AIRcop

Stay at the Airport Hilton like I do. Rates usually $100-150. No Exec Lounge, but free full hot breakfast in the restaurant. The Hotel Shuttle guys will take you into the Gaslamp if they are not doing airport runs. The proximity to the aiprort and views of the city and harbor can't be beat.

Uniter

The ES down the street is fairly nice. Not far from the convention center (well, one end of it). The only downside is the load of kids who stay there. But I had a conference last year and brought my wife and son along ... the ES made a great base of operations for them -- Seaport Village shopping across the street and the ferry to Coranado not far away.

Gaslamp definitely not worth $299, but the ES is.

SteveinDanville

Come on, give them a break. The rooms here are great, the location is killer(restaurants, Petco ballpark, etc.) and the Executive lounge is awesome. This is a good $159-199 hotel, but it definitely is not a $99 hotel. Not quite sure what you faulted them on to call them a $99 hotel.

TravelGuy1965

Any comments on when the executive lounge is open?

I stayed there as a diamond last Thursday night and it was not open at all in the evening. Instead I got a single drink voucher for the bar that was not even good for a mixed drink. Only for a beer or glass of wine. Really a poor hotel in terms of how they treat customers compared to others in Gaslamp area.

This Hilton only pushes me more to Hy*** where Diamonds are treated with at least some reasonable difference.

Luckly rate was only $199 a night the morning of checkin compared to the usual $299-$399.

Markieg

We found the rates for all the SD hotels a bit of a joke-way too high.
We were very dissapointed with our stay in SD, the old town was ok, seaworld was good but the gaslamp was truly horrible to walk around in early evening, dirty and run-down.
Personally, was'nt impressed with SD (as a tourist).

rolyjp

I totally agree. I just relocated here temporarily from Chicago and can't wait to get out of here. The Gaslamp district that everybody supposedly thinks as great, is nothing but dirty and rundown streets with high priced average restaurants. All the streets downtown smell of urine from the huge amount of homeless people that are sleeping in every nook they can find. I had heard great things about this city but have yet to find any of it and I am desperately looking. As for the Gaslamp Hilton, it is overpriced for sure considering what it is and what it offers. In fairness all hotels in the SD area are overpriced. Unfortunately this city ranks at the bottom of my list.

Alinlondon

A bit tongue in cheek perhaps. I paid the $99 over Christmas back in 2002, I really did not rate the place, but as you say it probable is more in the $150 (ish) bracket.

jinabe

Nice location, a petite size for Hilton. But for that $$$, Marriott would be my choice. Hyatt is nearby, but it is a bit outdated.

DCBob

In downtown San Diego, your best choice is to use Priceline. I last paid $85 per night at the Westin Horton Plaza. Just as nice as the Hilton. Here are the details:


Check-In Date: Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Check-Out Date: Monday, May 30, 2005
Priceline Hotel Request Number:
Priceline Customer Service Number: 1-800-657-9168
Hotel Name: The Westin Horton Plaza
910 Broadway Circle
San Diego, California 92101
619-239-2200
Confirmation Number:
Summary of Charges
Billing Date: March 23, 2005
Last 4 digits of Credit Card: 001
Your Offer Price: $85.00
Number of Rooms: 1
Number of Nights: 5
Subtotal: $425.00
Taxes and Service Fees: $60.52
Total Charges: $485.52

I also once stayed at the Hilton Gaslamp on Priceline at $65 per night, but that dates back to 2002. No such deals these days.

vthokies

Does anyone know if there is street parking around the Hilton Gaslamp?

I stayed at the W San Diego last year and street parking was plentiful. Just wondering if the same situation exists for the Hilton. Thanks!

DCBob

Yes, within walking distance, you can occasionally find free street parking during weekends and evenings. Otherwise, you have to feed the meters, which are not cheap. However, you may have to spend a half hour looking for the free spots, and I would not count on it.

BlissWorld

I'm thinking about booking one of those...

The pics on the website look great. Has anyone been in one of those lofts and care to share his/her opinions?

Where is this "Enclave tower" anyway? Is it on the top floors of the hotel. Do you get a view at all?

The price for the loft is about 2x regular room, worth the $$?

They claim to have a whirlpool tub in the loft, is it one of those el-cheapo with 2 jets or some of the other amazing ones with 47 jets like those at a Santa Monica hotel

Is it really a "loft" with stairs or just merely a fancy name?

LHR Wannabee

I have stayed at this property three times. Apparently there are 2 types of "5th avenue lofts." There is annex across the 2 floor courtyard from the main building that fronts "5th avenue" (the street around the corner). Some have the jacuzzi and others do not. Make sure to ask. As a diamond I was "upgraded" to the 5th Avenue Loft, but did not have the jacuzzzi. The room had a higher ceiling than the rooms in the main building, but did not appear that special. This property is one of the most expensive Hiltons due to the proximity to the Covention center across the street, but I do not see the value in paying more for this room unless you are guaranteed the jacuzzi (still not seen by me). Service at this property was spotty the last time I stayed for 2 nights on the weekend. Both soda machines were broken in the "loft" annex all weekend and were not capable of being fixed until the following week- so the choice was overpriced soda from room service or get dressed and walk to the main building across the courtyard. Also, room service was horrible. The menu in our room was outdated and even though we placed an order, they later called back to say that the menu we had in our room was no longer in effect. We did this weekend as a romantic getaway so we planned to order room service quite a bit. One time the wrong food came and for a different meal, the bacon on a sandwich was raw. Upon checking out, when asked whether I could give a "10" to all points of the stay, I told them my concerns and to the property's credit, they took $100 off the room service bill. I would stay at this property again, but sometimes the rate is a little outrageous ($300) per night. For this reason, I am tempted to try one of the other downtown properties as a point of comparison.

BlissWorld

I think they upgraded you to a "regular" loft (room) in the Enclave building, but not the 5th Ave Loft I was referring to. I called the hotel and they told me that there are 8, 5th Ave Lofts (suites), each guranteed with whirlpool tub and bigger than the regular loft rooms in the Enclave building (facing 5th Ave). There are also 2 jr Presidential and 1 full Presidential suite along with 19+ regular lofts in the Enclave building.

So, any opinion of the actual 5th Ave Loft/Suite if you will?

Mustang1

I recently had a stay at this property and liked it, room 458 in the enclave I believe...whirlpool tub had 4-6 jets. They aren't really lofts, just high ceilings. Be aware a Hard Rock Hotel is being built across 5th Avenue from the Hilton.

Personally I wouldn't pay twice the regular room rate for an Enclave room.