Whether for business or leisure, Hotel Citrine is a contemporary hotel designed to provide you with a luxurious experience. What’s more, it’s an upscale Silicon Valley hotel yet refreshingly affordable compared to others in its class. Backed with a friendly staff and exceptional dining, this Marriott Tribute Portfolio hotel deserves a closer look. As a matter of fact, Hotel Citrine is TripAdvisor’s top rated small hotel in Palo Alto.
Hotel Citrine, Marriott Tribute Portfolio Hotel
750 San Antonio Road
Palo Alto, CA 94303
(650) 424-8991
www.hotelcitrine.com
Location
Hotel Citrine has a prominent location along San Antonio Road, one of Palo Alto’s major thoroughfares. This makes for an easy drive to Stanford University as well as major businesses and attractions. For instance, Googleplex is about a five-minute drive and Shoreline Amphitheatre is about 1.5 miles away. In other words, you can leave your car at the hotel and walk or use ride share to events at this major Bay Area music venue. What’s more, Hotel Citrine is not far from three spots that lay claim as the Birthplace of Silicon Valley. Of course, its sister property AC Hotel by Marriott Palo Alto is right next door.
Proximity to Silicon Valley Origins
While the legendary HP Garage on Addison Avenue is the official Silicon Valley birthplace, one other is even closer to Hotel Citrine. In fact, this other spot is a few blocks south at 391 San Antonio Road. In 1959, this site was the former location of Shockley Labs, where the first integrated circuit (silicon chip) was first commercially produced. In other words, the technological advancements at this site led to the creation of Silicon Valley. Furthermore, there is an official plaque marking this spot as the “Real Birthplace of Silicon Valley”. Yet another marker is located on Charleston Road in Palo Alto.
Additional Attractions Nearby
With easy freeway access, you can see many local attractions during your stay. For example, the Computer History Museum is 1.7 miles away while the Stanford Shopping Center is about five miles. Other attractions you may wish to visit include Levi’s Stadium, California’s Great America and the Apple Park Visitor Center.
How to Get to Hotel Citrine
This Marriott Tribute Portfolio property is less than a half mile from the Highway 101 exit at San Antonio Road. This makes for very easy access from San Francisco International Airport (SF) or San Jose International Airport (SJC). In addition, the San Antonio Caltrain station is just 1.5 miles from the hotel. In other words, you could take BART from SFO then transfer to a Caltrain at the Millbrae station. Conversely, you can make a transfer from SJC to the San Jose Caltrain station, then take a northbound train to the San Antonio station. Hotel Citrine is also easily accessible with Highway 280 via Page Mill Road or El Monte Avenue. By the same token, with its easy access to Caltrain, you can take public transportation to other Bay Area cities, including San Jose, Redwood City and San Francisco.
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Parking
Although there is only valet parking at Hotel Citrine, it’s convenient and retrieving your car can be quite expedient. Valet parking is $22 and there are 18 electric charging stations if you need to charge your car (additional fee). Please note that the parking garage serves both Citrine and its sister property, the AC Marriott Hotel Palo Alto.
Accommodations
Citrine features 150 Beleco-designed guest rooms including five spacious suites across five floors. You can pick from a very comfortable single king bed to a room with two queen beds and that includes the one-bedroom suites. The 1400 square foot two-bedroom suite offers not only a king bed and two double beds but also a sofa bed. Each room category has at least one 65” HDTV, complimentary Wi-Fi, laptop compatible safes and mini refrigerators. In addition, some room categories come with balconies or a patio with stylish outdoor furniture. Of course, there are also fully accessible rooms with features like roll-in showers and lowered electrical outlets.
Pet Friendly
In addition to the many fine amenities and services, Hotel Citrine is a pet friendly Marriott hotel. As a matter of fact, up to two pets can join you during your stay with a maximum pet weight of 50 lbs. There is a $150 nonrefundable fee per stay and there’s even a doggie bowl right outside the main entrance.
Accessibility
This beautiful Marriott Tribute Portfolio hotel is fully accessible with many convenient features. This includes accessible entrances, public restrooms, accessible transportation and accessible guest rooms. For example, the hotel offers roll-in showers with adjustable wands, lowered electrical outlets and TVs with closed captioning. In addition, the restaurant and fitness center are accessible and a pool lift is also available. You can call or contact the hotel for additional information on any of its accessible features or services.
Current Hotel Citrine Specials
Hotel Citrine offers ongoing special rates to make your booking that much easier and more affordable. Among the current offerings are a Weekend B&B including breakfast at Wild Onion and Bonus Bonvoy Points for Marriott Bonvoy members. Yet another enticing option is the Park & Stay, which includes complimentary parking and charging.
Water/Tea Stations
Aside from all the modern conveniences in your preferred guest room, there is an added bonus. On each floor, there are refillable water stations while reducing the use of plastic bottles. But in addition to these water stations are unique amenities that might not be found on another floor. For instance, at one station you’ll find an assortment of gourmet teas while on another floor are items to create your own potpourri. If that’s not enough, there is even going to be a kombucha station on a select floor coming soon.
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Dining at Wild Onion Bistro & Bar
Located on the lobby level is the Wild Onion Bistro & Bar for fine dining yet with in a business/leisure casual setting. Marked by a truly exceptional bar and spacious indoor and outdoor seating, the restaurant features inventive twists on California cuisine. Led by executive chef Julie Cablay and an outstanding staff, the restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. While every item on the menu seems to be a highly in itself, there are some recommendations for you to consider. For instance, the steak frites ($65) features a 16oz 28-day dry aged bone-in-ribeye from Flannery Ranch. That’s not to mention the superb herb roasted half Petaluma chicken ($34) or the seared Skuna Bay (Washington) salmon ($35). As for starters, consider ordering the charred octopus ($22) or roasted jewel carrots ($14) among others.
Drinks
A popular gathering spot at the end of the day for tech workers, the bar offers a variety of your favorite beers, wines and spirits. This includes signature cocktails, international and domestic wines and beers on draft or by the bottle. In more detail, among the wine selections you can order by glass are Rodney Strong sauvignon blanc ($14), Justin Winery cabernet sauvignon ($20) and Chandon Brut rose ($17). Of course, you can also order wine by the bottles, with labels like Stag’s Leap chardonnay ($95) and Berringer Knight’s Valley ($78). Together with these options are non-alcoholic drinks, such as sodas, Evian water, Fever Tree ginger beer and tasty mocktails.
About Chef Julie “Jules” Cablay
Engaging as she is talented, Chef Cablay brings a wealth of culinary experience to Wild Bistro & Bar. This includes some 12 years at the celebrated Sir Winston’s onboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, culminating in her ascension to sous chef. However, due to the pandemic, the legendary ocean liner/hotel and its restaurant had to close. On the other hand, it’s Marriott’s gain as she now serves as the dual campus executive chef for both Citrine and AC Hotel Palo Alto. In a little more than a year, Chef Cablay has established herself as a rising star in California cuisine with a blend of flavors inspired by her Filipino heritage. With all this in mind, it’s not too surprising to know that Wild Bistro is now among the best hotel restaurants in Silicon Valley.
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Pool
As emblematic of other outstanding Marriott properties, Citrine offers an outdoor pool that’s perfect for a little R&R. Open to hotel guests only, the pool is probably not long enough to swim laps. On the other hand, it’s large enough to cool off and there’s spacious amount of comfortable seating. As an added plus, the pool area is conveniently next to Wild Onion Bistro & Bar. In other words, you can enjoy a dip in the pool then enjoy bar bites and drinks at poolside.
Fitness Center
As you would expect, the onsite 24-hour fitness center is exceptionally good with a clear cut edge on premium exercise equipment. Most notably are Peloton bikes, Technogym cardio equipment, free weights and Technogym cable stations. Also on hand are stability balls, BOSU balance trainers and exercises mats. In case you forgot to bring your towel or water bottle, there is a water station and towels are provided for your use.
Conference/Meeting Space
Like its sister property AC Hotel by Marriott Palo Alto, Hotel Citrine offers first class conference and meeting space. In a little more detail, there is over 2,000 square feet of event space and three dedicated event rooms. For this reason, it’s large enough to hold business meetings and special occasions like weddings and birthdays. What’s more, the pool area can be reserved for special events as well as Wild Onion Bistro & Bar. Likewise, special equipment and supplies can also be provided. For example, you can rent a PA system, AV equipment and TVs, along with office supplies, blackboards and more. Of the meeting spaces, the 1061 square foot Avenir has a capacity of 100 guests.
Additional Hotel Services
Marriott hotels are known for providing a wide variety of top flight guest services and Citrine is clearly no exception. Among the other services are coffee in the lobby, valet dry cleaning, a business center and a gift/newsstand adjacent to the front desk. In addition, the front desk can make arrangements for car rentals, provide local information and more. Also at the front desk is a safety deposit box for your added convenience. That’s not to mention complimentary use of Public bicycles and complimentary wine at the front desk in the afternoon. It’s also worth pointing out that the hotel also holds special events, such as live music and happy hours.
Insider Tip
Don’t forget to pick up a complimentary piece of citrine quartz and admire the larger citrine display while you’re checking in.
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About the Author
Randy Yagi is an award-winning freelance writer who served as the National Travel Writer for CBS from 2012-2019. More than 900 stories still appear in syndication across over 20 CBS websites, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco. During his peak years with CBS, Randy had a digital audience reach of 489 million and 5.5 million monthly visitors. Additionally, his stories have appeared in the Daily Meal, CBS News, CBS Radio, Engadget, NBC.com, NJ.com and Radio.com. He earned a Media Fellowship from Stanford University in 2012.