September 2, 2007
Part of a worldwide wave of re-envisioned mid-20th-century hotels, this once-drab Best Western reopened in June after a thorough transfusion of Japanese hip. Plasma screens shimmer with anime and monster movies under a muraled ceiling in the lobby. A vending machine sells T-shirts and cuddly things from the Asian-American pop culture brand Giant Robot. In an interesting hybrid, the hotel remains affiliated with Best Western but is managed by the Bay Area hotel company Joie de Vivre.