little understated. I'm not going into detail but my wife, my dog and I love this hotel and will be there for Bridge School #21.

Thanks W, You guys are great.

Charles Brandenburg
Manager, the Beach House Inn

The first thing you need to know is this is not an easy W hotel to find because it is short (5 stories) and in a residential area, several blocks off of the main highway. After that, it is everything that the W hotel chain stands for: sexy lobbies decorated like a club, polite but slightly standoff-ish staff, and large rooms with nice linens (although the bed was not as soft as usual). The hotel is showing a bit of age, surprising for a W, but is still kept up above average.

The rate we paid for the weekend was $108 for a suite when San Francisco was nearly sold out and wayyy more expensive and just 40 minutes away.

We decided to pass on the Sunday brunch because it was basically a simple buffet purched on the bar in the lobby, definitely not up to W standards. This is not to say it was not a good deal, because the prices were reasonable, just not what you normally expect in a W.

We stayed at the W in early September as a stop over between the San Fran area and a trek down the coast.

Driving there in the evening was a strange experience, because as many people have mentioned it really is in the middle of nowhere. On arrival the hotel was pretty empty, but with a cool and trendy reception and bar area. Check-in was swift and friendly, with plenty of information given about what our rate gave us (it was a package rate via SPG.com) and where everything was.

I believe they were running at around half occupancy that night, but the hotel treated us very well and upgraded us from the lowest grade suite and put us right up to the largest 'Wow' suite. A very nice gesture considering I'm only SPG Gold.

The suite was fantastic and the service in the hotel was exceptional. For the price we paid, it was well worth the diversion to stay at the hotel rather than head to somewhere like San Jose.

The W Silicon Valley is the odd-man out in the family of W properties. Other W's are right in the center of hot urban areas, but this one is strangely located on the edges of a marsh in a nearly-abandoned business park. I understand that this W was built back in response to the late 90's Internet boom in Silicon Valley, but it just feels off. Approaching it, you think it's an Extended Stay until you see the large blue W. Once entering, you are immediately transported into a traditional W vibe - young, fresh and hip. Yes, the lobby and front desk area are small, but the decor and music bring in the usual W feel.

The staff here seem bored - maybe because the hotel seems empty. And they don't exactly know what aggressive hospitality is. But they are pleasant enough. I didn't have much interaction with them other than the girl at check-in.

The rooms are great - they are all oversized rooms with classic W furnishings, a wet bar and coffeemaker and a great bathroom stocked with Bliss products. I have a hard time feeling comfortable in hotel rooms, but I immediately took to this room and felt right at home. I was on the 3rd floor with a view of the roof and back of the hotel, but who needs a view with such a great room. And the rates here are very reasonable (usually hovering under $200/night) - probably because they don't get too much business.

Parking is complimentary here and plentiful.

W Silicon Valley is definitely a weird W, but it's a great hotel.