The Stanford Park Hotel — Hotel in Menlo Park

WORST experience ever!!!!! If there is a 0 star, I will definitely rate that.

I stayed in this hotel on the end of December 2017, and when I left, I forgot my shirt in the closet. Then I called back IMMEDIATELY, and they said they found it. Therefore, I asked my friend to pick up for me, since I was leaving at that night. The day before my friend came, I had called the hotel again, and told them when my friend would come, and what my friend’s name was, but when my friend was at the front desk, they said they didn’t have it ready. Then my friend flight back to school without my shirt. Then I called back again, and the front desk staff said they found it and will ship it to me, so I left my address and credit card information and then waited. After a long time waiting, I still didn’t received anything. So I called again and again, and each time they just kept saying that they had found it and they will ship it to me within 24hrs. But I still received nothing, plus THEY NEVER CALL ME BACK!!!!!

During the past two months, I had made enough phone calls, but heard nothing back. Therefore, I decided to come by the hotel during the spring break myself.

Update: Feb 22nd 2018, I called them again, and asked them about my shirt, and they told me the exact same answer that I have heard multiple times. They promised me that they will ship within 24hrs, but this time, I chose not to trust them, and booked the flight to SF at the same time.

Mar 10th 2018, I specifically flight back to SF during the spring break, and drove to this hotel again, in hoping of bringing the shirt back. However, I didn’t stay in this hotel, because of the previous experience. Result: They said they don’t have it right now, but once they found they will call me. As I expected, I didn’t receive any phone call during my stay.

Mar 12th 2018, I drove to this hotel again, and in order not to waste my time, I called them 30mins before I arrive, but I still waited at the lobby for another 30 - 40 mins. Results: The negotiation was absolutely UNPLEASANT, and I don’t think they are truly sorry for that. After I tried to contact the hotel for 3 months, they told me that after 2 months, they will discard the item, and they don’t think they can find it anymore. However, I already made several phone calls beforehand and I talked to different front desk staffs, but they never mentioned their names. Besides, I left my information many times, and I gave my information to the guest relation manager personally on Mar 10th, but the guest relation manager asked my information AGAIN!

If they didn’t have the shirt, they could just tell me at the first time. If they do have the shirt, why they need me to call them this many times instead of shipping to me in first two months. What this hotel has done is not only time consuming, but also waste of money! Worst of all, after I had spent 2 hours with them arguing about the issue, they still didn’t guarantee...

I enjoyed my stay at the Stanford Park Hotel, but I’ll be leaving here tomorrow with mixed feelings.

What this hotel does right: The hotel is of classic design that structurally will never go out of style. Comfortable rooms, excellent food, well-equipped gym and cosy courtyard were much appreciated. Staff were all polite and very helpful.

Why I’ll probably not stay here again: The whole theme of the hotel and in how it celebrates notable Stanford grads, is very non-inclusive. From the moment you walk in, the hotel highlights historic figures and moments of Stanford’s history on the walls and in the oversized picture books that lay on the end tables. The problem with this, however, is that 95%+ of the artwork you see is of white people and mostly men. As I walked many times from the hotel elevator to my room on the third floor, I pass no fewer than a dozen 2’x3’ portraits of notable alumni… but not a single non-white individual. In the gym, retro black-and-white images of Stanford’s past celebrate the crew team and school band…again, all white men. In this day and age, this is not acceptable anymore to revere glory days in such a hardcore manner that it’s out of touch. The hotel had significant, ethnic diversity among the guests I saw over my 3-day stay. 74% of Stanford’s Fall 2022 undergraduate student body identify as non-white. Most of the staff, who were wonderful, that I interacted with were non-white as well. I purposely went out of my way to wander through hallways that were far from my room to finally find a handful of non-white alumni portraits. Sadly though, among the 30+ I looked at, there was maybe 1-2 Black individuals celebrated. Maybe they are more somewhere at the hotel, but I didn’t find many.

I approached a front desk employee to see if I could speak with the manager about my observations, all the while thinking that I’m about to make someone uncomfortable, regardless of how I broach the subject. When that front desk person said they’d help me instead, I could clearly see that my comments were making them squirm. Their eyes were darting around to other, nearby hotel guests, seemingly worried that my suggestions for the hotel to reevaluate the artwork would leave a negative impression on others. In the end they said they’d pass on my comments to the manager…which was the very thing that I was trying to do but was denied the opportunity .

The intensity in which a very monolithic and narrow selection of alumni are spot lit at every corner of the halls was off-putting to me.

If Stanford Park Hotel really has to stick with this theme, I encourage them to dig deeper and do better, or risk alienating further guests who will also not find...

September 17th of last year I had the pleasure of family, friends, my wife and I staying at this hotel for our wedding. The Hotel and the staff were fantastic. With this in mind I invited two of my co-workers one of whom is planning a large wedding for her daughter to stop there after work for drinks. It was all downhill from there. The person tending the bar who was also the “Manager, Menlo Grill Bistro & Bar” handed me the Happy Hour Menu and the regular menu. The Happy Hour Menu looked great, three different wines or a cocktail plus a variety of appetizers all for 5 dollars from 3- 5 PM. Great! Wrong!!! I asked for the red blend and was told they were all out, okay I thought I’ll have the Pinot Gris. The manger went to the side room and brought out a bottle opened it and poured me a glass, no problem. I told him I was waiting for two friends and as I was sitting at the bar a gentlemen came back from the outside, returned his food and showed the bartender what appeared to be a single piece of soggy bacon on his bacon burger, and refused to pay for it. Okay….I thought. My friends arrived, ordered their drinks and we also ordered three of the appetizers from the Happy Hour Menu, normal stuff, wings, calamari, and pork belly, from a new bartender and payed for all of it at the bar. We went outside and sat down to enjoy the day. Once we sat down the bartender came back out and said they were out of all the food on the Happy Hour Menu but we could order off the regular menu if we wanted, and, that the manger would be out to give us back the money we had just paid for the food. The manager did come out, returned the money for the food and stated he was sorry. I in turn told him that I was very disappointed; I had been at the hotel last September and how good it was then and now to bring friends there and this happen was embarrassing. His reply was “sorry but you can order food off the regular menu if you want”. So we did, we ordered calamari and the charcuterie plate. Somehow the same dish (calamari) that was on the Happy Hour Menu but not available, was now available on the dinner menu at twice the price. The food itself was not very good. Sauce for the calamari was mayonnaise and cayenne pepper, the bottom slices of the salami had what looked like a blue tinge to them. Not good for a Hotel of this stature and reputation My wife was recommending the Stanford Park Inn to three of her friends who are getting married. When I went home I told her the same story I am telling now. I think they would be better off looking elsewhere until the management gets there...