San Jose, California will host 2018 U.S. Nationals (Dec. 29, 2017 - Jan. 7, 2018)

Earth to me! Glad I was reading through this. I need to make a hotel reservation.
 
@AxelAnnie I'd recommend anything in Downtown SJ. It's not too far from SAP or the practice rink, and there's tons of food around those hotels. I like the Fairmont best, but I've also stayed at the Four Seasons. I know some people are partial to the Hyatt as well (which now offers free breakfast, unlike the other hotels). The Mariott and the Hilton aren't great.
 
How are people going to get to and from the arena?

I've never been to San Jose. Is there any possibility of a shuttle? What is the walk like (are there sidewalks or is everything off busy avenues)? What's the mass transit situation?

I didn't realize until this morning that I really wanted to go, and now I feel like I have to have all the information immediately!
 
@missing Downtown SJ is very walkable, with lots of restaurants and shops within a block or two. It's right near a university campus, so a lot of the fare is cheaper, but there are plenty of nice restaurants and bars.

To get to SAP, it's less than a mile walk, and all very flat and easy. You can also easily take the lite rail for $2 each way (it can pick you up right behind the fairmont or in front of the convention center), but that would take nearly as long as the walk, so it might not be worth it.


I need to figure out my schedule so I can get tickets! I'll probably park downtown because SAP will probably have more expensive parking.
 
Last time, there was a shuttle between the hotels (stops in front of the Marriott and Fairmont) and SAP but didn't go to the practice rink. I'm hoping that since they will be having events at the secondary rink this time that there will be a shuttle there but who knows. But SAP is pretty close to.the hotels (Marriott, Hilton, Fairmont, Hyatt)...maybe a half mile or so. And yes, there is a light rail but I don't know how fast/often it runs through its route, esp at night.
 
missing said:
How are people going to get to and from the arena?

I've never been to San Jose. Is there any possibility of a shuttle? What is the walk like (are there sidewalks or is everything off busy avenues)? What's the mass transit situation?

I didn't realize until this morning that I really wanted to go, and now I feel like I have to have all the information immediately!
Click to expand...
Welcome to the I HAVE TO GO club
I am not that familiar with San Jose...I live in Sonoma County about 90 minutes north.
I'll have my car. The older I get (and there is not much older TO get) the less comfortable I am walking ....especially at night..alone.

I was at SAP for SOI. It may have just been the route in from the freeway. It looked pretty sketchy to me. The area immediately around SAP is lovely though.
 
Stay in a town that is along the CalTrain Route, so you don't have to pay those prices. The CalTrain stops right by the SAP Arena. Heck, you might even look at a bargain hotel in San Francisco, then take the train to the arena. Coming from the south, you could even stay in Downtown Gilroy (little town known for garlic and the huge outlet shopping center) and take the train to the arena that way too.
Vash01 said:
Sounds great! I may even be able to attend.

ETA: I just realized that the hotel prices will be out of the roof and I won't be able to afford hotel room plus the ticket prices. Only a miracle will help me attend.
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tylersf said:
Stay in a town that is along the CalTrain Route, so you don't have to pay those prices. The CalTrain stops right by the SAP Arena. Heck, you might even look at a bargain hotel in San Francisco, then take the train to the arena. Coming from the south, you could even stay in Downtown Gilroy (little town known for garlic and the huge outlet shopping center) and take the train to the arena that way too.
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As someone coming down from San Francisco, I can assure any visitors that it's a very easy route to navigate wherever you start from. The 'San Jose Diridon Station' on CalTrain leaves you right in front of the SAP Arena. And an even cheaper alternative would be Airbnbs in the area.

I would however hazard people to recognize that usually (it may change), the last train leaves Diridon between 10 and 11PM. I know some of the evening events might still be going on at that time so I would suggest doing research beforehand, otherwise you could be forced to leave an event early or take a cab wherever you're heading.

And yes, Gilroy is a cute little city. Their garlic ice cream is a must if you're there. :summer:
 
The last weekday Caltrain heading north to SF pulls out of San Jose Diridon at 10.30pm.

If that's too early, there's an alternative way to get up north via the East Bay:

1) Take VTA Express Bus 181 from San Jose Diridon station (again, across the street from the arena) all the way to Fremont BART
2) Take BART from Fremont to SF, Oakland, or wherever your desired destination is

Note that with BART, the last train heading north from Fremont leaves at 11.59pm.
 
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UMBS Go Blue said:
Note that with BART, the last train heading north from Fremont leaves at 11.59pm.
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Is that the new Fremont station or the old one? We have two now! :D

Personally, I would not recommend staying as far away from the arena as some are suggesting. You don't want to spend an hour or more on the train. Plus CalTrain sometimes has issues especially during the week and it can take hours to get from SF to SJ. Or even somewhere closer. (Not to mention, "bargain" hotels in SF are either still pretty pricey or very run down / in bad neighbors / etc.) Don't forget, Nationals schedule is packed. If you are spending 3 hours a day commuting, you will miss events.

What you want to do is stay one or two towns away from San Jose on either CalTrain or Light Rail. For example, the next town northeast of SJ is Milpitas and there are a ton of motels/hotels that cater to business travelers. There is also a Light Rail stop. Or you can stay in Santa Clara (more directly north) which is also on Light Rail. Santa Clara is where the 49ers play and there is also an amusement park so they also have a lot of motels that are value priced.

South is harder as the neighborhood directly south are not the best. Willow Glen is southwest and cute. You might be able to find a nice B&B there but I don't know about public transportation. On Light Rail, there is Campbell which has a cute downtown with lots of shops & restaurants.

For CalTrain, I would stay in Zone 4. That is Sunnyvale (the Lawrence station), Santa Clara again, College Park & Tamein. The later two are still in San Jose but not downtown.

One advantage of staying in these places is that you can Uber/Lyft for those few occasions you want to be somewhere either before or after the trains start running without it costing an arm and a leg.
 
Axel Annie = Annie Warbucks
Fairmont = Arguably the best hotel in any city
Four Seasons = Right up there
Willin said:
@AxelAnnie I'd recommend anything in Downtown SJ. It's not too far from SAP or the practice rink, and there's tons of food around those hotels. I like the Fairmont best, but I've also stayed at the Four Seasons. I know some people are partial to the Hyatt as well (which now offers free breakfast, unlike the other hotels). The Mariott and the Hilton aren't great.
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@AxelAnnie He's suggesting that I'm only suggesting ritzy hotels! I usually stay at them for events to prevent late night driving, so I typically get a block price that can be as low as $99/night for the Fairmont. If anything, I've found the Fairmont is sometimes the cheapest based on the deals they offer. It's cheaper than he thinks to stay in SJ. (Certainly better than SF at that time of year)
 
Hey thanks. The Fairmont has rooms set aside for the competition and parking is included. Not too bad. Even if I could get cheaper I know it will be both sage and clean. Very worth it to me.
 
Willin said:
@AxelAnnie He's suggesting that I'm only suggesting ritzy hotels! I usually stay at them for events to prevent late night driving, so I typically get a block price that can be as low as $99/night for the Fairmont. If anything, I've found the Fairmont is sometimes the cheapest based on the deals they offer. It's cheaper than he thinks to stay in SJ. (Certainly better than SF at that time of year)
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The San Jose Fairmont is a great hotel in a great location and often has some of the cheapest rates. But if you have a car, you will need to add the daily parking fees, which are really high. But if you don't have a car, the Fairmont can be a bargain.
 
@SkateSand I always cheat and park at the KQED building next door or Convention Center/Other public parking because it's cheaper than parking at the Fairmont itself. Though, last time I went the KQED building had someone asking if I was planning to stay overnight, so I wonder if they've caught on? (Hopefully not)
 
The advantage of the Fairmont is that it's an official hotel. So skaters and officials and coaches and fans everywhere!

But IME it's pricey. I had a cocktail there that was $12!
 
MacMadame said:
The advantage of the Fairmont is that it's an official hotel. So skaters and officials and coaches and fans everywhere!

But IME it's pricey. I had a cocktail there that was $12!
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The Fairmont is one of the spectator hotels but not the official hotel for skaters from what I've been told.
 
$12 is pretty decent in the Bay Area for a cocktail.
I used to swig 2 $16 Gin and Tonics at the St. Regis in San Francisco (near my office) after a hard 12 hour day at work.
I had to be pretty upset to drink, because I don't drink often.

MacMadame said:
The advantage of the Fairmont is that it's an official hotel. So skaters and officials and coaches and fans everywhere!

But IME it's pricey. I had a cocktail there that was $12!
Click to expand...
 
Annie, I didn't know that!!!!!
Thanks for letting us know.
I can afford $99/night, but I don't live far enough from SAP to justify a hotel.
Willin said:
@AxelAnnie He's suggesting that I'm only suggesting ritzy hotels! I usually stay at them for events to prevent late night driving, so I typically get a block price that can be as low as $99/night for the Fairmont. If anything, I've found the Fairmont is sometimes the cheapest based on the deals they offer. It's cheaper than he thinks to stay in SJ. (Certainly better than SF at that time of year)
Click to expand...
 
tylersf said:
You have very good taste in hotels.
Your recommendations are very expensive.
I love the Fairmont and the Four Seasons, but can't afford them on my meager $100k salary in the Bay Area.
Someday, I hope to be as fortunate as you to afford those places. Much of my salary goes to my very small house with a very high mortgage.
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Ha! I have a small house and a large mortgage. Welcome to Northern California.

This is a huge treat for me, and I do not forget that I am lucky enough to be able to pull together the money for both this hotel and the event. I am also so excited I could just spit.....but not on my monitor.
 
The Fairmont is also 'non refundable' if you book via the official website. For me that's just to risky.

Right now I am at the Four Point (Sheraton) , but the price has gone up since I booked. But I find that generally they go down, I wound up getting very good rates on the "Offical" hotel for this year's Nationals (NOTE: It helps that I only go for the Championship weekend. The hotel is generally packed earlier in the event when all the levels are competing, but as the lower levels finish and leave things get cheaper!)
 
I booked over the phone at the Fairmont. I can cancel up to 2:00 the day before.
 
There was a recent email about tickets and updates for San Jose. I really didn't pay much attention since my plans are already made. However I am wondering about this paragraph:

"An All-Session ticket provides you an assigned seat to all junior and senior (Championship) level competitions and practice sessions at SAP Center at San Jose. In addition, the All-Session ticket will include general admission seating for all juvenile, intermediate and novice practice sessions and competitions at Solar4America Ice at San Jose (formerly Sharks Ice at San Jose)."

There is no mention of Jr. SPs at Solar4America and I'm wondering if the Jr. SPs have been moved to SAP. Any info or thoughts about this?
 
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