Melissa5

We're flying into San Jose at night, spending 1 night in San Jose, and renting a car to drive to UC Santa Cruz with our daughter to visit the campus.

Please help! I am boggled by the San Jose hotel choices. We just want something comfty, quiet at night, and safe. With easy freeway access for our drive to UC Santa Cruz in the morning. Thanks for any advice!

J_Correa

With your criteria, I would stay at a hotel near the airport - the Courtyard Marriot or something. The area is safe, reasonably quiet and right off the freeway. San Jose airport has an airplane curfew, which begins around 11pm and ends at 6:30 am, so between those times, there aren't any flights in and out.

If you want to stay downtown, which is also very close to the airport, there are several choices - the Crowne Plaza, Hilton, and Marriot come to mind. Depending on when your flight is, you might have time for a nice dinner or something.

viamar

Why not stay in Santa Cruz. You may want some time to visit the town once you are there. The Hilton in Scotts Valley is right off of highway 17 and somewhat close to UCSC.

easytraveler

Hi, Melissa!

J-Correa has given you some good options.

Do you use Priceline?

If so, you can get the Larkspur Landing Hotel in Campbell for about $35-$50 on Priceline. The LL is about five or six blocks from the freeway exit in a very safe neighborhood. No parking charges either!

Check out the reviews on biddingfortravel.com and tripadvisor.com.

The hotel is located along Highway 880/17 which is on the way for you to Santa Cruz.

If you do choose the LL (and I hope you do! because it's such a good deal for a great hotel on Priceline), then ask them for directions to the Elephant Bar. It's only a few blocks away right by the freeway and is a fun place to grab a bite to eat.

Good luck to your daughter in her college search!

Melissa5

Thanks for everyone's suggestions! Since we arrive at San Jose at 8:00 pm we don't want to drive too far that first night. I will check out the places that have been mentioned.

I haven't used Priceline before but I'll try to check it out if I can find it. What's the web-site?

This UC Santa Cruz visit is sandwiched between arrival and return flights that are only 24 hours apart, because my husband doesn't want to miss too much work that week.

J_Correa

If you aren't familiar with Priceline yet, then be prepared to do your research of just make your reservations directly through the hotel or with another online service like Yahoo Travel or Expedia. You can get some terrific deals with Priceline (www.priceline.com) but you have to educate yourself about the bidding process first. www.biddingfortravel.com is very helpful when researching Priceline bids.

Just out of curiosity, what is your daughter planning to study?

Melissa5

J_Correa, I did find Priceline and checked it out, but unfortunately it's only set up to give you a room for 2 people, which could have only 1 bed, it says. So I guess it won't work for 3 people. But I'm glad to know about it, and I might try it the next time I have only 2 people per room.

My eager daughter wants to study Philosophy/Psychology/Anthropology/ Social Studies! So far she has been accepted into UC Santa Cruz and UC Riverside.

Well, I still don't have a hotel yet, but I have a head-full of freeways, maps, and hotel reviews! Ahhhhh! Time for a little break.