Best Hotels For Business Trips To The Peninsula

With some of the world's most important tech companies headquartered in the San Francisco Peninsula, there is a continuing demand for upscale hotels from business travelers. Google, Facebook, Oracle and Hewlett Packard are all based in the Peninsula section of Silicon Valley, in addition to Stanford University, one of the world's most prestigious research and educational institutions and the Bay Area's busiest transportation hub, the San Francisco International Airport. To meet the needs of business travelers from all over the world, many local hotels offer classic elegance and all of the amenities expected to allow business travelers to perform essential tasks away from the office. The following are five of the best business hotels in the San Francisco Peninsula.

The Creekside Inn is one of Trip Advisor's top business hotels and the only green hotel in Palo Alto. This eco-friendly hotel meets the California Green Lodging Program through its commitment to energy conservation, sustainability and waste reduction. The four-acre property has 136 spacious guest rooms and suites equipped with modern conveniences, such as complimentary high-speed wireless internet, telephones with voicemail and an electronic safe large enough to comfortably fit a 17" laptop computer. Each room comes with either a balcony or patio, with splendid views of its charming garden and historic Matadero Creek. The property also offers three indoor meeting rooms for business meetings, receptions and other social events.

Tucked away from Palo Alto's busiest thoroughfare, Dinah's Garden Hotel is an affordable business class hotel near Stanford University and some of the nation's top tech companies. Each of the 129 guest rooms and suites are perfectly suited for the business traveler, with free high-speed wired and wireless internet access, large office desk and speakerphone with voicemail. The hotel is perfectly complemented by a lush, Asian-themed garden and a koi-filled lagoon, poolside restaurant, health club, banquet facilities and a meeting/conference room. Free parking is available on site, as is limousine or town car service.

Garden Court Hotel
520 Cowper St.
Palo Alto, CA 94301
(650) 322-9000
www.gardencourt.com

Within walking distance of the Palo Alto Caltrain Station, the Garden Court Hotel is the only luxury boutique hotel in the upbeat downtown section of Palo Alto. Each of the 62 newly remodeled guest rooms feature plush bedding, down pillows, a private balcony, workstation with office supplies and complimentary wired and wireless internet access. Also on the property is the award-winning Italian restaurant, Il Fornaio, a 2013 Award of Excellence recipient from Wine Spectator. The Garden Court Hotel is Trip Advisor's top rated hotel in Palo Alto.

Trip Advisor's top-ranked hotel in Mountain View has a prime location in the heart of Silicon Valley. Hotel Strata is a modern business class hotel with 58 well-appointed guest rooms and suites, featuring oversized work centers with "enterprise level" internet access and two phone lines. Also on site are a state-of-the-art fitness center, complimentary pre-arranged shuttle services and a business center for printed material, faxes and photocopying. NASA Ames Research Center is just two miles away and Google's world headquarters is less than five miles away.

Stanford Park Hotel
100 El Camino Real
Menlo Park, CA 94025
(866) 241-2431
www.stanfordparkhotel.com

Located just minutes from Stanford University, the Stanford Park Hotel is unquestionably one of the finest luxury hotels in Palo Alto. With refined elegance and extraordinary service, the Stanford Park Hotel is Trip Advisor's number one hotel in Menlo Park and has been a Four Diamond property for more than 25 years. Each of the spacious guest rooms features secured wired and wireless internet access, three telephones with two lines for computer modem hook-up and voicemail, the Wall Street Journal delivered weekdays and a large flat-screen HDTV. Other amenities offered on site include evening wine tasting receptions, a large 24-hour fitness center, a heated pool, a whirlpool and a sauna. Among the hotel packages currently offered by the Stanford Park Hotel are a Stanford University Discovery Package, with overnight accommodations and round-trip transportation to the campus, and a Bed and Breakfast Package with a superb breakfast for two at the hotel's acclaimed Menlo Grill Bistro and Bar.

Randy Yagi is a freelance writer covering all things San Francisco. In 2012, he was awarded a Media Fellowship from Stanford University. His work can be found on Examiner.com Examiner.com.