Sonesta Selects Silicon Valley for First West Coast Property

By Gail Kalinoski

Sonesta Silicon Valley, Milpitas, Calif.

Milpitas, Calif.—Sonesta International Hotels Corp., a global hospitality brand with more than 60 properties in seven countries, has chosen a 236-key, full-service hotel in California’s Silicon Valley for its first West Coast hotel in the country.

Sonesta Silicon Valley is located in Milpitas, Calif., near San Jose and Santa Clara and close to headquarters of major technology giants Cisco, Intel, Apple, Hewlett Packard and Google. It lies roughly 40 miles from downtown San Francisco and is expected to appeal to both business and leisure travelers. The hotel, the former Beverly Heritage Hotel, is approximately 5 miles from San Jose International Airport and convenient to Interstates 680 and 880 and Highway 101.

“We are thoughtful in the expansion of our collection of hotels to ensure that our growth does not adversely impact our ability to deliver on our brand promise to provide more than just a place to stay for guests,” Carlos Flores, president & CEO of Sonesta International Hotels Corp., said in a prepared statement.

Flores told the Silicon Valley Business Journal that the chain, headquartered in Newton, Mass., had “aspirations” to expand to California for some time. He described the Silicon Valley market as a “very unique market in a very fruitful economy,” adding that it would make a “very good outpost” from a business perspective.

Sonesta said the new hotel would be “casual, yet sophisticated” and plans renovations for the property starting next year to “reimagine” the guest rooms and meeting and public spaces. It currently has 4,400 square feet of flexible meeting space that can accommodate up to 200 guests. Amenities include an outdoor swimming pool and sun deck, outdoor fire pit, fitness center, 24-hour business center and free high-speed Wi-Fi. The hotel has an on-site restaurant, Brandon’s Restaurant & Grill, and in-room dining service.

The hotel chain, which has several brands including Royal Sonesta, Sonesta Hotels & Resorts and Sonesta ES Suites, has a management agreement with the hotel’s owner, Hospitality Properties Trust. HPT, also based in Newtown, said in its third-quarter 2016 earnings report that it was buying the Milpitas hotel for $46 million. The REIT noted that an earlier agreement reached in July had called for it to pay $52 million for the property but that arrangement was terminated and a new deal was reached in October for the lower price. The previous owner was Fillmore Capital Partners, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal.