Hotel Keen

Hotels
7.9 (391 reviews)
425 High Street , Palo Alto , US
+1 650-327-2775
[email protected]

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Paid
Children allowed

Facilities

Complimentary high-speed wireless Internet in rooms and public areas
Complimentary daily breakfast (weekday continental, weekend hot breakfast)
24-hour Nespresso coffee
Wine reception Monday - Thursday, 5-6 PM
Flat-screen HDTV with WorldVue in-room entertainment and streaming apps
Complimentary coffee, tea & water
Elemis bath amenities & hairdryers
Garment steamer & ironing board
In-room Fit Kit on request (yoga mat, free weights, strength bands)
Complimentary bicycle rentals
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Review Highlights

Pros:
Excellent, walkable location
Generally clean with daily housekeeping
Friendly and helpful staff (specific mentions)
Complimentary simple breakfast
Available bike for guests
Cons:
Very small, cramped rooms (some without bathroom doors)
No/limited parking and parking communication issues
Maintenance issues (fire alarm noise, bike condition, occasional AC problems)
No fridge in rooms; some bathrooms not fully enclosed
Perceived as pricey by several guests

Categories

Cleanliness
8.8
Multiple guests remark the hotel is clean and well kept; general upkeep and daily housekeeping were noted positively.
Service
8.8
Staff frequently described as friendly and helpful (specific praise for agents like Akash and Taieb), though there are isolated service lapses (unresolved fire alarm, parking communication).
Location
9.6
Consistently praised as excellent and very walkable to shops and eateries; many reviewers cite the location as a primary reason to stay.
Room Quality
4.5
Repeated complaints about very small, cramped rooms (some without bathroom doors or with windows onto an alley); inconsistent AC and dated interiors.
Amenities
7.5
Mixed: complimentary bike and basic toiletries appreciated, free simple breakfast a plus, but no fridge in rooms, limited/closed parking, intermittent AC and maintenance issues reported.
Value for Money
7
Mixed perceptions: several guests felt the price was high for the room size and amenities, while others found it acceptable for the location and included breakfast.
Food and Beverage
8.5
Breakfast was repeatedly described as simple but pleasant and a welcome inclusion; generally viewed positively for this hotel type.
Overall Experience
8.5
Overall convenient and pleasant stays for many guests due to location, cleanliness and helpful staff, though a minority experienced serious issues (noise, cleanliness concerns) that diminished their experience.
* This sentiment is summarized by AI based on user reviews.
Updated at: 2026-10-30 19:52

Property Description

Step into downtown Palo Alto's Hotel Keen and discover our Keen Sense of Style. Sleek, modern and compact, our intimate boutique hotel sits at the nexus of Silicon Valley and Stanford University. With a simple, form-meets-function aesthetic, we offer a blank canvas for innovators and entrepreneurs to share, come alive and thrive. Hotel Keen is a contemporary landmark at the center of a Palo Alto landscape buzzing with high-tech energy and creativity. It's a place where the Stanford campus and the bistros, cafés, and fashionable restaurants of University Avenue can be reached with just a short walk, and the corporations and start-ups of Sand Hill Road and Silicon Valley are accessed within minutes. The 41 guest rooms and single Wellness Studio were designed with a simple, functional European-style game plan featuring clean lines, intricate details, and sophisticated furnishings.

Important information:

Guests are required to show a photo ID and credit card upon check-in. Please note that all Special Requests are subject to availability and additional charges may apply.
A deposit may be required at the property.

Check-in and check-out hours:
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Airport code: SFO

Property Policies

  • Check-in / check-out

    Check-in from 15:00:00, check-out until 12:00:00.

  • Minimum age

    Guests must be at least 18 years old to check in.

  • Pets

    Pets are allowed; charges may apply.

  • Payment

    Payment: pay at the property, pay online later, pay online now.

Location

Guest Reviews

7.9
Based on 391 reviews
Cleanliness: 8.8
Service: 8.8
Location: 9.6
Room Quality: 4.5
Amenities: 7.5
Value for Money: 7
Food and Beverage: 8.5
Overall Experience: 8.5
R
Romy • couple • id
7
Good facility & location, available bike is great (sans the need of maintenance), but very Pricey.
Pros:

General upkeep and cleanliness standards are good. Breakfast okay for the type of hotel. I appreciate use of the bike (used it almost everyday for the week, albeit the condition of the bike is fair)

Cons:

Price is astronomical for this kind of hotel.

2026-10-20 • via Nuitee
J
John • couple • us
6
Great location
Pros:

Great location , clean

Cons:

Rooms are small

2026-10-14 • via Nuitee
E
Estelle • family_with_children • fr
8
Pros:

accueil, emplacement, propreté, confort.

Cons:

pas de parking, ce qui était contraignant

2026-10-12 • via Nuitee
M
Marc • solo_traveller • gb
10
2026-09-15 • via Nuitee
J
Jovan • extended_group • de
6
2026-09-14 • via Nuitee
E
Edward • solo_traveller • gb
7
This is a good place to stay.
Pros:

Very good location, clean, reasonably friendly and helpful desk staff, air conditioning worked well, shower was strong and hot.

Cons:

My room was quite small, window on an ally, there was no light for the bed (reading required the overhead lights), breakfast area was cramped.

2026-09-14 • via Nuitee
A
Alfouaim • solo_traveller • sa
4
2026-09-11 • via Nuitee
T
Tilottama • couple • in
8
Overall a very convenient stay
Pros:

Great location

Cons:

No fridge in room, toilet has no proper door

2026-09-09 • via Nuitee
P
PJ • couple • us
6
Cons:

Our fire alarm was going off all night due to low battery, we told the staff up front about it and when we got back late that night it still wasn’t changed. So in short it was frustrating and hard to sleep with the noise going off about every 30 seconds.

2026-09-07 • via Nuitee
L
Leonard • couple • us
8
Pros:

The location was great. Free breakfast was simple but a very nice option.

Cons:

The rooms were very compact and the bathroom isn’t completely enclosed. Still great overall value.

2026-08-17 • via Nuitee
M
Margarita • couple • us
9
2026-08-16 • via Nuitee
B
BackPacker81475 • NONE
4
Last minute stay, mediocre
Pros:

Had to book a last minute stay for emergency at Stanford. The hotel is fine and the breakfast was a pleasant surprise. But the hotel was cramped, old, hot upstairs and the AC didn’t work. Overall quality pretty meh.

2026-08-01 • via Tripadvisor
G
Gwen • solo_traveller • us
1
I didn't stay I couldn't the place was so disgusting and disappointing
Pros:

Nothing the place was disgusting and I forfeited my booking and walked away

Cons:

The whole place was a disaster

2026-07-19 • via Nuitee
S
Sergey • couple • am
10
2026-07-17 • via Nuitee
6
629arnolds • Solo travel
10
Great Place that made me LOVE Palo Alto
Pros:

I found Hotel Keen randomly when I needed a place to rest before a business meeting on a Sunday morning. Driving south from Oregon, I found it late and booked it directly and was richly rewarded. A clean, neat, orderly place with the exact things I needed (quiet room, fast internet, good toiletries) the front desk agent, a young man named Akash, worked with me to get in quickly, find decent & safe parking, and told me of the the late night Pizza joint around the corner. I returned to a clean room and arrived to me meeting the next morning well-rested before continuing to drive back to Southern California. I will return there for my next meeting in Palo Alto.

Five Stars!

2026-07-06 • via Tripadvisor
M
Mutaz • family_with_children • eg
9
Great stay!
Pros:

The location is perfect…the staff is friendly..a big special thanks to Taieb who was extremely helpful….

Cons:

The size of the room is little small

2026-07-05 • via Nuitee
T
Thomas • family_with_children • us
10
It was just ok
Cons:

Nobody explained the parking garage was closed until 7:00 am. I missed a very important doctor appointment at Stanford and had to reschedule. I thought the parking permit was how they checked the vehicle to park there... could not get a cab as the front desk had no services they could call.

2026-07-04 • via Nuitee
C
Clémence • couple • fr
8
2026-06-28 • via Nuitee
M
Michael • couple • au
3
Worlds smallest bedroom
Pros:

The location was great!

Cons:

Absolutely the most smallest hotel room I have ever stayed in. So small there was no door into the bathroom. I have travelled to Japan and over 30 countries but this was ridiculous as you can see they are just trying to capture every cent.

2026-06-28 • via Nuitee
H
Helen • solo_traveller • au
7
Pros:

location
staff were helpful

Cons:

room was a little small making it hard to open up my luggage and still move easily around the room

2026-06-28 • via Nuitee