4/10 Rating
Welcome to the cozy techpocalypse!
I needed to stay a night locally and the location and amenities of this "hotel" seemed great for the price. The experience itself felt more like a vision of the AI-mediated future where tech-fueled "convenience" papers over the loss of accessibility, positive user experience, and human connection.
I will start by saying that the location is convenient, the room was large and clean, and the rooftop pool is lovely. However, some things you'd miss if you booked based on Kasa's website or other reviews:
1) This is not a hotel. It's a barebones airbnb concept using vacant apartments in a building catering to the Santa Clara U community.
2) There are no human staff and the AI "receptionist" can't handle basic questions like "how do I find my confirmation number?"
3) Parking and entering the unit felt like involuntarily enrolling in an absurdist saga where each new door requires a different code through a different interface, where you have to park to get a code to move your car to enter through a different door to get a badge to...you get the idea. I can't imagine trying to use this hotel if I were in a wheelchair, couldn't move quickly, was over 50 years old, etc.
4) The college tech douche vibe is strong. I went up to the (again, very nice) rooftop pool and had to share the hot tub with a man who was standing on one of the seats fully-dressed, wearing a headset and working on a laptop, talking loudly about some sort of health insurance-disruption app. I moved across the pool only to be nearly run over by a guy dressed all in black, also loudly tech talking as he ran (skedaddled??) back and forth across a row of patio furniture. I wish I could post the video of this vintage Silicon Valley experience, but I don't want to be struck down by our beneficent Kasa overlords.