Oops, I guess that should've been Agent 86. Sorry. :)

I think it is funny that there is now a street called Saddle Rack where that club used to be. After some time when the Saddle Rack is long forgotten, people will wonder why that street has such a strange name, just like Santa's Village drive in Scotts Valley - LOL.

Well, I'm not sure how compelling the following info to be, but here are very recent winning (double per night) PL bids in the area:

4* Cypress Hotel in Cupertino, bids of $85, $72, $78
3* St. Claire in SJ $50
4* Santa Clara-S'vale Hilton $41
3* S'vale 4-Points Sheraton $43
4* SJ Doubletree $50

It'd be pretty darn compelling to me to stay at any of the above hotels at these rates rather than paying $109 in a marginal area. You can check this out at biddingfortravel.com where, if you do your homework, you'll learn that you always totally ignore the screen where PL suggests that you need to bid a certain amount.

I've never used bft, but I if it's like PL you can't choose the specific hotel that you want to stay at, right? Also, don't you lose your money if you don't make the reservation? And, what does "marginal" mean?

BFT is just a site that gives advice about how to use PL.

J, BFT is a site dedicated to teaching you how to find awesome PL deals; it has no affiliation with PL at all. The moderators there will even help you construct a bid if you request it, but you need to do your homework (by studying the bidding process at BFT) before you bid yourself or ask the moderators to help you. This will take some time, but you will have learned a valuable travel-planning skill.

Just for the record, I have no interest in either PL or BFT, other than satisfaction as a customer. Most recently, I'm headed to the East Coast in a few weeks and am booked in three hotels in three different cities for $50 or less each. I'd rather save the $$$ on hotels in favor of spending on good food!
:-)

To respond to your other questions about PL. You can't choose the hotel, but you can chose the area and the star level. BFT has a list of hotels that PL uses in specific areas at specific star levels. I've posted the list for the area you're interested above.

I didn't include this info in the post, but if you bid at the 4* level in Cupertino, you'll get the Cypress Hotel (which is new and upscale), which is the only one listed at the 4* level in this area. I know that because I read it at BFT. I also know what recent successful bids for that property have been, because they're posted at BFT as $85, $72, $78, as I pointed out above.

She wrote 'marginal' because as you drive toward the city center, away from Hwy 880 there, there are antique stores, independent used car lots, smaller shops. There's also a huge McDonald's next to the Midtown Safeway.
On the West side of 880, there are two major shopping malls outlined above, and new car lots, Garden City casino, etc. Anybody else verify? It's been a while since I've been to SJ.

jcallicotte : here's the views.

maps.a9.com

Click the left arrow on the map that displays - to follow Stevens Creek Blvd to a spot between 880 and Bascom Avenune to see the neighborhood where you'll be.

Another phrase I could have used is "seedy." Not too long ago, I went to a thrift store at the corner of Bascom and Stevens Creek that was seedy. IMHO there are better neighborhoods in SJ.

Of course there are better neighborhoods than the area around San Carlos and Bascom. I wouldn't call the area seedy though. We used to live not far from there and have friends who still do. The neighborhood is perfectly fine.

We decided to stay in Sunnyvale. Thanks for all your input.

How about a trip report when you return? Did you use PL?

Trip report: We stayed at the Radisson in Sunnyvale. We paid $199/night for their best suite. I was disappointed with the size compared to what I was told over the phone. Their jacuzzi was *not* for two, like I was told over the phone. Their "huge" dining room table (which was a major factor for my wife's activities during the day) was about three feet in diameter. The traffic noise from El Camino Real was pretty bad, too. Other than that (!), the hotel staff were great and we were treated very well. The breakfast was very good. The location was optimal since it was a short distance to my class.

Next time do your wife a favor and try to stay in Palo Alto within walking distance of University and the Stanford Shopping Center. Then you can drive the 20-30 mins to class....

Next time, LPC48, show up on time and make recommendations that can be used in advance.

She wouldn't want to be within walking distance of a university. She's not taking any classes at the moment. Also, part of the deal with where we stayed was that it was five minutes from my class so we could eat lunch together. That's the main reason I didn't stay in Los Gatos or some other idealic place. Thanks for the advice, though.

What a nasty post. I don't come here often. Now I know why. Forgetaboutit. And staying near Stanford is for the shopping center not the university. Sheesh.

And University actually refers the the main street of Palo Alto, which someone else in the thread had mentioned.....

I wasn't intending to be nasty, if you were referring to me. Sorry I misunderstood about the university setting. People are kind to give advice on here in their free time so I don't want to discourage this in the future.