Priceline Hotel: Where should I stay?

[1Venus]

Hi. I hope someone can help me here. I'm traveling to San Jose, California, from December 15-22, 2008. I will be meeting a friend for a couple of days, but for the rest of the trip I'm going to be a woman traveling alone and I want to stay somewhere convenient, but safe. I do plan to use Priceline (or maybe Hotwire) but I don't know what zone/city would be best for my tourist base. It looks like the main 4* that have come up currently are the San Jose Marriott, the Santa Clara Hyatt, and the Santa Clara Hilton with all coming up well under $100/night (actually I'd like to stay under $75.) Which zone do you think would be best for me? As I said, I'd just like to use it as a base for touring the area, but I'd like to be close to restaurants and shopping and feel safe venturing out at night. I am planning on renting a car, if that makes a difference.

Thanks for your help. :)

PS - For those of you with knowledge of the area, I'm open to tourist attraction suggestions, as well. :)

[Colfax]

San Jose/Silicon Valley is very spread out. Wherever you stay you'll be driving. Here "close to restaurants and shopping" means a short drive, not walking distance. Downtown San Jose is pedestrian friendly but there's not much shopping there.

Do you only want 4* hotels? Santa Clara usually has the best 4* rates. Milpitas zone often has great bargains (under $50) on 3.5* or 3*.

Do you want to stay at one hotel for seven nights? Or would you split your bid to experience two hotels in different areas?

As for "single woman travelling alone" I don't think there are any bad areas or zones you need to avoid, as long as you're bidding 3* or higher.

[1Venus]

Thanks for the advice. :) Actually I'm fairly flexible in terms of my stay. I could split the stay between 2 hotels and I certainly could bid for a 3* rather than 4* room. It's good to know that downtown is lacking shopping opportunities, so I think I will look to the other zones. Thanks again.

[Colfax]

You're welcome. Please let us know how your bidding turns out or ask if you have more specific questions. You sound very flexible and San Jose area usually has some nice PRICELINE bargains, so I expect you'll do well.