The Pacific Terrace Hotel has a lot to offer, and we would definitely stay there again, but it is a few strokes short of perfection and potential visitors should assess what is most important to them in a hotel before booking.
On the positive side:
1. The customer service could not have been much nicer. Everyone was warm and friendly from the maids to the check in desk. VERY warm. Even the maintenance folks were very nice and went out of their way for us.
2. The pool is delightful. Small, but very warm. So easy to get into it. A good hot water shower is located poolside so if you are coming in from the beach you can rinse of thoroughly before going in the pool or into the hotel. There are nice fluffy chair covers and plenty of towels. The pool is basically oceanside although a wall is there to assure privacy.
3. The hotel is very clean. Maids come right away when you leave your room and do a very fine job of cleaning everything. Turndown service is nice with chocolates!
4. The location is great in that you are steps from the beach, close to many bars and restaurants - - all in walking distance. And you are ON the beach. The oceanfront room we stayed in had excellent views and a nice sized balcony with two chairs and a table.
5. Fantastic plasma television! Have never seen better in a hotel.
On the negative side:
1. This particular area of San Diego could be described as having "local color". There's a good number of beach bums, BMX bikers, lots of body art and piercings, etc. We were asked by a few people to give them our doggie bags from the restaurants, but no one actually out and out begged for money. I never felt unsafe at any time. But I can see how this might bother some folks . . .
2. There were some maintenance issues during our stay. Our bathtub was leaking water into the room below. Unfortunately, they decided to fix this issue at the exact time we were returning from the beach and wanted to take showers. I was annoyed to be honest, but the chief engineer was very, very apologetic. He actually came down to get us at the pool when he was done with his work. They really could not have handled it any better than they did. We also had A/C issues. Everyday, the AC turned off on its own, and an engineer needed to come turn it on. A bit annoying, but it always ended up working.
3. The hotel doesn't have a restaurant or poolside bar service. Frankly, I think this was its biggest flaw. They provide room service through two local restaurants - - Chilis and a sort of sports bar. The sports bar does have good food, but I like to just be able to grab something spur of the moment and there's no way to do that. The hotel provides breakfast which I'd describe as very fair. If you just like cereal, milk, and a banana - - you are all set. They provide tons of pasteries that are totally nothing special. Their bagels are pretty much awful - - I'd give them a 3 on a 1 to 10 scale. The English Muffins are Thomas' and are fine. But the worst part is that the layout makes NO SENSE. The toasters are blocking access to the fruit bowls, and everyone is standing waiting for these very slow toasters to deliver the goods and meanwhile blocking others from getting their food. When you eat breakfast, I highly suggest bringing your food outside - - it's much more comfortable and pleasant there. There is also free wine from 4-5 which is a lovely touch, but it would be great to be able to buy a drink to have by the pool at other times of the day.
4. If you are going for the beach, the beach is good, but not fabulous. There's tons of seaweed actually on it (not in the water though). It's long and good for running. It has good waves for boogie boarding and surfing. The water (being the Pacific) was cold, but totally bearable. All in all, we liked it a did our kids.
5. The parking garage is a tight both in terms of space and the number of cars it can handle. We rented a GMC Acadia - - any bigger than that and you'd be seriously struggling to park.
6. The beds have great linens, but somehow weren't super comfortable. A bit too firm for my taste. If you like firm, you'd be very happy. The overall feeling is nice as the linens are high quality.
All in all, we did like this hotel.
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