Stone Villa Inn

For a work trip, this place suited me just fine at $280. Other hotels in San Mateo were going for $499-$550, and my company appreciated that my two-night stay came in under $600 instead of costing over $1,000. I’m simple when I travel for business: the room and bathroom were clean, and the bed and pillows were comfortable enough that I slept like a rock. The room had a nice size flat screen with Dish network, and the new furniture looked good. I also prefer a glass shower door to a tub with a curtain. I’ll stay again.

The internet worked fine, and there are a few places to eat nearby. If you have a car, there’s plenty of parking. The bed and furniture looked reasonably modern, and the room had a microwave and fridge. Mine didn’t have a safe, and the fridge was leaking when I arrived, leaving the furniture beneath it pretty wet.

We had to stay two nights because of the 48-hour cancellation policy. We eventually went to a different nearby hotel at the same price, and it was much cleaner and more enjoyable. The only good things about this stay were the nice shower tiles and the large closet. The room felt dingy as soon as we walked in. There was thick dust on cobwebs along the ceilings and walls, facial hair around the bathroom faucet, dried residue on the sink counter, towel fiber dust on the rack ends, dingy white sheets, scale on the shower walls, and dust on the leather chair. The lighting was poor, too. We spent the first night doing a sanitation ritual. When small cleaning jobs are missed like this, it makes me wonder what else gets shortchanged and what management’s priorities are. There was too much furniture for the cramped room. Of the four front desk employees I dealt with, all but one seemed to lack customer service training. One man did seem experienced and talked with me about future renovations posted on the office walls.

The rooms are clean and spacious, and management has made several efforts to make up for housekeeping throwing away our belongings while we were out. They’ve offered discounts and free upgrades on multiple occasions. The manager also gave me a replacement phone charger, and they offered us another night free. Fortunately nothing expensive was thrown out. It’s nice to see them care, and I hope I can give the hotel four or five stars in the future.