British Expats - Now what do I do?

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Re: Now what do I do?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael (Post 10638575)

Extended Stay America hotels are all around California with kitchenettes in each room. They are not as fancy as Residence Inn or Marriot Suites and don't have a pool but the rooms are fairly large, clean, and pretty well maintained for between about $60-$120 per night depending on the location. Some are within a mile or so of a Bart station so you can normally take a short bus ride to Bart. If you go all the way down to Fremont (prices in the $60-$70 range), there are three within 3 miles of the Bart station. On the peninsula, there isn't Bart but Caltrain to San Francisco but the room prices are more expensive on that side of the bay (probably nearer to $120 per night) but Caltrain runs through cities such as Palo Alto, Los Altos, and others that you might want to visit. Generally if you book for a week, the discount is about $5 per day.

No matter which side of the bay you stay on, you can get to the other side by switching in San Francisco or other stops that have both systems. Amtrak can get you to Sacramento and down south but other than buses and ferries, there isn't many public transportation ways to get to Marin county or Napa. Getting up or down the coast highway will be a challenge without a car.

In San Jose, there is a light rail system as well as plenty of busses to get around. Many of the suites in San Jose are near the low end of the price range but are normally not near the light rail or Caltrans.

Fremont is actually a pretty nice city about the physical size of San Jose with 1/4th the population with the Mission San Jose district, the Niles district which was where the original westerns and Charlie Chaplin movies were made, and plenty of open space and hiking trails through the east foothills.

Excellent thanks Michael! I'll look at that chain.

Re: Now what do I do?

Quote:

Originally Posted by robin1234 (Post 10638767)

Great, thanks Steerpike, that is exactly the type of thing I was looking for. I'll look at those towns and BART stations on the map.
...

As you get some ideas, drop me a note and I may be able to give you some additional info. I suspect Orinda is too small / exclusive to have anything practical, and Lafayette may be similar. WC will have a few options (Mt. Diablo Inn is where I used to put folks up, not sure if it's still around). Pleasant Hill has the whole corporate deal going on by the bart station, with extended stay and others being there. Actually once I put folks up at the Oakwood corporate apartments there - it was VERY nice but a bit tough on the budget!

I hope you enjoy it!

Re: Now what do I do?

Quote:

Originally Posted by robin1234 (Post 10638782)

Excellent thanks Michael! I'll look at that chain.

Last night I looked at prices for that chain and it appears that the weekly prices for the less expensive areas are in the $70-$80 per night range (about $10 higher than predicted earlier). I believe the reason for the difference is that that rates are seasonal and I stayed at them during the winter months where rates are probably lower.

Prices are confusing since weekend rates may be very low but weekday rates can be very high. In fact weekend rates in the less expensive areas could possibly be in the $60 range and even similar prices in some more expensive areas but skyrocket to the $90 or more during weekdays in the lest expensive areas and to the $120 or more in the more expensive areas. Although I previously stated that weekly rates save you about $5 per night, it appears that the savings are more in the $10-$30 range per night and depends on the location of hotel.

If you decide to use that web site, try to figure out what you want to do and try different combinations since their pricing is confusing.

Re: Now what do I do?

Also ask if the hotel has AARP member rates.

Re: Now what do I do?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl (Post 10642203)

Also ask if the hotel has AARP member rates.

I thought those rates were for older people.. Oh, wait..

Re: Now what do I do?

Quote:

Originally Posted by robin1234 (Post 10642459)

I thought those rates were for older people.. Oh, wait..

:lightbulb: :D

Re: Now what do I do?

Quote:

Originally Posted by robin1234 (Post 10642459)

I thought those rates were for older people.. Oh, wait..

In that case ask for the AAA rate, they usually are the same.

(I know this because I have both AARP and AAA so usually check both)