Thank you to Kathy Chin Leong for this article, although I must say that I’m a little jealous that I wasn’t there. It looks like so much fun.
Fans of the whimsical, of upcycling, and of shabby chic will revel in this retro playground for grown-ups. Picnic tables, red camp lanterns, and giant Connect Four games surrounded by organic garden plots truly suit the ethos of Treehouse Hotel, Sunnyvale’s more innovative lodging venture centered in Silicon Valley. Literally next door to Google, where it shares a parking lot, this destination doesn’t take itself too seriously in this very serious tech environment.
Think summer camp for adults, except this camp is year-round. The hotel calendar, called the Fun Finder, lists activities such as movie nights, candle-making, puzzle parties, and bracelet-making.
Everywhere you peek yields a surprise. A 1970s Volkswagen bug covered with faux greenery and flowers poses as striking lobby art. A vintage camper in the beer garden serves up libations, pizza, and salads.
Whimsical rooms contain treasures you would have loved to stash in the secret clubhouse of your dreams. Picture favorite children’s books, vinyl records, a kaleidoscope, a rubber ducky for bath time, and yes, a Magic 8 Ball. The armoire, stenciled with birds and flowers, provides plush white robes and signature Treehouse slippers.
You can dance to tunes if you choose to spin some vinyl on the record player (available upon request). Hide your guilty pleasure sodas in the Galanz mini fridge. Turn on the mushroom-shaped lamp during reading time. Binge a series on the flat screen enclosed by a giant wood box frame. Need to reach the front desk? Yes, that blue rotary phone isn’t a toy; it really works.
In Junior Suite E207, the corner built-in couch was the perfect nook to read the children’s book, How to Build a Treehouse, discovered on our coffee table. Meanwhile, my husband Frank nestled himself on the mushroom print lounge chair, propping his feet on the footstool while listening to Jackson Brown on the turntable. By nightfall, we sank into a deep sleep on the pillow-top mattress, dreaming of fairies and pirates sailing off into Neverland.
Cuteness oozes everywhere, from the inflatable red doggie poolside to the mismatched classroom chairs in the meeting rooms. While other hotels slap together a predictable gray and white palette, Treehouse sings out loud in red, yellow, blue, and green. Materials such as rope, twine, wood, and tin are used generously in unexpected places. Hand-drawn murals festoon the hallway walls.
As fun as things are, management takes food seriously. For starters, there are three restaurants. Mornings begin with the Backyard Cafe, open 6:30 a.m. until 2 p.m., which serves up made-to-order frappes, smoothies, and coffees. Available are grab-and-go items as well as cooked-to-order breakfast burritos and egg ciabatta sandwiches. You will love the sweet potato waffle coupled with a small shot cup of house-made blueberry chia seed jam.
Stroll under the vine arch tunnel on the way to the beer garden, which opens at 2 p.m. Here, clusters of cherry, blue, and natural wood Adirondack chairs invite folks to sit for instant conversation. Each round table features a red camp lantern as the centerpiece. Necklaces of lights are strewn about, creating a party effect at night.
Teepee wood trellises are propped on vegetable and flower boxes at the beer garden. You can order from your phone or from the retrofitted green camper trailer offering salads, sausages, pretzels, wood-fired pizza, chicken wings, fries, and beer on tap. Worth ordering are the designer pizzas, which include a tasty fungi arugula pie and a bacon pizza with herbs and sweet potato. All are shareable. We found this type of meal very affordable with excellent flavors. A bonus is the great assortment of beverages from cocktails to mocktails, from ciders to wines.
Meanwhile, creating a big stir in Silicon Valley is the launch of Valley Goat, led by Chef Stephanie Izard, the first female winner of the Bravo show, Top Chef. Just as amazing as the clever décor of plants and bicycle wheels is the curated menu of global fare wed to local ingredients. Many dishes deliver new takes on proteins and veggies. Case in point, the salmon is dressed with a hoisin mayo, Hamachi poke comes with tangy kumquat, and skirt steak gets sprinkled with furikake. Even French fries receive international treatment with five spice on the potatoes and tamarind chutney for dipping in lieu of ketchup.
Ironically, nowhere on campus will you find an actual treehouse, but this hotel gives off that youthful treehouse energy and is rapidly becoming the darling of Silicon Valley. In a land of startups and technology saturation, this place will get you off your phones and iPads, and in the moment with friends and loved ones.
- Book your treehouse vacation at Treehouse Hotel Silicon Valley
