I stayed at the Porto Vista Hotel and Suites with my boyfriend for 2 nights in March 2010, as part of a longer fly-drive holiday.
Location - the best thing about this hotel is the location, right on the doorstep of Little Italy with some great bars and restaurants nearby. I particularly recommend Mimmo's Italian Village, delicious food at great prices, and the inside is modelled to look like an Italian village! The hotel is only a 15-20 minute walk to the Gaslamp Quarter and Horton Plaza, and the area felt very safe at night.
Room - When I first arrived at the hotel I was surprised to see that the majority of the rooms overlook a covered (but open air) courtyard in true motel style. The only window looked out into the corridor 'outside', but because the courtyard was covered (roof but no walls) there was hardly any natural light in the room. Because of this it felt slightly dingy, and the bathroom was particularly dark. Despite this the room was spacious, the shower was great, and the coffee making facilities were very much appreciated - please note that the coffee comes in it's own filter, like a big tea bag, so don't think you can't use it because there aren't any filter papers! I did like that the sink was in it's own unit outside the bathroom so that one person could use it while another was in the bathroom, and there was also a hairdryer.
Facilities - The Glass Door restaurant and bar was great, it serves a variety of drinks and cocktails and has a fantastic view of the city, both during the night and day. We didn't eat there, but it seemed very popular with diners. We know there was a spa at the hotel, but we didn't have an information pack in our hotel with information about the location or opening times and we didn't get round to trying to find it. The wi-fi didn't work in our room, we had to go down to reception to use it.
Staff - The staff were both excellent and miserable, depending who was on duty! Our room key didn't work on three separate occasions which was annoying, and the reception staff didn't seem surprised by this, as if it happens all the time.
Local area - San Diego itself is amazing, and I would recommend it to anyone! I particularly enjoyed the Old Town Trolley Tour, which has a stop a 2 minute walk from the hotel, as it was a great way to see Old Town, Horton Plaza, Ferry Embacardo and Coronado all in one day. We weren't planning on going over to Coronado before we did the tour but I'm so glad we did - fantastic views both of the city from the Ferry Embacardo, and of the beach/sea from the bar on the terrace of the Hotel Del Coronado.
Overall, this hotel is great if you're on a budget like we were, as the negatives are well worth the low price tag and fantastic views from the restaurant. If however you're looking for somewhere particularly elegant or romantic, then I'd look somewhere else. Little Italy was a fantastic area though, and had far more of a community feel than somewhere like Gaslamp.
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