I recently stayed at the Avatar and I have had a hard time deciding between three and four stars. The good: great location, the staff is attentive and friendly, the bed is incredibly comfortable, and the rooms have been nicely renovated and have a good layout with comfortable and well kept furniture.

The just okay: lighting was odd, lots of spotlight type lamps scattered about the room. The room felt very dark to me. All rooms are exterior, and the rooms all have large windows facing onto the corridor, covered only with blinds. There was a lot of light leakage and I wondered how much privacy I actually had.

The bad: for Silicon Valley, the internet connection is incredibly slow. I was also not pleased with the bait and switch of 'free' internet that was unacceptably slow that could be upgraded to merely slow by purchasing a faster connection. And this is just me, but as a solo female traveler, I was bit concerned that I was given a room on the very far side of the hotel, facing into the parking lot and right next to a staircase. The halls are not secured, and while the area is fairly safe, there didn't seem to be much thought put into where I was placed. It didn't bother me enough to make a change, but it did bug me a bit.

However, it is a clean, comfortable and well situated hotel for business. The staff was excellent from the front desk staff to the folks in the on-premise IHOP.

This is a typical Silicon Valley hotel - practical, functional, no frill, no personality and located in an area devoid of retail activities. There's an IHOP right next to the hotel and then some diners right across the street (Mission College St.), but not much variety and no pharmacy nearby. The hotel is perfect for business travelers looking for convenience and competitive rates. The rooms are basic, spacious and clean. Two things I didn't like were: 1) The closet space (no real closet) is in the bathroom. While the bathroom is quite big, I don't like hang my clothes in a high-humidity area. 2) The daytime staff (two women) didn't appear very professional - rather lackadaisical and more like cashiers.

Stayed here during my business trip last month.
The location is convenient to campus and near the conference hall. Everything is good, friendly stuff, clean room, modern style, but not outstanding. Generally I got good stay here ESP the good sleep with comfortable bed, which is what I need for jetlag recovering.

Stayed here recently on a business trip as it is close to one of our office locations and we have a corporate rate. Everything was good but not spectacular. Front desk staff was welcoming and friendly; the lobby and overall hotel theme was pretty interesting and gave a fresh twist compared to other standard hotel chains, although one can tell that the location used to be a 2 or 2.5 star motel. Bed was comfortable and in-room amenities were enough, although I found it a bit too noisy for my liking overnight. Fitness center is small but has good equipment. Location is convenient with an IHOP attached and a short walk to an outdoor strip with restaurants and shopping. I would recommend this to someone doing business in the area and looking for a convenient and comfortable overnight stay.