My husband, two year old son and I planned a vacation to San Diego. We wanted to stay in a Marriott chain because of my husband's platinum status with them and we had some very specific needs: my son needed his own room (only way he sleeps well), we needed lots of room since we were there seven nights, I wanted something downtown but hopefully not impacted by the noisy bar area. After going back and forth between this hotel and the other Residence Inn downtown I chose this hotel because: the train noise would not be a factor here, we reserved two adjoining rooms (a one-bedroom and a studio suite), and the reviews from trip advisor raved about this hotel. There were many pros and cons...
PROS:
- Perfectly located! We were not interested in Petco Park but it was only about two blocks away. We comfortably walked to many restaurants in the area, the habour area and Seaport Village. The $35+ parking per day hurt but it was truly convenient.
- Valet staff was excellent.
- The adjoining rooms were just what I was hoping for. There was a nice hallway kind of separating them and gave us I think about 900 sq feet total. We had asked for rooms on a high floor and were given the 10th floor out of 14 which was nice. And the one bedroom was on a corner.
- Buffet breakfast was fine (obviously a lot of repeats since we were there so long) and offered a variety.
- Lobby was great.
- Gym room was okay. Didn't try out the pool mainly because it was never in the sun.
- Housekeeping was good.
- The bar/food downstairs was decent.
CONS:
- Even on the 10th floor we had SO MUCH street level noise. Forget about sleeping on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday...or Thursday if you are a light sleeper.
- The studio suite had a double bed in it- don't even try to call that a queen!
- Their website stated they offered cribs at no fee. They brought us up a pack and play. Anyone who has a child knows there is a HUGE difference. They need to take that off their website - they do not have cribs. Our son was two big for a pack and play and I had to make a make-shift bed for him. Luckily it worked. I complained to the front desk three times and at one point suggested they should rent us a crib and no fee to us but they refused. I understand they can't be held liable if something happened with the crib they rented us, but come on - they do NOT OFFER CRIBS. Pack and plays are for infants. They were not apologetic either.
- Even though the buffet breakfast was decent, after getting sick three days in a row after eating from it (both my husband and I) we stopped going for more than cereal and yogurt. We think it was the eggs.
- We heard other guests complaining about a variety of things that we didn't encounter ourselves. Kind of put a sour taste in our mouths.
- They had a laundry room you had to pay for. Other Residence Inns we have stayed in were free.
- I was also told that the only way to get a room with a bathroom linked from the living room instead of bedroom with the one bedroom was to get handicapped access. I wanted a bathroom off the living room in the one bedroom. We did have that and it was not a handicapped room.
- Their front desk staff was okay but certainly nothing to rave about on here.
OVERALL... It was a nice hotel. Had we not been set on staying in a Marriott we for sure would have stayed somewhere else. I want to be really clear though - if you have children you understand - that was a MAJOR DILLEMMA not having a crib. They need to take that OFF their website and replace it was PACK AND PLAY!!!!!!!!!! And a nice apology would have helped. My husband is a platinum member and CHOOSES to stay at Marriott over Hilton. I personally prefer Hilton and am trying to convince him to switch. Especially after this trip.
If you are not picky like I know we were (which comes with having a child) this is a cool hotel. In the heart of it all. We never had to walk more than three blocks to find a new and fun restaurant.
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