Business luxury in Silicon Valley

It was without doubt the most comfortable night ever spent in a hotel bed, and all the more welcome after the 24 hours travel and transit from Dubai to San Francisco.

The Four Seasons Silicon Valley is a five star hotel located in central Silicon Valley, about ten minutes drive from Stanford University and just five minutes by taxi to leafy Palo Alto town centre. The surrounding area is dotcom billionaire real estate, with house prices starting in the millions. Palo Alto is scattered with upmarket street cafes, restaurants, a great branch of Borders books and a fairly large Apple Store.

We've mentioned the superb beds, which are probably the most critical features for any jetlagged business traveller, followed by the bathrooms. In my Superior King room the bathroom was extremely spacious, with double basin sinks and a large separate shower cubicle and bath, as well as all usual amenities including an LCD TV.

Internet in the capital of computing

Communications is the next essential, and being in Silicon Valley one has high expectations. The hotel did not disappoint. It's always a bit of a shock to use the internet overseas after spending time in the Middle East, with its proxy-server clogged internet and sky high charges. The Four Seasons charged just $10 a day for in room WiFi, and there was also an ethernet cable provided.

Those travelling without laptops can access the internet via the in-room TV and wireless keyboard (also for $10 a day). I tested this out and it worked well, the internet was via a fully featured Internet Explorer browser, not one of the frustrating kiosk affairs that one often gets. The only hitch is that the nudge-button on the keyboard is very fiddly to manipulate, these keyboards could really do with a mouse attachment.

Food glorious food

We dined out at different local restaurants each evening, so I only got to try the Four Seasons' breakfast menu. It was outstanding. Contrary to expectations this was not the legendary American breakfast mega-buffet, but an a la carte menu that ranged from the conventional - omelettes, scrambled eggs, bacon, yoghurt - to the more exotic, such as the Californian breakfast burrito or eggs benedict on Dungeness crab cakes. It was actually a relief to be able to just sit and be served, rather than having to wander around endless tureens trying to find the mushrooms.

The Four Seasons Silicon Valley has 200 rooms including 27 suites. There is a pool and spa, with various treatments available. The hotel has one restaurant, a cafe-lounge, and a bar serving light meals and appetisers. It also offers an in-room fine dining experience. One particularly useful service was the hotel courtesy car, which took us to Palo Alto and back several times.

AME Info stayed at the Four Seasons Silicon Valley as a guest of Sun Microsystems