Artistic Hair Design
An Asian run barber shop that gives affordable haircuts. They also do perms, bleaching, and washing if you want those services for a little extra money. Barbers are experienced and they work fairly quickly. Can be crowded occasionally, but you never have to wait more than 20 minutes and they're better than places like Supercuts. I've consistently had good experiences there.
Sanborn Park Hostel
My family and I used to go hiking a lot, and this was one of the places we would frequent. It's a great park with a lot of huge redwoods scattered throughout its various trails. Doesn't really get hot because of the shade, so it's especially nice to visit during the spring. Sometimes they host a nature camp for kids there that I vaguely remember participating in back in the day. Also has tables if you want to eat a nice picnic lunch there.
Villa Montalvo Art Ctr
I've been hiking in the trails around Villa Montalvo a few times with my dad, and I've been pretty impressed with how well things up there are maintained. There are some beautiful gardens and a huge lawn where a lot of couples get married or have their wedding photos taken. There are occasionally live music groups that will play near the lawn. The hiking trails are kept clean and free of brush. They're easy to walk on, and you can get a nice view of the valley from the top.
Hakone Estate & Gardens
A well maintained Japanese garden that's actually within walking distance from my house. Part of the Memoirs of a Geisha movie was actually filmed there recently, which seems be a pretty good indicator of how beautiful it is. It is not at all uncommon for people to get married there. One of the really cool things that's there is a full sized house that was actually taken apart board by board from Japan and shipped over, where it was reassembled. A large number of its trees were also imported.
Ice Center
This is pretty much one of the only places in the area that you can iceskate in, but that doesn't make it a bad . Prices are reasonable, and I know that a number of high schools in the area sell community cards that give you discounts on rentals and admission. Aside from that, the rink is quite spacious although there are usually a number of younger children there. Ice is cleaned regularly, but the machine that does it is pretty fast. Rental skates are fairly clean and I didn't notice any problems with them.
Saratoga Country Club
The country club is a popular place for weddings and has a nice view of the surrounding towns. As is expected of any country club, membership is fairly expensive, but it does have all of the normal accomodations, including tennis courts, a swimming pool, golf course, and restaurants. A few people I know had jobs there over the summer and they told me that it was pretty nice place to work.
Saratoga Oaks Lodge
The Oaks Lodge is a popular place for tourists to stop when they're touring the mountain wineries. You rent these little individual townhouses, which are nicely furnished and well maintained. There's a lot of privacy, as each guest effectively has his own little house, and it's situated near some decent restaurants so that food is only a short walk away. The only downside is that it's fairly expensive, but if you're here to tour wineries anyway, then it's probably money you're willing to spend.
Redwood Elementary School
Since the school is in a relatively affluent area, it's safe from many of the problems that plague many public high schools. Class sizes are fairly small and there didn't seem to be much bullying or crime that I could see. The whole place was renovated recently, and in my opinion it looks better than the High School. One especially good teacher that worked there was Mrs. Hinkle.
Foothill Elementary School
I have really good memories of Foothill, despite the fact that most of the time I spent there the school was undergoing one or another form of construction. Only two or three years ago there was another round of renovation and the campus looks amazing now. The playground is well maintained and free from damage. It's a good place take a walk, and at least when I went there the teachers were very friendly and helpful, although admittedly many of my old instructors have retired.
Saratoga High School
Relatively competitive, but that's true for many of the schools in the general area. Just finished building a large PAL center and renovating the field, so the drama department and the sports teams will hopefully improve in the near future. Aside from that, the teachers are generally fairly knowledgeable and seem to have a real interest in helping you learn. I had a good experience there.
