el PRADO Hotel

We celebrated my mom’s milestone birthday at El Prado Hotel, and it was truly a memorable experience from start to finish. Sherry was amazing—helpful, accommodating, and supportive from day one. She made thoughtful suggestions based on her experience with prior events and always responded to our questions promptly with great follow-up. One of our top criteria in choosing a banquet hall was excellent food, and the chef did not disappoint. The food was plentiful and absolutely delicious, and our guests couldn’t stop complimenting it. The staff during the event were incredible—professional, attentive, and genuinely kind—which helped everything run smoothly and allowed us to fully enjoy the celebration. El Prado Hotel helped make my mom’s special day unforgettable, and we are so grateful to the entire team

The location of the hotel is perfect as there are many things close by. The hotel itself is very clean and opulent. More importantly, the staff is what makes this hotel so special. From front desk to sales manager to banquet manager this was fabulous from start to finish. They helped me put together rooms, catering, and a board room on a Saturday for a Monday night meeting. The boardroom for the meeting was just as pristine and the banquet food was delicious. Thank you el Prado my group will definitely be back !!!!

I look forward to another stay at El Prado. My room was immaculate, offered simple elegance in decor and convenience to shops and restaurants. From the door persons to concierge to room attendants each were welcoming and gracious. The lovely presented coffee bar each morning was a treat. Highly recommend El Prado.

I wish this charming boutique hotel were a chain with operations all over the U.S., because they get just about everything right. The valets charge your Tesla. Everyone pampers your pooch. The front desk handles everything. There's coffee, tea, and newspapers on your floor in the morning. The obviously recent renovation is tasteful; we especially enjoyed the nature photography in the room and the beautiful marble bath. We are Southern Californians so we like to leave open a window or door at night, and the French doors to our room allowed us to do that comfortably.

Staying in el Prado feels like a getaway in another foreign town. My wife and I enjoyed celebrating our wedding and anniversary at this beautiful hotel. The rooms are as neat as a pin and there's lots of free, convenient parking. The check in/out experience is seamless and the staff are all kind. Special shoutout to Sherry for being an amazing manager and always making your guests feel warm and welcome!

Very enjoyable trip and great friendly staffs. I wish each room has a coffee machine although staffs have provided coffee near elevator area. Very pleased overall

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Everything was flawless from the time I arrived Nasir was such a blessing with a great smile and very helpful. I was completely impressed with his professionalism and customer service. The food and hotel were amazing. I most definitely will recommend my friends and family to stay here.

What a gorgeous hotel in the perfect location! The staff is very friendly, the rooms are clean, beautifully decorated and spacious. Definitely looking forward to my next visit. - the king size bed was so comfortable, the fire place and balcony in the room just make the experience so dreamy! - Go Tree!!

I had the opportunity to visit the hotel for a Holiday market event and it was beautiful! Connie, the hotel manager was so sweet and informed us we could roam around a bit to check out the property. There was a yummy charcuterie board and hot bites that were continually brought out on rotation. This was a fun event to network with other creators and shop small businesses. Thank you for hosting El PRADO!

There are not a lot of great hotels in the Peninsula and the South Bay for some odd reason. Even the 4 Seasons is just OK given the location. El Prado seems to try and fill that gap. It's a really nice boutique hotel right by downtown Palo Alto. Great service.

Cute little boutique hotel with a wonderful restaurant attached to it. Parking structure across the street Rooms were cute and cozy Love the balcony so I can people watch while having coffee

Loved our recent stay at El Prado Hotel! It's located in the heart of downtown Palo Alto, walking distance to restaurants, shops, and Stanford's campus. I stayed 5+ years ago when it was Garden Court - the hotel felt similar on this visit but looked like it'd undergone some upgrades. It's a pretty boutique hotel with warm and welcoming staff. We only stayed for a night but really enjoyed our clean room, comfortable bed, and luxurious rainshower. We had an interior/courtyard-facing room, and appreciated the peace and quiet at night and in the morning (no street noise for us!). The complimentary coffee on our guest room floor in the morning was also a welcome treat. We enjoyed one cup from there and then a latte from nearby Blue Bottle Coffee. I think El Prado has a small gym but we didn't have time to see it. We did however go for a run to and through Stanford's campus (and up/around The Dish) and I highly recommend that! We had looked into a variety of hotels in the area. Prices near Stanford are high, no matter where you stay. For the location and the comfort, we were happy with our choice, and we'd stay at El Prado again.

Very modern classy upscale hotel in a great area of Palo Alto. The location is in a good location just off the main street, with a convenient Blue Bottle Coffee location just two blocks away for your coffee fix. The only two things that I noted that may be minor annoyances to some is that there is a lot of noise from garbage removal trucks that roll by at 5:30 am in the morning, which may wake some guests up. Also the pillows are on the thin side so you may want to double or triple up on your pillows.

We had a day conference at the hotel so we didn't actually stay in a room so can't say about the experience there. Located in downtown palo alto with everything being a walkable distance. Parking on the weekend is easy on the street or a free parking garage across the street, which usually is 3hrs on weekdays. Valet was interesting as they didn't know how to drive a manual but nevertheless still super nice. $20 for whole day parking aint bad tbh Conference room was spacious and had nice views, food and everything was okay, but service was a little lacking when they served lunch. (Had to wait like 5 min for them to restock the main course when it was buffet style) Overall good vibes and nice views, and definitely on the higher end

handled everything well - some confusing with cleaning and moving things around - good management

Kate(Katie?) at the front desk was so kind to me when I checked in feeling a bit ill -- she was able to get me a room right away (despite it being 9:30am) and even offered to send up ginger ale and tea. The room was spacious and the bathroom was super nice. The mini balcony made me feel like I was in Paris. When I texted to ask for anything it came right away. Can't ask for much more!

I absolutely love this place and my family and I always stay here whenever we are in Palo Alto! The staff is super friendly and nice here and they try to accommodate all your requests! The rooms are also super cozy and big, I especially love the balcony and the nice views! 10/10

If you ever visit Palo Alto area, I highly recommend that you stay at this hotel. The rooms are lovely and well appointed. There are complimentary coffee and tea at certain times of the day. The bed was very comfortable. The toiletries were Moulton Brown London. Receptionist was very friendly and patient. The valet was helpful. The location is also great off the University Ave in a quiet street in downtown Palo Alto. The first floor is connected to Il Fornaio Italian restaurant which people said was where Steven Jobs had his last meal. It's just around the corner of Blue Bottle and the Graduate Hotel, which offers nice breakfast. It is very convenient to all the shops and restaurants within walking distance.

We had a lovely stay and our room was beautiful. Very clean, comfortable beds, cute view of the courtyard, and delicious room service. I'm giving 4 stars instead of 5 because we checked out on a Sunday around 10:30am and they need to have more people scheduled to work at this time. The desk attendant Eddie was amazing. Not only was he the one that delivered our room service, he also checked us out at the front desk, and later retrieved our car when the valet was nowhere to be found. Eddie was single handedly doing three jobs with grace and a smile! That being said, el PRADO needs to do better for their clients and for Eddie by ensuring that especially on weekend days they have enough staff to cover the basics.

We found el PRADO Hotel through WeddingWire in the summer of 2021 when we first got engaged; they were going through a remodeling and let us stop by for a quick tour even before they were reopened. We had already toured other wedding venues but we were pretty impressed by the layout of the boutique hotel and fell in love with the architecture and all the little cute nooks that we knew would be absolutely fantastic for photographs. When they had a soft reopening later that year in the fall, we visited again for another tour just to see how things had been updated and heard about all the plans. The Director of Events, Jesse Bresnahan, has been such a key player in our decision to book our wedding at el PRADO. el PRADO was probably the 6th or 7th venue we had toured and we hadn't really been to one that we really walked in and felt comfortable saying yes to right away. el PRADO was exactly that. The combination of a super sweet staff and lovely setup and environment of the hotel even before setting up any wedding decor really vibed with us. We were pretty set on booking el PRADO after visiting a couple times and speaking with Jesse. Jesse has been extremely patient with our millions of questions (we have email threads of 40-50+ emails back and forth with him about wedding planning), is always professional about everything, was such a positive force during our planning, and guided us through a lot of decisions we had to make for our wedding. We were able to start drafting a contract for our wedding to book our date (well in advance) by December 2021 and just had to wait on a couple things before signing it, but Jesse made sure that all of our concerns and questions were addressed and worked with us over email and phone calls to get our contract just how we needed it; we booked el PRADO 12 months in advance of our wedding and felt so comfortable and excited about our decision! Sarah Rennert also started helping us with rooming blocks and wedding planning questions mid-2022 in the midst of all of our planning. Both her and Jesse were just phenomenal pillars of support for us. It was so great to meet her on our wedding weekend and she helped us get what we needed whenever we needed it. el PRADO as a wedding venue is an absolute dream! The entire staff was extremely hospitable, everyone we encountered was so warm and welcoming and always put a smile on our faces. They let us set up for our wedding ahead of time (we did a lot of DIY decor since our wedding was so specifically themed to a particular video game) and went above and beyond for us from setting up some decor day of for us, plating our dessert donuts (which we were totally just planning to have in the boxes they came in with labels from our vendor), cleaning up our room (the bridal party got ready and made an absolute mess in the Penthouse and by the night of the wedding they had cleaned up the bedroom area and sprinkled a bunch of rose petals on the bed and in the shape of a heart!), and helping us clean up and pack things away after the reception ended. Jesse kept checking in on me and my partner whatever floor we were on (1st floor lobby/reception, 2nd floor bar area or Biblioteca, 4th floor Penthouse, etc.), made sure we were fed and hydrated, and kept the event going and kept us aware of timing (when to come down for the processional, when to get ready for the reception grand entrance, when do start going around making toasts at all the tables, etc.). Seriously could not have appreciated him more! During and after our wedding, our guests were just gushing about the venue, staff, and food. We've heard from multiple guests that the food for dinner was some of the best, if not the best, food they'd had at a wedding, and they loved how the venue looked! We had our rehearsal dinner, wedding, and weekend stay at the hotel. If we ever need to hold another big event for whatever reason, we would definitely do it at el PRADO, and we'd absolutely try to find a reason (perhaps an anniversary) to stay at el PRADO again. The Penthouse is gorgeous with its outdoor patio (where we did our first look photos) and has such a lovely bathroom with a rainfall showerhead and a deep soaking tub. After we booked for our wedding, they opened a Tapas Bar on the 2nd floor and we visited frequently in the months leading up to our wedding. The drinks and bites available daily are delicious! Highly recommend el PRADO as a place to check out, have an event, do a weekend getaway, grab some drinks, or all of the above! Literally cannot stop thinking about everything, it was everything we could've asked for and more!

Gorgeous hotel. Room was pristine and extremely clean. Bathroom updated and beautifully tiled. Hotel had a lot of cool nooks and crannies to have a cocktail or read a book.

I had my wedding at this hotel and they forgot to charge me $100 and they have harassed me and treated me as if I had stolen their money because I was on vacation and could not make the payment at that time, and I do not have any accounts in Colombia. I contacted them and told them that I would pay them after my vacation and they still continued to harass me. The room had no working bathroom and the room where I had the reception had a broken air conditioner and they told me this just when I was stressed out, they made me cry on my wedding day and then said that they were already fixing it. Horrible handling of the situation and now this. NEVER DO EVENTS WITH THEM OR STAY THERE.

Our stay at el PRADO Hotel was fantastic! Beautiful hotel close to all the action of downtown Palo Alto. Loved the beds and comfy bedding, the rain shower was a welcome touch which made our multiple night stay away even more like home for us. The staff is welcoming, helpful and professional. Everything was clean and in working order which is expected of course but not always found in every hotel. Will stay again. Tips: Get a room overlooking the courtyard, the little patio is a great place to sit with either a coffee in the morning, or a wine in the evening. Be sure to check out the Italian restaurant next door for an amazing dinner only footsteps away.

The hotel is stunning and I love the vibes. That said we had an issue at check-in. We were waitlisted for an upgrade and upon check-in were told we got one. YAY us! Anyway it's a two night stay and we were in town for a wedding. At 1 pm they called us saying that we needed to move because they had us in another room for the second night. We are in the process of getting ready for the wedding and discussed the fact when we arrived they said we were upgraded for the stay but never mentioned not for the second night - or we would have chosen differently. A lot of negotiation and discussion ensued and the hotel and the management was not pleasant and hung up on us at one point. We moved as a bride and groom were checking in but said we needed to continue getting ready until 2 pm in the room so we could pack up then move rooms. The front desk and the manager were really unhelpful. I will shout out Dameka who helped us move rooms. She is a gem - so ask for her and say hi. The hotel is lovely but I think the customer service needs an upgrade.

we had early problems but management made good on all of them. i cannot complain. staff was very friendly and cordial. thank you, we will be back.

El Prado Hotel is absolutely beautiful. We were set on an outdoor wedding from the beginning of our engagement- thinking that was the only way to include our dogs in the ceremony.. but I was wrong. El Prado is hugely dog-friendly! To be honest, my then-fiance didn't even want to look at el prado it wasn't what we originally envisioned for our day but once we stepped on the property and saw how beautiful the hotel was- the small, intimate vibe, the aesthetics, the colors, the choices in furniture and everything- we just fell in love with the venue. Our original plan was to get married in March (off-season.. cheaper) but we learned that el prado doesn't have different prices for different months or days of the week! WHAT?! We were soo excited to hear that! They only have a minimum food & beverage cost. SOLD. We get a beautiful venue, in July, on a Saturday evening for nothing extra. The team at el Prado, especially Jesse, were our heroes! Jesse answers all emails quickly, promptly, and with humor. He went above and beyond ensuring our wedding day went smoothly- coordinating with all the vendors, and making sure the things I prepared are placed and prepped in the correct areas. Our guests were so impressed by the service of everyone. And these family members go to A LOT of weddings and they help out at pretty much all of them so it's with HIGH praise when they were impressed with the level of service and competencies of everyone at el prado. It's not the cheapest out there but I'd pay for quality and the peace of mind that everyone is working to ensure we have the best day possible. And it was absolutely perfect. I mean don't all brides and grooms think their day is perfect? But ours was perfect, not just to us but to so many of our guests who came gushing about our day. Some even said it was better than their own wedding. *beams* it's everyone working together to make our vision come to life.

Beautiful hotel and great location, but super overpriced. In order to upgrade to a room with a bathtub, it was an Extra $250/night. By far, the hardest and worst mattress I've ever slept on at a nice establishment. They put a topper on it, which helped slightly, but slept very little over the 4-night $3000 stay. Even the coffee wasn't very good. My view was the street and not the lovely courtyard. I had no balcony. I was disappointed. All of the staff were pleasant and swift.

Stayed there for a night with my family and generally did not meet my expectations for a hotel at this price point. First with the good, the room was nice, the location convenient, and the staff generally courteous. However, there were numerous annoyances with things that just shouldn't be an issue with a $500/night hotel. First, there is essentially no usable refrigerator in the room as it is stocked completely full of minibar items, nor is there an ice machine on the floor. Second, there is no coffee available in the hotel, either in the room or in the lobby. When I asked where I could get a cup of coffee I was directed to a coffeeshop down the street. Finally, staff attempted to clean our room no less than three times prior to our check out time at 11AM. First at 9AM, then at 9:30AM, and again at 10:30AM despite our asking them each time to please come back to clean our room after we had checked out.

An amazing and beautiful hotel in the heart of Silicon Valley. Amazing Service: I had an amazing experience with Jesse Bresnahan. I can't say enough about Jesse. He helped us create a wedding of our dreams. In fact, it was even more wonderful than we imagined. He is such an incredible person and the best Director of Events I have ever worked with. He is very attentive and tries to focus on what your vision is for your wedding. There was open communication between us, and he worked very hard on our proposals. I really appreciate everything he did for us. From the manager to the workers, they were all on time and helped us throughout the wedding *Jesse made sure that the venue was handicap-friendly since some of our family members have difficulties going around buildings. Beautiful Venue: Such a breathtaking venue. The terrace and the garden were our favorites. Amazing place to take pictures and highlight its beauty. Amazing place to do a photoshoot throughout the hotel. Our guests were able to enjoy the hotel and the rooms were so beautiful. Makes you feel special: They took care of every single detail. We gave them a budget and Jesse was able to accommodate an amazing event with our budget. Further, he even worked with us to have our parents stay at a room for free. He gave us the beautiful penthouse and we were able to have a photoshoot here. When we came back, the room service folks made a heart from petals on the bed. My wife was awe-struck by their attention to detail and willingness to surprise us. They were responsive, caring and creative problem solvers. I would highly recommend them. If you want your wedding to be beautiful, heart-felt, and  completely your vision without all of the stress of figuring it out on your own. I would highly suggest El Prado!

Love. As a comparison to every hotel that I've stayed-in in the Bay Area (Santa Cruz, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland), this has got to be one of the best. It's sophisticated from top to bottom, from arrival, to stairwell and lounges, to the delicious room itself. Rainfall shower is tops, a bathtub would've been nice. I spent some time on the balcony the view is a bit meh. Can't wait for the parking lot outside to be filled with plants or art, pretty please :)

My husband and I stayed here with our two pups after getting married. Some things really stood out to us that are worth mentioning. The service/hospitality here is outstanding. We forgot to bring a phone charger & food bowls for our dogs. The staff went above & beyond to make sure we had what we needed. Everyone had a positive attitude which made our stay welcoming. I enjoyed their bathroom products so much I ended up purchasing them for our house! Molton Brown products smell amazing. The location is also super convenient, walking distance to restaurants and shops. A couple of things were disappointing, however. The room was only 400 square feet so very small and the balcony was tiny. The bed/pillows were also a little too hard for my back. We had trouble fitting our dog's food in the tiny beverage fridge. I'd stay here again but would bring my own pillows.

This has to be a joke. It's Saturday morning at 7:45 am and for the last hour and a half this truck has been parked right outside our room, running a GAS generator to power wash the sidewalk. At 6 o'clock AM on a Saturday morning. The prices for the amenities you get here is outrageous to begin with and this is the experience? A gas generator blaring 100ft away from my window at 6am and they charge $400+ per night here? Maybe this is why the rates drop significantly on the weekend? The wife and I thought we would check this place out for a local staycation but now I wish I had just stayed home. This is ridiculous.

I hosted a corporate holiday party for 40 people at Garden Court Hotel in Palo Alto. Venue The hotel was beautifully decorated with lights. I like their lobby and catering manager was easy to work with. The theme was wine tasting so I created the wine tasting cards, wine tasting placemats,. Food & Wine closely worked with the catering manager to select the wine from their wine list. Food was provided by restaurant downstairs. We had passed hor'douvres and they tasted great. deducted one star for the food quality. My guests did not like the grits and said the chicken was dry Decoration As for table decoration, I rented the table linen, napkin and chair cover from Stuart Rentals, and had silk flower centerpiece created by design team from created the yellow orchid center pieces Michael's, and gold chargers were purchased from Catering Staff The staff was friendly, professional and organized. Party City.

Gorgeous space and impeccable service make this place with the price. The decor is modern yet honors the historic feel of the building. Everything feels brand new and super clean. This is the new name for the Garden Court Hotel (not sure when the change happened, or if it's new management / ownership. It seemed clear that guest service was emphasized to the staff. Everyone we encountered made us feel welcome and like they cared about our experience. We chose this hotel for a 24h parents escape. The location is perfect for walking to dozens of restaurants and at least 3 wine bars. Parking on weekends is free in the garage across the street (or $28 for valet). Even in these covid times they offer "proper" room service, including real plates, silverware, etc and a really nice menu. We got.a King room with a fireplace and a tiny balcony that opened to the courtyard below. We really enjoyed both. Note, if quiet is really important to you - the Il Fornaio restaurant has outdoor dining in the courtyard which was noisy during the dinner hour but not an issue after 9 or 10pm.

We absolutely LOVE el PRADO!! We got married in November and it was absolutely the best experience ever!! Jesse assisted us through the entire process and day of the wedding he was amazing! Extremely knowledgeable! He went above and beyond! Everything went seamlessly from start to finish! We are so grateful for him and all the staff at the hotel. Everyone is so friendly, welcoming, and attentive. Our guests were in awe of the venue, food, and staff! We can't thank el PRADO enough!! It was amazing! We highly recommend this venue for your next event!!

One thing is for sure: The Garden Court Hotel takes customer feedback seriously. After complaining about a drop in service during our last visit (involving a beer from room service that never arrived) my wife and I were greeted on our recent stay with a room upgrade and a complimentary six-pack of Boont Amber Ale on ice. Ouch - I've been hit in my weak spot!! We had a glorious stay here; One of our best ever. The hotel seems to have turned the service up a notch. I have zero complaints. The location is just ideal; It's walking distance to all that downtown Palo Alto has to offer; And only a short trip to Stanford. We lingered over coffee, we went for a long bike ride; We walked; We shopped; We read on our balcony; We went hot tubbing; We got frozen yogurt, we walked some more, and we enjoyed two romantic dinners. Oh...And we never used the car the entire weekend. The courtyard offers a sense of privacy and quiet; No matter how frenetic the University Avenue scene may be, once you turn the corner into the hotel, it's like being in a sleepy village square. Relaxation ensues. Thanks Garden Court. We'll be back next year!

I had a business meeting in Palo Alto last week and stayed here for 3 nights. It was a good choice. The price was very reasonable, but I know I'm not is San Francisco or Oakland, so I thought it would be more reasonable. My room was clean and the service was very prompt and friendly. It's right in downtown Palo Alto, so for me it was very convenient and right down the street from where I needed to meet people. Recommended.

My wife and I got married here and it was an amazing experience! We worked with Jesse who was extremely helpful and knowledgeable throughout the entire process. The venue is absolutely beautiful and the staff was great. Everything was perfectly in place which allowed us to have a smooth and stress free wedding. Aside from the wedding venue, the hotel was great as well!

Jesse and Sarah were absolutely lovely to work with! My fiancé and I came in with a very long list of questions and Jesse sat down and answered each and every one of them. From the consistent follow-up whenever we had additional questions, to the gourmet tasting experience, to the care and consideration we were shown from the entire El Prado team, I felt nothing but at home, welcomed, and confident in El Prado's ability to make my wedding day the day I always dreamed of. I am beyond grateful for Jesse, Sarah, and the entire team, and I heartily recommend El Prado to anyone who is interested in getting married in Palo Alto. Thank you, El Prado, for a wonderful experience!!

As a San Francisco native, I will always be a city girl at heart but going to the Peninsula and South Bay on the weekends is my weekend dose of Xanax. As much I love SF, it has sadly become a complete clusterf*ck of lines, traffic, and parking woes. Every day I come home to find my neighbor hogging up two parking spaces. He would get a douchebag pass if he drove an obnoxious Hummer but he drives a tiny Civic. I wouldn't be surprised if his bathroom floor is as dirty as his car. Stand closer to the toilet, bruh...it's not as long as you think it is. Needing a bit of zen, Tater Tot and I had a staycation at Garden Court Hotel and it was just what I needed to decompress from the week. It's a beautiful boutique hotel that's centrally located in downtown Palo Alto. Most importantly, it's very dog-friendly ($50 pet fee). (+) Exemplary customer service. I booked through a 3rd party vendor and requested a king bed but was placed in a queen. Front desk quickly rectified the issue and placed me in a room with a king bed with courtyard views. Thank you for the kind note that was slipped under my door: http://bit.ly/2niUKrc. (+) The staff was very warm, friendly, and had a sense of urgency. They brought a bed and bowls for Tater Tot without even having to ask and within 10 minutes of moving to the new room: http://bit.ly/2lHSKwk. (+) Quiet and serene for a restful night's sleep. (+) Bed and pillows were very comfy: http://bit.ly/2n41sVY. (+) Wall-to-wall mable bathroom. Loved the rainfall shower head and Molton Brown toiletries (yay for makeup removing wipes!). (+) Complimentary coffee, tea, and pastries on every floor in the morning. (+) Centrally located. Walking distance to lots of great eateries, bars, cafes, froyo, and boba. (+) Eco-friendly. Energy saving key card room control - lights only turn on when you insert your key card. (+) Sense of security. Elevators required a key card to operate. (+) Coconut water ($5) in the minibar - the hungover lushes rejoice! (+) Free and fast WiFi. (+) Dog-friendly. (+) Easy street parking. (-) Vanity mirror was attached to the wall. Wish there was a portable one for those who like to sit down and put on their face. (-) No self-parking, valet only ($24/night). But, very easy non-metered parking can be found. I absolutely loved my stay at Garden Court Hotel and would recommend it to anyone looking for a nice staycation away from the city. Tater Tot loved his stay too. He spent a lot of time lounging on the bed and looking over the courtyard. When I was leaving to check out, I couldn't find Tater Tot in the room. After a brief moment of panic, I found him hiding underneath the European sofa....refusing to leave. I had to pull him from under the sofa and he wasn't having it. So, five paws from Tater Tot. I should create a Yelp account for him so he can start writing reviews from a dog's account. Maybe he can be the first dog on Yelp to earn an elite badge?

First of, this is WAYYYY overdue. I travel a ton for work, so I haven't had a chance to post this, but I've been wanting to forever. This will be my first yelp review, so that should tell you how much I really appreciated and enjoyed everything about my wedding. Now, on to the good stuff...I absolutely LOVED my experience with the Garden Court Hotel! Jesse Bresnahan, who was our Event Manager at the hotel, was AMAZING and I'd say a big reason why our wedding was so great. Planning a wedding, as most will figure out soon enough, is extremely stressful, but with Jesse's help, I couldn't be at more ease. He was super responsive, gave tons of details when needed, and had a "can do" attitude for everything. Of course I loved the actual setting, food, and general service at the Garden Court, but I don't think I would have had such a great time planning my wedding if it weren't for Jesse. I'm sure the other planners/managers are wonderful, but if you get Jesse, consider yourself lucky! As an added bonus to the Garden Court Hotel, they give you a 5 day stay at a sister hotel in one of their locations in Spain for your honeymoon (which you have a year to use)...unheard of! They also help set it all up for you, so just one less thing to stress about. My husband and I went to Barcelona and of course, it was a trip to remember. You also get a two night stay at the hotel (day before your wedding and day of) as part of the wedding package. While weddings can get pricey, Garden Court made it worth it with the added 2 night stay AND the honeymoon hotel nights...stuff adds up so anything that's "thrown in" is an amazing bonus! Thank you Jesse and Garden Court team for making our wedding what we wanted and more!

Stayed here for a wedding weekend. Beautiful hotel and rooms were nice. The reason for 3 stars is because the pillows were terrible (super flat and no head support, worse than motel pillows I have had) and the room was below a working area because we could hear bottles and glasses clinking, carts rolling around, and thumps above that started at 6:00am both mornings. They were also painting outside of our room and had blankets down on the floor to walk on and light stands in the hallway. Felt like a remodel zone. For the price it didn't feel worth it and we didn't sleep well at all.

I stayed here for NYE and celebrated a wedding reception here as well. I had also come here previously for a Yelp soiree. This is a great venue for private events and a peaceful place to stay. You won't want to leave! Before I get into all the great stuff, the only thing that prevented the five star was the disappointing room service cravings. The pamphlet instructed guests to dial "0" for the menu. I was given 3 choices by the woman on the phone: 1) ham sandwich 2) turkey sandwich 3) chicken soup The bf and I chose option 1 and 3. It all came up efficiently and friendly with condiments, ice water and a fancy salt and pepper shaker. The greatest disappointment was finding a grilled wheat bread ham & cheese expecting to get a sandwich. Technically, it is a sandwich, but the person on the phone should have been a bit more descriptive when naming off the menu items by prefacing guests on what was IN the "sandwich". It turned out to be quite awful after a few bites. The chicken soup was acceptable. I've eaten this kind out of the can before. Other than the awful food that came with the late night room service, our stay was excellent. The room couldn't have been nicer. The rain shower head and hand spray in the shower was a nice perk in the floor to ceiling marbled bathroom. The toiletries are all so floral and fragrant. The bed was so fluffy, it was really hard to get up in the morning and check out. The turn down in the room after checking in was kind of nice. They left a pair of slippers by the bed, sleeping eye masks, chocolate and some ear plugs. I also noticed the nice variety of office supplies in the desk if someone happened to be here on business. -very nice touch... They leave fresh fruit and some dried berries as a complimentary treat in the room too, but if that isn't enough, there is more fruit in a basket in the hallway too! Nice! Everyone here is extremely friendly, polite and couldn't offer better service. The valet is $17 overnight but convenient given the complicated self parking situation in downtown Palo Alto. You have to use your key in all the elevators here and also to turn on the lights. I think it's a good idea to keep out the riff raff and conserve electricity. I wouldn't mind staying here again and definitely would consider them for an event. I just won't indulge in any late night meals here.

A little disappointing. Have never stayed in this area before we looked at a ton of hotels and really wanted a nice hotel. This hotel looked gorgeous and was a little on the higher end of pricing so we figured it would be awesome. Unfortunately it was under construction when we stayed which they failed to state or tell us when we booked, and I booked over the phone too. Any hotel I have ever stayed at that is under major construction has conveyed this on their site as well as when you book and the price is usually lowered because of it. For one night our stay was over $400 and I felt completely ripped off. This hotel feels very dated. Not what I was expecting. We booked this for a friends a birthday and were so embarrassed. The service was good and very friendly. And the bell boys brought us water to our car in the morning, both nice touches. Overall if you are looking for a nice hotel in Palo Alto i wouldn't recommend or stay here again.

Don't waste your money here, especially not on a suite. First of all, the "private patio" is a balcony that is just deep enough to fit a chair, and overlooks a parking lot. Definitely not a usable amenity. I was also surprised at the questionable level of cleanliness here. Stains on the sofa, and the extra comforter smelled pretty musty. But what sealed the deal- the seating area has NO LIGHT. No ceiling lights, wall sconces, or floor lamps. Even the handyman said it seemed like something was missing. I called the front desk to send up a floor lamp, and after saying they'd see if they could find one in storage or another room, they sent someone up (maybe the night shift manager?) to tell me that they can only offer me a desk (task) lamp. To put.... on the coffee table? I asked her if she thought the dark seating area looked right to her, and she said (I swear): "This room gets a lot of light during the day so maybe they didn't think to put in a lamp for nighttime." Yes because OBVIOUSLY hotel rooms are designed for optimal DAYTIME performance. So basically, I paid an extra $200/night for a suite and they can't afford to provide adequate light levels when the sun goes down. I'm only giving this hotel two stars because the floor service staff (handyman guy to replace a broken tv remote, and housekeeping to bring extra bedding) were great. Otherwise, avoid this hotel unless you want to spend $$ to sit in the dark and deal with inept and apathetic hotel management.

The Garden Court offers luxury and charm. It has to be the only high end hotel in the heart of Palo Alto. This is definitely the hotel to stay at in Palo Alto. It is half a block from University Ave and a 5 minute walk from the Cal train station. There are many restaurants and bars and a very nice restaurant downstairs connected to the hotel. Valet parking is around $40 a night. The staff here are amazing and so are the rooms. The rooms have beautiful accommodations with a view of the courtyard and a balcony to sit and sip wine or drink coffee in the morning sun. The bathroom are clean! Very well stocked with everything you might need: * Standard shampoo\conditioner * Lotion * makeup remover wipes * Sewing kit * Toothbrush holder * Q-tips * Facial pads They even go further and make sure you have fluffy towels, bathrobes and even slippers. The courtyard is beautifully decorated. I also came here for an awards ceremony and the décor was beautiful! Food was DE-LISH and totally mouth-watering and tasted as good as it looked. Location is perfect! Right in the heart of downtown eateries and is close enough to simply walk to the Stanford stadium- a couple miles, but easy and no parking lot lines. FYI: They have coffee and pastries set up on every floor between 6am-9am which is a nice touch and rare to find. The level of service and hospitality here is phenomenal! This is one of the BEST places to stay when in the area. May be pricy but totally worth every penny.

Stayed at the Garden Court Hotel last weekend - the BF had his company holiday party not too far away and we figured it'd be a nice staycation to spend the night at a fancy hotel in downtown Palo Alto. You know you had a good overnight stay when you don't want to leave the next morning... Everything from the giant marble bathroom equipped with "his and hers" sinks to the crisp white sheets on the comfy bed screamed "Don't go". Unfortunately, we only booked the room for one night, but we tried to take advantage as much as possible. Unfortunately our short stay came to an end Sunday morning - once we heard housekeeping knocking on the door, we knew it was time to take off the fluffy robes and head home to our non-luxurious lives. However, it was nice to feel like royalty for just one night. If you have someone special coming to town OR want to get away for a night or two, consider the Garden Court. It's a great location and the amenities can't be beat.

I cannot say enough about how wonderful the el Prado is as a wedding venue! My daughter had a spectacular winter wonderland wedding last December and we and our guests are still raving about our experience! The hotel itself is beautifully appointed and ready for amazing photo ops. Jesse Bresnahan was the best Director of Events - he arranged for every detail we requested, was responsive as we planned for both a wedding ceremony followed by a reception; he was creative and added touches that we had not thought about that added to the event. On the day of the event, Jesse was our coordinator and he made sure that everything ran smoothly and adjusted for every last minute change. The food at the reception was absolutely delicious from the hors d'oeuvres to the main course - not your typical hotel or wedding food - the guests cleaned their plates! The bride and groom had an amazing penthouse suite that was large enough to accommodate all of the preparations of the wedding party. We're just looking for an excuse to go back and repeat the experience!

The Mother's Day buffet (2013) was amazing. We tried several buffets over the years in the Bay Area and so far and by far the Garden Court's was our best experience. The place is beautiful, the service was excellent and the buffet delicious. I'm adding a few pictures to the gallery including the "Menu" of what was available at the buffet. It didn't feel crowded at all (we went to the 10:30am sitting), the buffet area was not busy and always replenished. The selection was modern, fresh, well thought through. My favorites: Sea food (oysters, smoked salmon, crab), grilled salmon on on lobster fennel cream, braised short ribs ravioli and the lamb. Kids loved the desserts and the chocolate used in the chocolate fountain was premium quality (rare to find in a fountain!). I'm being told that this is the first year they do it, I wish they keep it at the same level next year. Nice touch, Valet parking was complementary (or maybe "included in the price"). Of course, it comes with a price, but it was worth the experience, and when mom is happy, everyone is happy :-)

My cousin had their wedding here on 10/10/10. No, it wasn't at 10:10 am, but it was at 3pm. The place isn't that big, but it's great for small weddings like the one I attended. There were passed hors d'œuvre and the timing of when it came around was pretty spotty. After the first one, we didn't see another one for at least 40 mins. Then there were two plates back-to-back, then waited some more for the next. The dinner was pretty awesome. Like everyone else said, the filet mignon was delish! The sea bass was great as well! The salad that came prior to the entree was perfectly dressed. The bread was good too; it had olives in it. I wouldn't mind coming to another wedding here!

If I could give this place 10 stars, I would!! We are here for my husband's bday and the room is beautiful, the staff (Heather, Michael, Lyle) are beyond great. They even sent us a great bottle of wine for his bday and when our fireplace didn't work, they offered such great ways to make it up to us. We were here on our wedding night 20 years ago and I glad we returned!!! Thank you for the stellar service!!

Came here for a wedding rehearsal dinner. Of course, the first thing we do is walk straight into Il Fornaio! They must get that a lot because we were pointed - very politely - to Garden Court around the corner. Seating was in the courtyard, dinner was buffet-style. There was also an open bar (nice!) and fantastic restrooms conveniently located nearby. Okay, maybe this is not such a "green" thing to admit, but I love using personal towels instead of paper towels or hand dryers. Food overall was good and innovative. In particular, the rice salad with capers, kalamata olives, arugula and shrimp stood out. For main entrees, there was lasagna and salmon. My only suggestion, if you decide to use this venue for a dinner, etc, is to have dressings on the side. All the salads had wilted leaves, which is a personal pet peeve of mine! Slimy leaves = gross. The dessert tray had a variety of choices - biscotti, napoleons, chocolate cake, fruit tart, mini pecan pie - on a mirror. Great idea! If you love desserts like I do, then keep an eye out for the platter as soon as it comes out. I missed out on tiramisu and had to mooch on someone else's....

I was here for a yelp event, and I must say that the venue definitely exceeded my expectations for the Hawaiian theme. I really felt like I was back at the Moana Surfrider Hotel back in Waikiki. The interior decor is very beautiful and elegant, and the courtyard was lit very nicely with all the plants and architecture in the vicinity. Service was generally helpful and courteous. Good first impression of this place, and I can see why people would want their weddings here.

If you ever find yourself in downtown Palo Alto and need a comfortable place to stay or are having friends or family coming to town and need a place to stay in Palo Alto, check out Garden Court. The check-in was easy and painless. The lobby might be a hard to find, being on the second floor, but its rather painless. It's cute and newly redesigned. The staff seemed to be very friendly and accomodating. The rooms are nice: canopy bed, soft pillows, small balcony, complimentary Aveda toiletries, fresh fruit, desk supplies in the desk, eye masks, ear plugs, slippers, steamer (was a little on the weak side) and a hair dryer come standard in your room. And forget bringing q-tips, cotton rounds or mouthwash with you. This stuff comes with your room too. At night, the hotel turns down your bed for you and leaves you chocolates. A special service that most hotels don't offer. Beware of the private bar selection. It is tempting and looked extremely delcious, but WAY over-priced. Instead, put your complimentary slippers on and walk two blocks to the 7-11. You will get a mini tour of downtown Palo Alto too while you are at it. The only bonus for your private bar selection? Your bar doesn't close t 2. If you don't want to pay for valet parking, there is a parking lot right next door that lets you park there for free on the weekends. Hungry? Il Fornaio is located downstairs by the front entrance or Califrnia Pizza Kitchen is right across the street. Early risers get dibs on the complimenary breakfast served from 5:30am until 10am. Sorry, I don't rise early on my days off so I have no idea how good it is.

We stayed in the Penthouse Suite for our wedding weekend. Compared to other hotels in the area, this is by far the nicest hotel at a reasonable price point. It was remodeled during COVID (or slightly before) and is now super trendy. The suites are luxurious and classy while feeling clean and new. The hotel staff was also exceptionally kind and thoughtful to us for our big day (we came back to a bottle of wine and rose petals). I highly recommend this hotel if staying in Palo Alto and looking for a plush stay.

I booked this hotel for a belated mom's night away for my mom and I. When I first called to book, I was immediately impressed with the friendly gentleman on the phone (didn't grab his name). He was helpful in suggesting a room and answer my questions. I called back a few days after I booked to ask about parking and a sweet girl answered and again, super helpful. When we drove up, the valet-Oscar was upbeat and friendly. Check in by Eddy was awesome. I had called earlier in the day to see if we could get a check in a bit before 3 pm. He was able to accommodate us. He recognized my name when we checked in and had a lovely smile greeting us. The room-fantastic! Huge! Super super clean. Comfy beds and linens. Loved our little patio. Loved the Molton Brown toiletries. What a treat. We saw a few staff in the hallway-super friendly as well. Check out by Robert was easy and he was kind and professional too. I've stayed in many hotels all around Silicon Valley. I judge everything by the customer service, initially. In this area (which I've lived for 40 years), a high class hotel can also come with a snobby attitude. Not at el Prado. And let me say, the upstairs sitting area is absolutely lovely. I would host a party here in a minute. Overall, I highly highly recommend el Prado. My mom had a lovely time. 1 thing I would like to recommend, is to have the ability to watch streaming services on the tv. We will be back and recommend the hotel to friends and family.