Take a look: Larry Ellison's Nobu Hotel Palo Alto completes multimillion-dollar renovation

Nobu Palo Alto, a 73-room boutique luxury hotel in the heart of Silicon Valley, has completed a multi-million dollar renovation. The result is allowing it to host larger private events and more diners at its restaurant.

The hotel at 180 Hamilton Ave. expanded into the adjacent property, 620 Emerson St., a former florist, to create a 4,100-square foot Japanese garden, with banquette tables for private events. After a year-long renovation, the restaurant can now accommodate 54 guests in the enclosed dining room (30 seats) and garden (20 more seats).

In 2015, corporate entities linked to Oracle Corp. cofounder and billionaire Larry Ellison purchased the property, formerly the Epiphany hotel, for $71.6m and underwent a massive renovation. In 2017, it was rebranded under the Nobu banner, the brainchild of Nobu Matsuhisa and Robert De Niro. Film producer Meir Telper also contributed to the project. Public records show that the same year, his affiliate purchased the adjacent property at a price of $4.25million.

The hotel reopened in October 2020 after a multi-million dollar, top-to-bottom renovation.

Landscape designer Shigeru Nabam, who Ellison had hired to move 3,000 tons boulders in his Japanese-style Woodside estate for his own benefit, and Los Angeles firm Montalba Architects were responsible for the garden's aesthetic.

The garden includes a Japanese boulder, a stone façade, and a waterscape that flows gently. A dining room is enclosed under a large skylight, with bifolding glass doors that allow the outside in or keep it out.

The entire enclave is hidden behind a decorative bronze door that lets the public peek along Emerson Street. View the photos on our slideshow above this article.

In a press statement, Janelle Eng wrote that Nobu's area director and general manager, creates "a tranquil respite unlike anything else in Silicon Valley."

The garden is accessible to hotel guests via the lobby, with preferential seating. Last-minute bookings for Friday nights start at $400 on the hotel website.

The luxury hotel category was the first to recover from the hospitality industry's Covid blowout. However, the urban stay had to shift its focus from corporate travelers to weekenders and regional tourists.

Nobu has 17 hotels in the world, and another 18 are listed on its website under "coming soon", including Abu Dhabi, Atlantic City and New Orleans.