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Tech Editor Mistakenly Recommends Four Seasons For Free WiFi

Where: 2050 University Ave [map], East Palo Alto, CA, United States, 94303

Silicon.com's Will Sturgeon is just a simple man with some simple needs, like free internet access in hotels. While on a trip to Silicon Valley, Will had free WiFi access in the room at the Four Seasons which is quite the exception as we all know luxury brands tend to charge the most for internet.

The only problem is, we called the Four Seasons in Palo Alto today and they are still charging $10 for 24 hours of wireless access. So we're not sure how he got it for free. Maybe he hopped on a Linksys network or something. Or maybe they provide it for free for tech editors.

Either way, Will feels that free internet should be the norm, not the exception:

This isn't like the in-room pornography which should remain ring-fenced on a pay-per-view basis (though it could seriously be argued that free internet access would cannibalise that revenue stream). This is something which, to the business traveller, sad as it may seem to admit, can be as important as the bed linen and towels that you also reasonably expect to be covered by the room charge.

Will then went onto say that he stayed in around eight or nine hotels in the area over the past year and only found one other place with free WiFi, a "flea-pit in San Francisco's Tenderloin District."

We were taken aback at this statement. Where did he stay? The Ritz? The South of Market Marriott? The Hyatt Embarcadero? Will, most high end hotels still charge for WiFi. And you got off lucky since some Four Seasons charge upwards of $20 for 24 hours of web access. (That is, if you were really staying at the Four Seasons and not just virtually visiting.)

Still, how could a Silicon.com editor be so uninformed about hotels with free WiFi in and around the Valley? It's clear he didn't bother to check out a SF Kimpton or a JDV Hotel or even a Holiday Inn Express. Ok, maybe we are just bitter Will didn't read our Best and Worst WiFi Hotels report--we worked hard on it so that Will and others wouldn't have to be left high and WiFi dry.

Related Stories:
· Why Hotel Web Access Should be Free [Will's Web Watch]
· Four Seasons Silicon Valley reviews [TripAdvisor]