The Westin Palo Alto — Hotel in Palo Alto

I have never written a review on Trip Advisor before but my awful experience this week at the Westin Palo Alto deemed my time and energies to save others from staying here. I have simplified my review into the specific areas of this hotel to make it easier for others and not a rambling rant. I am in Palo Alto every four weeks for work in Mountainview, and I will never stay here again (there are better marriott properties for those loyal to Bonvoy as I am).||Location: good. you can walk to downtown Palo Alto (although you do have to go underneath a rail way so plan carefully if alone/at night as it's littered with homeless folks). Easy to get to Mountainview, Stanford, SFO. ||Property: awful. It's old, Thin walls. Elevator that had an inspection certificate from 2018 and seemingly some type of "updated one" but I did not trust it. ||Room: standard marriott room. I had a 1 bedroom suite "upgrade" for my Bonvoy status and it was fine. However, I came home with an awful rash and immediately had to go to the urgent care for how it progressed from my neck to face. The doctor immediately asked if the hotel had signs of mold and I said I would not be suprised given how old and outdated it was. I was prescribed steroids and dr said most likely allergic reaction to prolonged mold/mildew exposure and/or something on the pillow or in them (perhaps not laundered properly) given the rash was across my neck and face. ||Staff: those few there were all fine. Liam checked me in; he did not automatically look to upgrade me and I had to ask/remind him of my Bonboy status and then I got my upgrade. ||Room Service: do not order it. It comes most likely from the Sheraton next door and is all boxed up and soggy. Every time I tried to ask for water in the order (you do it through a QR code/app) could not get it. Ice machine on floor also inoperable so if I did not remember to buy my own bottled water I was out of luck||Housekeeping: they literally made the bed and put in towels. Cleaned nothing else nor tidied. Left empty coffee cups, etc in the room and definitely did not vaccumm. ||Parking Garage: as others have said, it's terrible. awful. I actually bumped my side mirror and now have to do a claim with hertz. Just another reason to avoid this hotel. ||Summary: Do NOT stay here. I'm loyal to Marriott, I love a good Westin on business travel and this one is like a Holiday Inn from 1984 with a Westin sign slapped on top. I gave 2 not 1 star b/c generally the staff I encountered were pleasant and kind and not their fault this place is in desperate...

I have never written a review on Trip Advisor before but my awful experience this week at the Westin Palo Alto deemed my time and energies to save others from staying here. I have simplified my review into the specific areas of this hotel to make it easier for others and not a rambling rant. I am in Palo Alto every four weeks for work in Mountainview, and I will never stay here again (there are better marriott properties for those loyal to Bonvoy as I am).||Location: good. you can walk to downtown Palo Alto (although you do have to go underneath a rail way so plan carefully if alone/at night as it's littered with homeless folks). Easy to get to Mountainview, Stanford, SFO. ||Property: awful. It's old, Thin walls. Elevator that had an inspection certificate from 2018 and seemingly some type of "updated one" but I did not trust it. ||Room: standard marriott room. I had a 1 bedroom suite "upgrade" for my Bonvoy status and it was fine. However, I came home with an awful rash and immediately had to go to the urgent care for how it progressed from my neck to face. The doctor immediately asked if the hotel had signs of mold and I said I would not be suprised given how old and outdated it was. I was prescribed steroids and dr said most likely allergic reaction to prolonged mold/mildew exposure and/or something on the pillow or in them (perhaps not laundered properly) given the rash was across my neck and face. ||Staff: those few there were all fine. Liam checked me in; he did not automatically look to upgrade me and I had to ask/remind him of my Bonboy status and then I got my upgrade. ||Room Service: do not order it. It comes most likely from the Sheraton next door and is all boxed up and soggy. Every time I tried to ask for water in the order (you do it through a QR code/app) could not get it. Ice machine on floor also inoperable so if I did not remember to buy my own bottled water I was out of luck||Housekeeping: they literally made the bed and put in towels. Cleaned nothing else nor tidied. Left empty coffee cups, etc in the room and definitely did not vaccumm. ||Parking Garage: as others have said, it's terrible. awful. I actually bumped my side mirror and now have to do a claim with hertz. Just another reason to avoid this hotel. ||Summary: Do NOT stay here. I'm loyal to Marriott, I love a good Westin on business travel and this one is like a Holiday Inn from 1984 with a Westin sign slapped on top. I gave 2 not 1 star b/c generally the staff I encountered were pleasant and kind and not their fault this place is in desperate...

THE GOOD:|The hotel was recently renovated, rooms are nicely renovated with beautiful bathrooms. A nice size fitness center and a small but nice pool area.||THE BAD:|Wifi was absolutely horrible, there was ZERO wi-fi service in the lobby, restaurant or pool area. The Wi-fit would connect for 2 - 3 seconds then drop. When I asked the attended at the café if I could use the Westin Meeting wi-fi I was told no, they don’t have the password. In my room every so often the wi-fi would drop and it would take 20 – 30 minutes to reconnect!!! Furthermore, the power outlet at the desk was dead, there was also no power near the bed to plug in your laptop!| |Sadly, the food and beverage offerings at this hotel are on par with a Holiday Inn Express. There is no full-service restaurant, just a grab and go café which serves mediocre food. There is a limited breakfast buffet in the morning with poor quality food. On both mornings of my stay the scrambled eggs were a rubbery mess, the breakfast potatoes lacked flavor. The only item that seemed decent to eat were the fresh berries and bread. The quality of the food from room service/grab and go was also upsetting. If you want a full-service dinning experience, you are told to walk over to the Sheraton…. really? BTW: I was told the hotel kitchen is also located at the Sheraton, food is not cooked onsite at the Westin.||Hospitality at the hotel is hit and miss. The front desk seems pleasant, but staff were very hesitant to go the extra mile to please… they lacked the hospitality soft skills I have experienced at other hotels of the same caliber. Café staff is very unhelpful, not very friendly, I receive a far better guest experience at my local In-N-Out Burger. ||In the end if you are expecting an upscale hotel experience in the Palo Alto / Stanford area the Westin disappoints. For the price I would expect a memorable experience, one where you would hate to leave and could not wait to return. During my stay I was looking forward to leaving, I really felt like it was a waste of $$$ and time staying here. When I left, I felt like I had just stayed at a Holiday Inn express with upscale rooms. ||Hotel should be rebranded... it's not an upscale full service hotel that is about hospitality with a mindset...