San Jose’s new Signia by Hilton hotel has upscale vibe

Last year, I wrote that the closing of the Fairmont Hotel was the end of an era for downtown San Jose. Well, it’s time to start a new one, with the opening this week of the Signia by Hilton.

Yeah, it’s going to take a while to get used to “Signia” instead of “Fairmont,” but right now we can be happy to have a place to gather during big downtown events like San Jose Jazz Summer Fest, Christmas in the Park, the Veterans Day Parade and Cinequest.

With the exception of some sign changes, the Market Street hotel — which originally opened in 1987 — looks the same on the outside. But it’s a whole new world inside with the renovated reception area and the lobby lounge, which is now called Aji Bar and Robata. The cream columns and dance floor of the Fairmont — a look charitably described as “old elegance” — has been replaced by wood-paneling, arched entry ways and a horseshoe-shaped bar in the center complete with discreet outlets to charge your phone.

The old two-top tables have been replaced by groups of comfy chairs and couches. There are tables where the business-minded can break out a laptop, a modern “conversation pit” with a couch that could seat a party of 20, and a couple of big screen TVs tucked away. Taken together, it’s like a marriage between late ’70s design and 21st century functionality.

The food menu — devised by Executive Chef Hans Lentz, who previously worked in Dubai and Hawaii — is infused with Latin and Asian flavors, from the chicken wings cooked in a yuzu kosho honey glaze to the Wagyu beef sliders topped with fried avocado and queso fresco. The same goes for the cocktails, like the mezcal-based Negroni Rosita, the Margarita Picante (garnished with wasabi caviar on a plantain chip) and the Eastern Martini, a take on the Vesper that includes sake, citrus miso and chive oil.

You might be in for post-pandemic sticker shock as all the cocktails on the menu are $17-$18 (and even a draft beer goes for $10-$11), but that seems to be becoming the new normal at higher-end joints. Also, it would be great to add a craft brew or two from one of the locals like Camino, Narrative Fermentations or Clandestine. Surely, that would be more interesting for an out-of-town guest than a Blue Moon or a Stella Artois.

The sleek renovation fits perfectly with the vibe Hilton wants to create with its elevated Signia brand, but it actually started back in 2019 and was pretty much complete when the pandemic shut everything down in March 2020. The space was dark and unused for more than two years, as the hotel went into and out of bankruptcy over the past year.

But maybe opening Aji now instead of then was really a blessing. We can keep separate our fond memories of good times at the Fairmont and start making new ones at the Signia.

SURPRISE COMMENDATION: The San Jose City Council presented a commendation Tuesday to the Bay Area Furniture Bank, a six-year-old nonprofit that provides families in need with slightly used furniture donated by hotels, college campuses, tech companies and other sources. The nonprofit, founded in 2016 by retired tech sales guy Ray Piontek, has diverted about 23,000 pieces of furniture from going to the landfill — roughly 1,400 tons that would fill up 56 garbage trucks.

Bay Area Furniture Bank board member Joe Noonan was at the meeting for that item, and when it finished, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo told him to stick around. Noonan was presented with an unexpected commendation for his work as an advocate and champion for San Jose. (It was unexpected for Noonan, but I’m guessing not for the dozen fans, including his father, Joe Noonan Sr., who showed up at the council chambers.)