Hotel keen is conveniently located from the train station, Stanford university & shopping center and Univ Av (which is where all the action is!) and one can easily walk down to these places. The rooms are clean and well -kept, though some may find rooms to be very small. I found the staff very nice and helpful (in particular Matt who knows the town like back of his hand and always have some good suggestions depending on what you want to do!).Free wine in the evening is also a good plus. The hotel can definitely do something on providing better breakfast with some dining space. Also, bathrooms without doors can be a problem in case two ppl are in a room. The hotel has free wifi but connection was slightly unreliable. But all these are only minor kinks - overall a good budget hotel!

Stayed here recently for a weekend getaway with my wife to see the USC Stanford game. Great central location - walking distance to all of downtown PA as well as the University. Rooms are small but clean. My two biggest complaints were the thin walls (we could hear guests on both sides clearly even though they were speaking in normal tones), and the weak Internet. I read that mgmt is working on the Internet strength issue but not sure what they can do about the sound. I'd have second thoughts if I was coming up here for work since usually the two most important items for a biz traveler are a fast and reliable connection and relative quiet. Staff was very friendly and efficient.

Pros:
- Location: It's downtown, and walking distance to everything, but it's a block off of University so it isn't too loud. Great combination right there.
- The front desk crew were all very friendly and helpful in giving suggestions for food and drink, and even making small talk while I lounged downstairs, sipped wine and decompressed after a long day
- Bed is comfortable *if* you like firm beds. I do, so that worked out pretty well. Sheets weren't anything to gush over but they were comfortable
- The decor is pleasant if you are into a more contemporary aesthetic. It definitely does not give the feeling of some cookie-cutter hotel room with the off-white walls and landscape pictures. I appreciated that (also the blue foot-lights in the halls)
- Lobby has a mini shop with beer, wine, soda and snacks available all night, plus they offered me a complimentary glass of wine when I checked in, which I thought was a nice touch (they have wine tastings in the evening and there was some left over, so score). Nice little lobby lounge with tables and wall sockets so I did quite a bit of my work downstairs
- Dry-marker glass wall in the room was helpful on a couple of occasions
- The bathroom's shower is spacious for a shower-only...as a bigger guy, when I hear "shower only" I get nervous it's going to be like washing in the dimensions of a hollowed out fridge. This one was nice and roomy with good water pressure
- The window opens up, which is good for airing out the place and getting some fresh air
- It's inconspicuous, which was sort of nice...in that you wouldn't even really peg it as a hotel from the outside, and when walking in and out it had more a feeling of an apartment residence with a small lobby than a hotel.
- Free wireless with a strong signal, even with a couple of devices connected.

Cons:
- The standard rooms are small. Put together well, mind you, but definitely "cozy". If you aren't used to smaller rooms I could really see this causing some issues. I mean the bed takes up a pretty good portion of the room.
- No closet in the standard rooms. Having all my shirts and slacks hanging on a peg was a little odd. There are drawers to store stuff though (note: look at the foot of the bed, there are 2 drawers there that I found the day before I left...doh...)
- the bathroom "door" is a curtain. This, combined with the compact nature of the rooms can lead for some unfortunate situations (let's just say this is where a window that opens comes in handy, and I was happy I was by myself)
- The computer desk was crammed in the corner between the bed and the wall, and it doubles as the bedside table. It really isn't big enough to comfortably accommodate both to be honest (hence why I did a lot of work downstairs in the lounge).

Overall: I was travelling solo for business, and I really think that's this place's target guest. This hotel is very good for the price, location and overall quality. Sure, it's not perfect; it's on the small side, and it doesn't have certain usually-standard room features like, well, closets, but I got over that fairly quickly and had a good night's sleep every night, with friendly staff and nothing really important missing or disappointing. Can't speak for the business center as I never went there, but it's nice to know they have one with copier/fax/printer available as needed.

Bottom line; if you are looking for a big, spacious place with a hotel bar/restaurant, room service and standard amenities galore, then you will not likely be too happy. If you want convenience of location, price, service and don't really think the "cons" above are a big deal, then this place is a good catch.

I've been coming to the Keen for over a year. I really like the fact that there is no room service or fitness center because it forces me to get out and enjoy the nice weather and food in Palo Alto. The rooms are always very clean and have windows you can open to get fresh air. Service is great! They are always very personable and helpful.