We stayed at Hotel Valencia - Santana Row for 2 nights. We were a bit shocked when we pulled up to the hotel (we didn't arrive until midnight) and there was a huge crowd of people outside. Turns out VBar (inside the hotel) is a popular night spot and there was a crowd waiting to get in. There were also a few other popular bars/lounges around there so the area was very busy on the weekend nights we stayed (Friday and Saturday). Fighting the crowds for the elevator to get up to the lobby was a bit annoying, but not an issue if you were to arrive earlier in the night.

The hotel itself is really cute with large clean rooms. Upon check-in, they told us they'd give us a free upgrade to a balcony room. We asked for something quieter and received a room with balcony facing the courtyard. While we could hear the neighbors, we didn't hear the music from the bar. I loved the details in the room.

Free breakfast is included at Citrus (the restaurant in the hotel). They had various pastries, yogurt, oatmeal, pancakes, french omelets, etc. Pretty good breakfast.

The location of the hotel is fantastic. It is right in the middle of all the shopping with a bunch of restaurants nearby. Pinkberry is next door. I heard good things about Straits and Sino (didn't try either). Parking gets a little crazy there on weekends during the day when everyone is shopping. We were able to find parking in the parking garage most of the time so save yourself the $20+ valet fee they charge.

So here's why the hotel gets 4 stars instead of 5 (besides the large crowds at night) - I used a different credit card to check in with than I used when I made the reservation. Luckily I happened to check my accounts online the day after we checked in and noticed they had charged both credit cards. I talked to the desk and they fixed the issue. Then, when we were checking out, they charged us a higher rate for the room. When we asked the front desk, they said that was the rate for the balcony room. The guy the first night told us we were getting a free upgrade (we didn't ask for the balcony). They fixed this too. They also charged us the full night valet rate even though we only had them hold the car for us for less than 1 hour while we ran to the room. They fixed this too on the final bill. So make sure to check your bill for accuracy since they got about everything wrong on ours!

I stayed here for business, 4 nights. The room was quite nice, the staff were very polite and the breakfasts were quite good.
This hotel is in a great location in San Jose, walk out the door and there is shopping and great restaurants.
The downside is that it can be very noisy as there is a club downstairs, also the fire alarms went off twice during the night and little direction from staff.
I would stay there again.

This is my second review. i stayed here again last week. The location is fantastic and apparently quite trendy for this area. Close to shops and restaurants.

A bit hard to find the entrance, and while the free breakfasts are good you might need to eat out after a few days.

I like being able to park my car and then just walk around. Valley Fair shopping centre across the road, and BestBuy nearby.

I must say, although I've stayed here many times over the years, this was the best stay yet. And, the Citrus restaurant was magnificent both food and service! Looking forward to next visit.