Starwood Preferred Guest - San Diego question

I am headed to San Diego for pleasure next week and need some advice on which property to choose, the Sheraton Harbour or the Westin.

That Heavenly Bed is mighty tempting even if it is in downtown.

San Diego used to have two Westins - the one at the Harbour and the one downtown at Horton Plaza. Two years ago, when the Heavenly Bed was just introduced, the Habour Westin had the Heavenly Bed. I guess now there is only one Westin at San Diego left which is the Horton which also has the Heavenly Beds. I recommend the Westin Horton b/c it is closer to the restaurants, theatres, etc. Try to get a corner room.

Many variables here. Stayed at both this year, and here's my $0.02:

SHERATON - PRO
1. Close to airport
2. Fairly nice pool and gym
3. Great views of harbor
4. Great desk and work chair
5. Large rooms on Club level

SHERATON - CON
1. Close to airport (though I didn't hear any airplane noise there)
2. Have to drive everywhere
3. No heavenly beds (but comfortable anyway)
4. Not all rooms are in self-contained tower; some near pool have a Motel 6 look

WESTIN - PRO
1. Walk everywhere, incl. restaurants, bars and theaters
2. Close to trolley if you won't have a car
3. Attached to Horton Plaza
4. Heavenly beds

WESTIN - CON
1. Teeming with tourists
2. No outdoor pool
3. Attached to Horton Plaza

What about Sheratons?

My husband's $0.02...

For pleasure trip, stay at the Horton Westin. No comparsion since this is close to rest., mall, downtown, and all other activities.

Helen =)

Looking to go to SAN for the FT do July 20-22. The Westin Horton is sold out. I have no problem staying at the Sheraton, but I will not be renting a car. How easy is it to get airport->hotel->downtown and vice versa? Taking public transportation is fine with me. Thanks.

From the Sheraton to downtown is about 10 minutes in a cab. Quick, easy, and fairy cheap. No problems.

What happened to the Westin on Harbor Island?

I was in San Diego for a conference at the Sheraton Harbor Island in July '99. My conference was pretty small, but there was a lot going on in town that weekend, including the Major League Soccer All-star game.

I went to check in and was told that the hotel was full, but they'd be happy to put me up at the Westin for 2 nights at no charge. I said yes, no problem.

So I get on the shuttle bus and went to the Westin down the block Well, the front desk staff there had the pleasure of telling me that there was another Westin in town (having never been to San Diego, I had no idea that there would be another Westin and the name "Horton Plaza" meant nothing to me).

I was livid, but I didn't take it out on the people at the Westin. They tried to convince me that the other Westin was pretty close, and was near the Gaslamp nightlife district . At this point I thought this was said just to placate me, but I set off to the other Westin.

(I did get cab vouchers- can't remember whether I got them at hotel # 1 or #2)

It turned out that I liked the Horton Plaza just fine (plus, it was free). One night of my conference had a function at a club in the Gaslamp, so I was near the hotel at the end of one evening, anyhow.

I ended up staying there again by choice last spring.

Ahh, a happy ending.

the westin on harbour island is now part of the sheraton on harbour island. the horton plaza is the only westin left in SAN.

Funny thing is, that the Westin Harbor Island was part of the Sheraton Harbor Island before it became a Westin, about 3 years ago.

Originally posted by SNA1K:
From the Sheraton to downtown is about 10 minutes in a cab. Quick, easy, and fairy cheap. No problems.

cool....someone else told me there is a free shuttle to/from SAN airport, correct?

Not sure about the shuttle, but it's walking distance from the airport to the Sheraton (maybe not w/heavy bags). People at the conference who got rental cars joked that the rental car lots were further away from the airport than the hotel!

Originally posted by markbach:
but I will not be renting a car.
One issue to note about San Diego - it's very spread out. For example, even though the SD Zoo and the Wild Animal Park are in "San Diego," they're about an hour apart. You'll need a car if you do anything besides the harbor.

Originally posted by Family flyer:
You'll need a car if you do anything besides the harbor.

Thanks, I'd be going for a Flyertalk event, so I'd hope I could hitch rides with others. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Just stayed at the Sheraton in SAN. It's a mixed bag. As a platinum I was treated very well at the front desk. (See my report

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/001757.html

But "it's a Sheraton", not a nice as a St. Regis, Lux Coll, or even many a Westins.

Nobbi

[This message has been edited by Nobbi (edited 05-08-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Nobbi (edited 05-08-2001).]

Originally posted by markbach:
cool....someone else told me there is a free shuttle to/from SAN airport, correct?

Yes there is. You'll have to give the driver your name when getting in the van, so he can check in which "tower" you're booked and take you there.

RZ

Just adding my own comments to this thread.

Stayed at the Sheraton, Harbor Island East Tower. The hotel is nice enough with a fairly large lobby. The room on the club floor was small but we had a nice view of the harbor and city. Airplane noise was not a factor. We stayed on a Sheraton Supersaver weekend rate, which was still pricey but included breakfast and being put on the club floor. The club lounge is actually on the top floor but was unfortunately closed since Aug. 1 for renovations. Would have been nice to have known when booking the property. Would have saved the few extra dollars and booked a regular room.

The pool is nice but a bit small. We had to wait a bit before some folks left to get two deck chairs.

The concierge desk is nice and the people were friendly. It was no hassle driving to town or to the zoo and we liked the resort feel of the property.

Breakfast was good but nothing impressive. We liked the buffet and the made to order omlette station. Nice views of the marina from the hotel restaurant.

A note about the Sheraton Harbor Island:

The West Tower is the old Westin. And even though it's now converted to a Sheraton, they kept the Heavenly Beds! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif I had an enjoyable stay there a couple of weeks ago while attending the O'Reilly Open Source Conference. Never made it to the Club Lounge (which is in the East Tower only), so I can't comment on that. The West Tower restaurant was fairly tasty.

But overall, I'd still stay at the Westin Horton Plaza. It's just closer to everything -- shops, restaurants, etc.