San Martin
 

I'm not even sure of the spelling but just found out I'll be attending a wedding here-I know its in California and somewhat North but other than that I don't know the area.<BR>I would love a little information such as:<BR>hotels that are $150 or less a night, nice restaurants (not chains if possible) like great Thai, Sushi or Italian.<BR>Thanks for any help.<BR>Shadow

San Martin is on Hwy 101 between Morgan Hill and Gilroy south of San Jose.<BR><BR>I don't think there is anything in San Martin but you will find lots to choose from in both Morgan Hill and Gilroy. Probably the only one outside your price range would be &quot;The Inn at Morgan Hill&quot;.<BR><BR>But there are Best Western, Comfort Inns, Holiday Inns and the other usual suspects in both towns.<BR><BR>

San Martin is basically a suburb of San Jose about 25 miles south of the city. It is a rural community for the most part. You would be better off staying in San Jose and driving to San Martin, which is about a 30 minute drive.<BR><BR>www.sanjose.org<BR><BR>www.siliconva lley.citysearch.com<BR><BR>www.sjdowntown.com

Shadow - just a hint -- DavidDJ is the resident Fodors San Jose &quot;booster&quot;. He tells EVERYONE to stay in San Jose even when they are asking about San Francisco! Of course you could stay in San Jose - but Morgan Hill and Gilroy are both closer to San Martin and you don't want to drive any farther on hwy 101 than you have to. <BR><BR>

There isn't a whole lot to San Martin, definitely stay in Morgan Hill or Gilroy to be close. San Jose would probably be more interesting, but since weddings are usually on Saturdays the traffic from San Jose to points south will be horrendous. <BR>If you are looking for someplace interesting and scenic with some restaurant choices and you on't mind driving an hour or so to the wedding and back, I suggest Monterey. <BR>Gilroy and Mrgan Hill are largely agricultual communities that have become bedroom communities for the San Jose area.

Janis,<BR><BR>If you click on my name you will notice that my posts deal with variety of topics, not just with California or San Jose for that matter. Also, I have never suggested to anyone that they go to San Jose when they were asking about San Francisco. I find it interesting that when people offer advice you do not agree with, you accuse them of promoting a certain city, etc.<BR><BR>Shadow,<BR><BR>Please disregard Janis. <BR><BR>Yes, Morgan Hill and Gilroy are closer to San Martin than San Jose, but there is not much to do in either of these places. <BR><BR>J Correa's suggestion of Monterey is not a bad one either. In my experience, though traffic on the weekends go south from San Jose to San Martin is not really that bad. The worst time to be heading south from the city is during the evening commute on the weekends.<BR><BR><BR>

While Morgan Hill and Gilroy are slightly better than staying in San Martin, there aren't any really nice restaurants in these areas. The ones that are there tend to be chains. I second the option of staying in San Jose. At least there you will have the elements of a big city. Some good, non-chain restaurants in downtown San Jose to consider are Spiedo, Original Joe's, and Bella Mia for Italian food. Try E and O Trading Company or House of Siam for Thai cuisine.

Hotels....in San Martin. Ouch, I think I sprained something laughing. As others have stated, San Martin has about 30 residents. If you ask for a hotel, you'll be met with blank stares. I'd recommend Morgan Hill far and away over Gilroy- there are several decent places to eat in Morgan Hill, but nothing that qualifies as high cuisine. You could try Rosie's by the Beach or Hiromi's (Japanese), and try to stay at the Inn at Morgan Hill (as suggested by another poster).