TWA Guy

I will be staying at this hotel in early February. What is the difference between the East & West Towers? Thanks!

Starwood Lurker

About 300 yards. Oh, you probably meant the difference in the facilities.

The west tower is smaller than the east tower, so the west tower has a smaller hotel feel to it. The west tower has Alfiere's Restaurant located within. Also, IIRC, the east tower has been fully renovated. Not sure if the west tower has or not.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

TWA Guy

That's a big difference

TWA Guy

Does either tower have a better view of the airport?

Starwood Lurker

I'll have to defer to your peers on that one. They also might be able to fill you in on some other aspects of the west vs. the east towers as well.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

sdelira

The view of the bay is right there, a great view of the ship yards and boats... Well, each to their own. It all depends on which Terminal you really want to watch. Terminal 1 is SWA, United & so on - go for West Tower. Term 2 is AA, Delta, Continental, AW, US Airways, etc. - go for East Tower.

JMR

I've gotten better upgrades in the East Tower, and it has a more interesting view of the Marina (it's right below both, so hard to say one has the "better" view).

West looks directly at the Airport, East is a slight head-turn, but not enough so as you would notice.

I've read some bashing of this hotel, but it remains a favorite of mine.

TWA Guy

Please elaborate. I did a search and didn't find any bashing. It's obvious the W and Westin Horton Plaza are the preferred properties but I can't justify those rates.

JMR

I can't recall any thread dedicated to hating this property, but there are a few sly zingers about it mixed in with other threads, mostly when comparing it to other Starwood SAN properties.

The zingers are along the lines of the ones I like to toss about concerning what a dump the Westin Rio Mar in Puerto Rico is.

Getting a view of the parking lot in the West tower is no fun, but I've never gotten one as a preferred guess.

kevinsac

I have been very happy with this property; no complaints from me. Yes, the W and Westin are nicer, but the prices are much better at the Sheraton. Nothing spectacular about the rooms, but by no means bad.

FWIW....the West Tower was (about 5-8 years ago) operated as a separate hotel under the Westin name. I got some great upgrades. Then, it went back to being Sheraton, one hotel operated together with the East Tower.

If you like the hotel amenities (pool, restaurant, shops, etc), stay East Tower. IIRC, these things not available at the West Tower.

BigBopper

Stayed there last summer and was treated better than I have been at any other *wood property (including Luxury collection). Instead of Plat benefits, the manager on duty greeted us with his "guest of the day" benefit which included parking right at the front door, nice welcome ammenities in addition to the 500 * points and an upgrade to the governors suite. Every morning we had a message asking us how the previous day had gone. My wife certainly felt special and it's worth the 5 minute drive to town.

BTW-we stayed in the west tower. It was about a 5 minute walk to the pool but we didn't have to deal with any noise from it. Fair trade off IMHO.

PremEx

I did an extensive and detailed review of this hotel covering all buildings last year complete with pictures and more than anyone in their right mind would want to know.

It starts at Post #21 of this thread which FlyerTalk's "Search" feature quickly found for me:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=330596

You'll find other folks reviews in that same thread.

TWA Guy

Thanks, this is very helpful! I'll stick with my reservation in the East Tower.

tfong007

I stay at these hotels almost every week. The W sucks in one word, they dont value plat spgs. They never upgrade to suites even though they have them. I have checked availability just before checking in, and just after, and never get it. They pretend to search and never find anything. As a plat you get two bottles of water every night and a box of chocolates on check-in.

The Sheraton Suites is a great deal. Its 209 if you prepay. They treat plats really well. They offer you free local calls, free internet, full buffet breakfast, and drink coupons. They lack a suitable gym but every other part of this hotel is awesome.

The Westin is not bad as well. However, there elevators are painfully slow. YOu can wait up to 10 minutes to go up or down during busy times. They have an happy hour for plats once a week. I think.

sbrower

1. I like the W, even though they are not extra good about Platinum (I have received upgrade to corner suite, without requesting, but I have also received lousy service).

2. I like the San Diego Hotel & Marina (or whatever the right name is) because they always upgrade in advance (I can see it on the web). One time I got the Governor's Suite, 24 hours in advance, without making a request. (San Diego is driving distance from home, so the family came along to enjoy the suite.) HOWEVER, they are doing major renovations (much needed) and you need to check how that will affect your room.

3. I only stayed at the Suites one time. It was right before a change in ownership and the service was just awful. However, I dont' think that was representative of their normal intentions.