Business Trip to Santa Clara, Is Staying In San Francisco Feasible? (San Jose: rent, hotels)

[pamulli]

I am going to Santa Clara for a week in order to take a class that will last from 9-5 and would like to know if it is feasible to get a hotel in San Francisco and commute? I've been told that Santa Clara doesn't offer much in the way of night life, which is why I'm interested in staying elsewhere. I'm also open to other areas closer to Santa Clara that would offer some things to do when class is over, I just don't know the area at all in order to know if there are other options.
My thought was to get a hotel in SF and either take CalTrain or rent a car. In looking at the Caltrain option it seems like it will take me at least an hour and 45 minutes if I get a hotel around either the King and 4th St station or the 22nd street station by the time I actually get from the hotel to the station, then ride the train and then get from the Sunnyvale station to the location of the class. To me this sounds unreasonable, but I wasn't sure if there were other options that would be better such as renting a car and if so how long is that commute? Staying somewhere else is also a third option, but I don't know of other areas? Renting a car sounds the most promising, but I have no idea how long that drive will take if I have to be at class at 9am? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

[Mach50]

I wouldn't do it, stay near the class and travel into SF at night.

[humboldtrat]

That would be about 80 miles round trip and take a LOT of time. Go for downtown San Jose which has clubs, bars, etc. (but not on the scale of SF) and is a lot closer to Santa Clara. There is light rail between San Jose and Santa Clara Light Rail 902 - Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority

www.sanjose.com/nightlife/downtown.html

[Bunjee]

Travel backpack light and book the night before class in Santa Clara and the second night in SF with the same hotel or motel chain. Oh, and I'd absolutely NOT try and take the train down the peninsula; even IF the class is close by the train station it's a long trip. Chances are it's not close, and Santa Clara isn't great for making appointments when you're not on wheels. The class is probably near a light rail station, though, but you'd have to go to downtown SJ first. Buses are OK but expect to wait half an hour for one. Probably less, but expect the worst wait. I don't know what your exact point B is, though. But you'll be cranky by 9AM.

Wait...if I'm mistaken the class is actually 9 to 5 every day for a week? Oh, then, yeah, stay in Santa Clara and book the last night heading out in SF. I might recommend staying at a hotel near the airport and driving down from Millbrae every day, but that's a haul too.

[hsw]

Nearly all visiting NYC financiers stay in SF and drive down to SiliconValley for mtgs

Until FourSeasonsHotel opened in PA, SV had laughably crappy hotels, and food/bars in SV remain awful (like suburbs anywhere)

Traffic on SF Peninsula fwys is some of fastest in world (much of why many yuppies casually choose to live in SF and drive daily down to places like google in MtnView or Intel in SC or Apple in Cupertino or Cisco in SJ)...try to use 280 as much as poss before crossing over into 101 corridor; 101 is relatively slow but still much faster than any other comparable fwy in NYC or Chic or LA

[angelbug]

Originally Posted by hsw

Nearly all visiting NYC financiers stay in SF and drive down to SiliconValley for mtgs

My brother is an engineer back east, and whenever he and his work cronies come to SV, they stay down there to save commute time and gas, and go into the city on weekends. I lived in SF for 18 years and he would just come visit me on the weekend before or after his business trip days.

I would trust an engineer's evaluation of the relative merits of staying in one over the other over a "financier's" any day.

[coolbay]

Originally Posted by hsw

Nearly all visiting NYC financiers stay in SF and drive down to SiliconValley for mtgs

oh I see.. now I understand why the financial market gone bad !!!

[Mach50]

Originally Posted by coolbay

oh I see.. now I understand why the financial market gone bad !!!

Yes it doesn't take a financial genius to see that is a waste. My company would never allow that, but I am an Engineer and I guess we make good financial decisions (accept for that Land Rover Discovery I bought back in 03, expensive junk).

[pamulli]

OK San Jose it is until the last night and then I"ll stay in San Francisco. Thanks for the advice