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The Cardinal Hotel

2.5 star property

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Photo gallery for The Cardinal Hotel

Interior
Designer store
Business centre
Lobby sitting area
1 bedroom, Egyptian cotton sheets, premium bedding, down duvets

Reviews

9.0 out of 10
Wonderful

Popular amenities

  • Breakfast available
  • Housekeeping
  • 24/7 front desk
  • Free WiFi

Explore the area

View in a map
235 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA, 94301
  • Place, Stanford Shopping Center
    ‪6 min walk‬
  • Place, Stanford University
    ‪4 min drive‬
  • Place, Stanford University Medical Center
    ‪4 min drive‬
  • Airport, San Jose, CA (SJC-Norman Y. Mineta San Jose Intl.)
    ‪19 min drive‬

Room options

View all photos for Standard Room, 1 Queen Bed, Private Bathroom

1 bedroom, Egyptian cotton sheets, premium bedding, down duvets

Standard Room, 1 Queen Bed, Private Bathroom

8.2 out of 10
Very good
(13 reviews)
  • 23 sq m
  • Sleeps 3
  • 1 Queen Bed

View all photos for Standard Room, 1 King Bed, Private Bathroom

1 bedroom, Egyptian cotton sheets, premium bedding, down duvets

Standard Room, 1 King Bed, Private Bathroom

7.2 out of 10
Good
(12 reviews)
  • 23 sq m
  • Sleeps 3
  • 1 King Bed

View all photos for Standard Room, 2 Double Beds, Private Bathroom

Standard Room, 2 Double Beds, Private Bathroom | 1 bedroom, Egyptian cotton sheets, premium bedding, down duvets

Standard Room, 2 Double Beds, Private Bathroom

8.8 out of 10
Excellent
(6 reviews)
  • 23 sq m
  • Sleeps 4
  • 2 Double Beds

View all photos for Deluxe Room, 1 King Bed, Private Bathroom, Corner

Deluxe Room, 1 King Bed, Private Bathroom, Corner | 1 bedroom, Egyptian cotton sheets, premium bedding, down duvets

Deluxe Room, 1 King Bed, Private Bathroom, Corner

8.4 out of 10
Very good
(5 reviews)
  • 24 sq m
  • City view
  • Sleeps 3
  • 1 King Bed

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About this property

The Cardinal Hotel

Hotel with a coffee shop/cafe, 10-minute walk to Stanford Shopping Center
This smoke-free hotel features a coffee shop/cafe, a 24-hour front desk and express check-in. WiFi in public areas is free. Additionally, express check-out and a fireplace at reception are on-site.
The Cardinal Hotel offers 63 accommodations with laptop-compatible safes and complimentary bottles of water. Pillowtop beds feature Egyptian cotton sheets, down duvets and premium bedding. 42-inch LED televisions come with premium satellite channels.

Bathrooms include baths or showers, bathrobes, slippers and designer toiletries. Business-friendly amenities include desks and telephones; free local calls are provided (restrictions may apply). Additionally, rooms include a hairdryer and an iron/ironing board. Housekeeping is offered on a daily basis and hypo-allergenic bedding can be requested.

Our customers tell us that they can't get enough of the helpful staff at The Cardinal Hotel. During your stay, you're just a quick walk from Stanford Theatre. Free WiFi in public areas, a coffee shop/cafe and breakfast (surcharge) are available.
  • Free Wi-Fi in some public areas
  • Enjoy a bite to eat at the coffee shop/cafe
  • Full breakfast served weekdays for a fee
  • Amenities include a lift, a fireplace at reception and a water dispenser
  • Guests have great things to say about the location and the helpful staff
  • 10 minutes by foot from Stanford Shopping Center and a 5-minute drive from Stanford University
There's a coffee shop/cafe on site. Public spaces have free WiFi. The Cardinal Hotel also features a fireplace in the lobby, express check-in, and express check-out.

This Palo Alto hotel is smoke free.

For a fee, guests can enjoy a full breakfast on weekdays from 7:00 AM and 10:00 AM.

Property amenities

Internet

  • Available in some public areas: Free WiFi

Parking and transport

  • Offsite parking available (USD 15 per day)
  • Onsite parking options include a garage

Food and drink

  • Weekday full breakfast available 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM for a fee: USD 22 for adults and USD 22 for children
  • A coffee shop/cafe

Things to do

  • Art gallery

Family friendly

  • In-room cot

Conveniences

  • 24-hour front desk
  • Guidebooks
  • Luggage storage
  • Water dispenser

Guest services

  • Housekeeping (daily)

Accessibility

  • If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please contact the property using the information on the reservation confirmation received after booking.
  • Assistive listening devices
  • Lift
  • Visual fire alarm

More

  • 1 building
  • 3 floors
  • Built in 1924
  • Fireplace in lobby
  • Smoke-free property
  • Traditional architecture

Room amenities

Bedroom

  • Down comforter
  • Egyptian cotton sheets
  • Free cot
  • Hypo-allergenic bedding
  • Pillowtop mattress

Bathroom

  • Bathtub or shower
  • Designer toiletries
  • Dressing gowns
  • Hair dryer
  • Shampoo
  • Slippers
  • Soap
  • Toilet paper
  • Toothbrush and toothpaste (on request)
  • Towels provided

Entertainment

  • 42-inch LED TV with premium satellite channels

Food and drink

  • Free bottled water
  • Restaurant dining guides

More

  • Ceiling fan
  • Desk
  • Electrical adapters
  • Free local calls
  • Heating
  • Iron/ironing board
  • Laptop workspace
  • Laptop-compatible safe
  • Phone
  • Portable fan

Policies

Check-in

Check-in start time: 2:00 PM; check-in end time: anytime
Contactless check-in and check-out are available
Express check-in available

Check-out

Check-out before 11:00 AM
Contactless check-out
Express check-out available

Special check-in instructions

An adult aged 18 or older must assume all liability for the booking
Front desk staff will greet guests on arrival at the property

Access methods

Staffed front desk

Pets

  • No pets allowed, but service animals are welcome

Children and extra beds

  • Children are welcome.
  • Rollaway/extra beds are available for USD 20.0 per day.
  • Free cots (infant beds)!

Payment types at the property

Important information

Optional extras

The fees and deposits listed below will be charged at the time of service, check-in, or check-out.

  • Fee for full breakfast: from approximately USD 22 for adults and from USD 22 for children
  • Nearby parking fee: USD 15 per day (39 ft away)
  • Rollaway bed fee: USD 20.0 per day

This may not be a comprehensive list. Fees and deposits are subject to change and might not include tax.

You need to know

This property is managed by a professional host. The provision of housing is linked to their trade, business or profession.
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
This property accepts credit cards and debit cards; cash is not accepted
This property reserves the right to pre-authorise the guest's credit card prior to arrival.
Cashless transactions are available
Safety features at this property include a carbon monoxide detector and a smoke detector
Front desk staff will greet guests on arrival at the property. An adult age 18 or older must assume all liability for the booking.
If you cancel your booking, you'll be subject to the host's cancellation policy. In accordance with EU regulations about consumer rights, property booking services are not subject to the right of withdrawal.

We should mention

  • Registered guests are the only ones allowed to be in guestrooms.
  • This property welcomes guests of all sexual orientations and gender identities (LGBTQ+ friendly).

Property is also known as

The Cardinal Hotel Hotel
The Cardinal Hotel Palo Alto
The Cardinal Hotel Hotel Palo Alto

Reviews

The Cardinal Hotel Reviews

9.0

Wonderful

9.6/10

Cleanliness

9.4/10

Staff & service

8.4/10

Amenities

8.8/10

Property conditions & facilities

9.0/10

Eco-friendliness
Rating 10 - Excellent. 236 out of 356 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 66 out of 356 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 33 out of 356 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 12 out of 356 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 9 out of 356 reviews

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Marianne

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2025

10/10 Excellent

Marlene

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The Cardinal Hotel was everything we wanted!
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2025

10/10 Excellent

Jennifer

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Hotel itself is dated compared to current big brand hotels but it’s charming and in a great spot. Walking distance to shopping and restaurants. Parking can be tricky. Super clean, kind and helpful staff and the rooms are nice.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2025

10/10 Excellent

Sylvia

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Relaxed and Refreshed

This 100 year old hotel is beautiful! Perfect location! Very clean! Super helpful and friendly staff!
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2025

10/10 Excellent

Laura

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
this property is great example of historic preservation done right!
Stayed 4 nights in Jul 2025

8/10 Good

NOVA, Arcadia

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2025

6/10 Okay

Dana

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
The property is in a great area for shopping and dining. However, the neighborhood can be noisy at night. At 2 am, the guest above me decided to have a loud conversation and did what sounded like moving furniture around. That lasted until after 3 am. The front desk person in the morning didn t bother to ask about my stay, so I didn't share it with them.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2025

8/10 Good

Noelle

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Beautiful History

Beautifully maintained historic hotel. Staff is incredibly helpful and kind. Absolutely loved. The only drawback is no air conditioning and you have to leave the window open to get air which unfortunately due to the prime location, cars people, trains, etc are very loud.
Stayed 3 nights in Jul 2025

10/10 Excellent

Jon

Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2025

10/10 Excellent

Michal Ravid

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
An impressive historic landmark, staff is friendly, rooms & facilities are clean, in the center of Stanford.
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2025

10/10 Excellent

Robert, MINNEAPOLIS

Stayed 4 nights in Jun 2025

4/10 Poor

Alexandra

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2025

10/10 Excellent

Laura

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Perfect Historic Hotel!

The only place we stay in Palo Alto! Perfect location, easy (free) parking curbside and walkable to restaurants, cocktails/wine bars, shopping, and historic Stanford Theater! Front desk staff is always friendly and helpful. Quiet and comfortable!
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

Sally, Menlo Park

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

Nathan

Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Would stay again.
Stayed 3 nights in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

Che

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

Y

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Front desk ladies are super helpful and nice. Hotel rooms are clean, neat, and quiet. Historical evaluator is fun. Super close to restaurants and markets. Good stay!
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

Andrew

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
The hotel is 100 years old and very charming, with original tiles and features throughout. Much nicer than the usual bland hotel chains.
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

Linnea

Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

Eugene

Stayed 1 night in Jun 2025

10/10 Excellent

Christina

Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2025

2/10 Terrible

Adam

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Incredibly upset and disappointed with the Cardinal Hotel. I was late to check in and was told I would have to share a washroom. Personally, the fact they are allowed to do that on Expedia is wrong. There shouldn't be 'college dorms' listed as hotels on Expedia.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2025

6/10 Okay

busra

Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2025

10/10 Excellent

Teresita

Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Nice and clean bedroom, although the shared bathroom was clean all the time
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2025

4/10 Poor

Timo

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Room comfort
The noises around this hotel are unbearable. Because the windows are old and thin every little noise from the street come into your room. I had a 05.30AM wake up call from someone operating saw machine outside the hotel. The slamming litter bins are outside one side of the hotel and there is a ton of noise around the hotel in general. I only booked this because Sheraton PA was full. Never going back.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2025