Guest Resources

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Getting To The Hotel

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From San Francisco Airport

From San Jose Airport

Driving from Bay Area Cities

Parking

Getting Around

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Rideshare

Stanford Shuttle

Bike Rental

Favorite Running Paths

Hotel Resources

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Hotel Policies

Credit Card Authorization

Local fitness

Frequently Asked Questions

From San Francisco Airport

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Caltrain

1st step: SFO- Millbrae via samTrans or BART

  • BUS (direct SFO - Millbrae Transit Center) recommended.
    samTrans - Millbrae. samTrans Schedule
    SFO Airport Terminal G - Lower Level - Estimated time 7 minutes
  • BART (Mon-Fri 1 stop and train transfer required After 7:30pm and Weekends direct SFO - Millbrae Transit Center Southbound Platform 1)
    This station is located in the International Terminal at SFO. Bart Schedule
Map of public transportation between SFO and Millbrae BART station

2nd step: Caltrain Millbrae Transit Center - Palo Alto

3rd step: Palo Alto Transit Center - Cardinal Hotel

  • Walking: 8 minutes
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rideshare taxi app on smartphone screen

App Based Ride Shares

San Francisco Ground Transportation Information

  • App-Based Rides terminal 3: Level 2 (Departures/Ticketing) Curbside or Domestic Garage Level 5, Section F.
  • App-Based Rides terminal 2: Level 2 (Departures/Ticketing) Curbside or Domestic Garage Level 5, Section D.
  • App-Based Rides terminal 1: Level 2 (Departures/Ticketing) Curbside or Domestic Garage Level 5, Section B.
  • App-Based Rides International terminal: Level 3 (Departures/Ticketing) Curbside.

UBER X

SFO App Based Rides location map

From San Jose Airport

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Caltrain

  • Estimated travel time: 1h 15
  • Estimated cost: $12

1st step: San Jose International Airport Terminal - Santa Clara Transit Center

2nd step: Santa Clara Transit Center - Palo Alto

3rd step: Palo Alto Transit Center - Cardinal Hotel

  • Walking: 8 minutes
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rideshare taxi app on smartphone screen

App Based Ride Shares

San Jose Rideshare Information

  • Terminal B: Terminal B Ground Transportation Island - Stop #8 and 9.
  • Terminal A and International Arrivals: Terminal A Garage Curbside - Stop #1.

UBER X

San Jose Airport terminal location map

Driving From Bay Area Airports

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From San Francisco International Airport

  • Take US 101 South towards San Jose. Drive approximately 17 miles.
  • Exit at University Avenue and stay left towards Palo Alto.
  • Continue on University Avenue and drive approximately 2 miles.
  • Turn left onto Ramona Street.
  • The Cardinal Hotel is at 235 Hamilton Avenue (at the corner of Hamilton Avenue and Ramona Street).

From San Jose International Airport

  • Take US 101 North towards San Francisco. Drive approximately 13 miles.
  • Exit at University Avenue. Follow signs to Palo Alto, up over the freeway onto University Avenue.
  • Continue on University Avenue. Drive approximately 2 miles.
  • Turn left onto Ramona Street.
  • The Cardinal Hotel is at 235 Hamilton Avenue (at the corner of Hamilton Avenue and Ramona Street).
Bay Area Map showing San Francisco, Palo Alto, San Jose

Cardinal Hotel

San Francisco Airport

San Jose Airport

Parking

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The Cardinal Hotel does not have On Site Parking.

Guests must park in the City of Palo Alto Public Parking Lots or on the city streets around the hotel.

Best Place to Park

  • The closest and largest Public Parking Lot is located diagonally across the street from the Cardinal Hotel underneath Palo Alto City Hall.
  • Once in the City Hall Public Parking Lot, guests should park only where the signs read “CORAL ZONE 3 HOURS” (the top level and a half)

Loading Zone

  • A loading zone is located in front of the Cardinal Hotel on Hamilton Ave. (corner of Hamilton and Ramona)
  • Guests may park in the loading zone for 10 minutes while loading or unloading.

Weekday Parking in Palo Alto

  • Parking in Palo Alto is FREE but time limited for maximum of 3 hours between 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Monday - Friday) in the City Hall Public Parking Lot
  • Street parking is limited to 2 hours - the same as most other city lots
  • The maximum parking allowed underneath City Hall would be from 2pm on any given weekday to 11am the following day. This example uses the 3 hours allowed on 2 consecutive days 2pm-5pm on day 1 and 8am-11am
    on day 2.

Paid Parking

  • Daily parking permits are available for purchase for $25.00 per day at the front desk. The City of Palo Alto sells these permits for the same price.

Weekend Parking

  • Free and unrestricted from Friday at 5:00 p.m. until Monday at 8:00 a.m.

Rideshare

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Uber and Lyft are both popular and frequently used rideshare apps in Palo Alto. To accommodate guests that do not have an Uber account, the Cardinal Hotel has established a Cardinal Hotel Uber account that we can use to book Uber rides for our guests. The hotel will bill the cost of the Uber directly to the guest’s room.

Fare estimate from the Cardinal Hotel to Stanford University

  • Uber X $7-9
  • Lyft $8-10

Stanford Shuttle

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Stanford Free Shuttle

The Marguerite is Stanford University's Free Campus Shuttle Service.

The Marguerite Shuttle offers a number of routes that can be useful to guests at the Cardinal Hotel who wish to use free transportation to access Stanford University, SLAC, the Stanford Hospital, Shopping Center or Stanford Research Park. Most shuttles lines connect the main campus with the Caltrain station (Palo Alto Transit Center) which is a 7 minute walk from the Cardinal Hotel.

Walk from the Cardinal Hotel to the Marguerite Shuttle 7 minutes

Shuttle Departure Points at the Palo Alto Transit Center

Stanford Shuttle lines (X,Y,N,O) and (MC, MCH, P) are located on the El Camino side of of the Caltrain tracks and can be accessed from the Cardinal Hotel by walking west on University Ave and crossing underneath the train tracks.

Local map of the Palo Alto Caltrain station
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Marguerite Shuttle lines that depart from the Palo Alto Transit Center

Map of the Marguerite Shuttle routes in Palo Alto

Bike Rental

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Bicycling in Palo Alto is a very popular option. There are bike rentals available from Bike Connection; just a few blocks away on El Camino Real. You can visit them online or call them at 650-853-3000, and they will be happy to rent you a bike for the week or just the day. Another popular option is BikeShare which offers short duration bike rentals from automated kiosks.

Our Favorite Running Paths

Many people have asked us for our recommendations for the best places in palo alto to go running or walking. Usually we recommend the Stanford campus. But where? Well, here you are, a list of our all time favorite routes in and around Stanford University.

The Boot

Approx. 2.1 mi.

10K - PAUSD

Approx. 6.2 mi.

Palo Alto Old Town

Approx. 9.9 mi.

Stanford Dish Walk

Approx. 3.23 mi.

Hotel Policies

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Check in: 2:00 PM      Check out: 11:00 AM

24 Hour Cancellation Policy
You may cancel your reservation without penalty only if you cancel by 2:00pm the day prior to arrival. If you cancel after 2 pm the day prior to arrival, you will be charged a penalty equal to the cost of 1 night’s room + tax without exception.

The Cardinal Hotel will not waive late cancellation charges for any situations that are considered outside of the guest’s control such as a flight cancellation or delay, a personal or family member illness, or change in business related plans. We encourage you to purchase travel insurance to insure against any unexpected changes in your travel plans. We will not refund a no-show charge incurred due to a booking error made by the guest or the guest’s booking agent.

Package Handling Policy
The Front Desk will receive packages on your behalf during your stay. Within 3 days of your arrival we can receive up to 8 cubic feet of packages. Prior to 3 days before, the hotel will charge a storage fee of $5.00 per day per cubic foot and a minimum storage fee of $10.00 per day.

We can not receive and store packages after your stay. The hotel does offer limited shipping services via USPS or UPS at an additional fee only for items left behind.

Pet Policy
Pets are not permitted in the hotel.

Credit/Debit Card Policy
Debit and Credit cards will be authorized at check-in for the amount of your stay, plus an amount to cover incidentals. The authorization will hold the funds until check out, at which time the amount actually incurred during the stay will be charged. Authorized amounts may take up to 30 days after departure to be released by your bank or financial institution and the hotel will not be responsible for any resulting fees or charges.

Cashless Property
Please note that from August 1st, 2017, The Cardinal Hotel will not accept cash or check payments. Only credit card payment will be accepted.

100% Non-Smoking Property
All guest rooms are 100% non-smoking. A $250 cleaning fee will be charged to any guest who violates the smoking policy. If the room must be kept out of inventory and not rented due to excessive smell and extra cleaning demands, extra charge will apply.

Credit Card Guaranties

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Reservations

A credit card is required for all reservations as a guarantee method at the time of making the reservation. If a 3rd party will pay for a guest’s stay, they must fill out a credit card authorization at the time of reservation or have an active account with the Cardinal Hotel.

At Check in

A credit card must be present and authorized for the full amount of the stay at check in. No guest can occupy a hotel room without presenting a credit card at check in. Even if a 3rd party is paying for the room, the guest occupying the room must provide a credit card at check in that can be authorized for incidentals or rooms damage.

3rd party payment

If the credit card to be used as the payment method for the hotel stay will not be present at check in, we require a credit card authorization form be completed by the card holder and returned prior to the guest's arrival.
An active corporate account or Stanford Dept account can be used for direct billing of a guest stay.

Local Fitness

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YogaSource Palo Alto offers over 65 classes a week, including vinyasa, power, bikram, yin, restorative, yoga sculpt, and hot pilates, with some of the best instructors in the bay. We welcome students of all levels to take classes to de-stress, build strength and stay healthy.

Rumble Rumble Boxing combines the sweet science of boxing with the transformative power of strength training. It’s a high-octane 10 round fight that offers authentic HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), metabolic conditioning (MetCon), and the benefits of cardio in one seamless class.

Frequently Asked Questions

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>> Take advantage of the Cardinal Hotel Breakfast included when you book direct (available Tues- Sun)