| this upscale boutique hotel with a mediterranean-style exterior is half a mile from the closest caltrain station and a mile from stanford university. check-in time: 3:00 pmcheck-out time: 11:00 am. a turndown service is offered. featuring floor-to-ceiling windows and french doors, the breezy, chic rooms offer free wi-fi and flat-screen hdtvs, as well as balconies and marble bathrooms with rainfall showers. suites add living rooms, whirlpool tubs and/or fireplaces. there's a gym, and a brick courtyard with a terracotta fountain. freebies include continental breakfast and refreshments
San Francisco International Airport 25 min
California's Great America (19 min)
Family-friendly theme park with thrill rides, water attractions, live entertainment & food options. Hoover Tower (12 min)
Landmark 285-ft. bell tower at Stanford, with an observation deck & Hoover memorabilia exhibits. Shoreline Lake Park (16 min)
Park with a golf course, a lake with boat rentals, walking/biking trails & a Victorian house museum. Rancho San Antonio Preserve (21 min)
Rural nature preserve features 24 miles of hiking trails, plus an education center & working farm. Hewlett Packard Garage (9 min)
Unassuming garage, known as the Birthplace of Silicon Valley, where Hewlett Packard was founded. Googleplex (10 min)
The global headquarters of Google, this campus encompasses offices, green space & recreation areas. Baylands Nature Preserve (11 min)
Vast marshland with 15 mi. of trails for walking, running & biking, plus bird-watching & kayaking. Coyote Hills Regional Park (20 min)
978 acres of rolling hills for picnicking, bird-watching, biking, hiking & nature exploration. Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts (7 min)
Classic & contemporary art museum with an outdoor sculpture garden featuring Rodin bronzes. Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo (12 min)
Free, child-oriented venue with animals like birds & turtles, plus interactive educational exhibits. Filoli Historic House & Garden (23 min)
An early-20th-century country estate & botanic garden, open for docent-led tours. Pearson-Arastradero Preserve (15 min)
Dog-friendly open space with an interpretive center, plus marked hiking, biking & equestrian trails. Shoreline Amphitheatre (12 min)
Large-scale music venue with open-air seating hosts festivals & big-name acts. Computer History Museum (10 min)
Exhibits on early computers, the growth of the Internet, industry pioneers & more. Memorial Church (13 min)
Interdenominational church with public tours featuring pipe organ, stained glass windows & mosaics. | 
