Here is a complete review of our recent stay:
Location: Walking distance (5 minutes) to the harbor, USS Midway, trolley, and great restaurants. 5 minute trolley to Gaslamp or Old Town. Little Italy has beautiful architecture, very friendly people, and of course great food. There is a small neighborhood park right behind the hotel that is awesome. Very family friendly and priceless for our 2 year old. Every Saturday has a street market one block from the hotel--fresh paninis, bread, fruit, etc.
Hotel: Still under construction, but nothing too major. Restaurant and jacuzzi are still not open. Construction noise during the day is not too bad, turn on the AC and you can barely hear it. Though my husband was more bothered by it than I was.
Elevator: So slow we never used it in 4 days, though it is brand new. Construction workers utilized it so maybe that is why it was so slow.
Lobby: Absolutely gorgeous. One small room with one computer for guest use, though I was told the internet wasn't working on it since there were so many people logged on to their wireless.
Manager: Extremeley helpful and sincere. Upon check in we were given a room that didn't have a view of the harbor. I asked if there was something available with a view and was immediately given a suite with balcony and view of harbor and the hotel was completely booked. (We checked in around 3:30 pm)
Rooms: Get one on the north or west side of the hotel and on the 3rd, 4th, or 5th floor. The west side might only have the more expensive suites, but our room was on the third floor, north side and had a balcony with a view of the harbor and the price was for a queen, 2 people. Since it faced north it also had a view of all of the airplanes landing--our 2 year old LOVED watching them and they are very frequent during the day and almost non existant during the night. The plane noise never bothered us. We were the first guests to stay in our particular room since it was completed so everything was brand new. Windows open for fresh air, refrigerator, wet bar. There were 2 tv's, one in the bedroom and one in the living room--not very many channels to choose from, but if you are in San Diego then chances are you won't be sitting in your room watching tv. Some noise from neighbors was heard, but nothing out of the ordinary for a hotel. Bath and Body Works soaps are very nice too. Note for families with young children--some windows have a low sill and open with only a screen that could easily be pushed out--very dangerous when you are 3-5 floors up. We kept those windows locked.
Maid Service: Terrible. We didn't have any for 2 out of our 4 nights. We had to go to the front desk to get towels, etc. Luckily the front desk employees were always very nice and helpful. One day I was in the room and a few minutes after I put up the do not disturb sign I heard the maid cart pass our room. I opened the door and asked if they could just take the trash and give us towels and he said "no, you had the card up"....not the best customer service.
Shuttle: Terrible. I read previous reviews saying it was great. Not our experience. There was a large convention while we were visiting so the shuttle was available only for them, not other guests. After the convention was over, we wanted a shuttle to the zoo but we were told that it left the hotel at 9 am---the zoo opens at 9 am and if you are not there early you will be waiting in a very long line. We asked if they could make an exception since the shuttle was just sitting there at 830, but nope--it leaves at 9. Funny, just the day before we saw the shuttle give a ride to 3 people to the zoo after they asked at 830.
Parking: FREE. Unheard of in San Diego.
Overall: Very helpful, nice employees at the front desk and very good manager. Great location. Very family friendly but don't stay here if you are looking for a "sit by the pool" type of vacation. The construction is finishing up and they are still ironing out glitches, but if we go back to San Diego, there is no question that this is where we will stay. Remember, get a room on the west or north side on the 3rd, 4th, or 5th floor--the closer to the west side, the better.
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