Upon arrival at the Hemingway Inn in San Jose, I had high expectations. It is in a charming (from the outside) building on an attractive barrio. However, once we were inside the rooms we knew that we did not want to stay the night. The beds are only a mattress on a bed frame and had old linens, there were stains on the ceiling and floors, and lighting was poor. It did not seem very secure either. In the room there were large cracks between the door and its frame and locks were minimal. This seemed ridiculous for an $80 room. We decided to cut our loss on the cancellation fee and head out. After reading others' reviews I am glad we did.

But I stayed anyway just to avoid the stress of looking for another place. And only stayed 1 night. Their online fees are without tax ( 1 addition to fee, 15%) / without credit card 13% / and you also have to pay $3.00 to use the safe that is in the room. ?????

Their staff attitude seems to be slogging in the mud metaphorically. They barely look at you, nor respond to 'hola'.

It's dark, and damp. The hot tub empty. And the people staying there and the neighborhood at night creeped me out a bit.

Slept well though, but not staying here again.

I normally do not write negative reviews. Usually a bad experience is just a "one off", but in this case I have decided to step up to the plate and go ahead and let others know about this place.

First off, it looks extremely charming from the outside. Everything looks quite nice and inviting. Once you come through the jailer-type caged door, the ambiance continues to please.



The disappointments don't start until you get to your rooms. Most are just so-so, many with small child-like beds and no windows. They do attempt to brighten the place with painted windows on the wall, but it doesn't mask the fact that your room has no windows to the outside.

The location is not too bad during the day. Close to lots of things and the touristy part of downtown San Jose, but as the sun drops and evening sets in the druggies come out in droves and the place becomes a zombie land of crackheads and prostitutes.

I WOULD NOT recommend someone to be walking around the area after dark. We were to pretty big guys and still felt we had to be on guard at all times. One evening we just wanted to go for a quick drink with a female colleague and felt like the wolves were watching the weakest member of the pack waiting to pounce. We kept her between us.

The hotel itself extremely noisy. Rooms facing the bar next door are kept up late into the night into the early hours and most other rooms are plagued by conversations heard at all times of the night as drunks and their ladies of the night make their way to their rooms.

Unfortunately, the fun doesn't stop there. There is zero noise abatement in the room and we all got our own version of audio voyeurism as the drunk guy had sex with the prostitute, told how he wouldn't cheat on his wife if she were more like her and traded emails after the exchange.

It is upsetting to me that they even allow prostitutes in. I'm not a prude, I know that people sometimes hook-up when traveling, but even then the hotel is so noisy I would have probably gotten an earful of that too. But the prostitutes take my disgust to a whole new level.

Lastly, their customer service is awkward at best. They are very concerned about paying in advance, probably because they have people like us that are used to better service or the Johns skate out in the morning without paying in search of new places to bang under-aged girls and they miss wake-up calls.

This sounds like a rant, maybe it is, but how would you feel if you had your family here or was here on business with colleagues?

I would not recommend this place to anyone, business or leisure, unless you are looking to impress your prostitute then I am sure it's perfect.

I surprisingly enjoyed my 2 nights at the Hemingway. I often like staying in the bland 4-5 star chain hotels so this was a change for me. My friend made the reservation here and though I may not stay here again I would definitely recommend it to others who don't expect luxury when they go away. The staff are very friendly and helpful and I did like the breakfast. The rooms were clean though some were quite small and dingy. Location isn't bad though I did see a few prostitutes in some nearby streets at night. Oh, the free internet is a bonus.