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Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter {US-CA}

Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter {US-CA}

Old Aug 29, 2009, 2:34 am
  #91  
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Staying here right now. Was told at check in when asking about an upgrade that I was "all taken care of." Check into a regular room on the 11th floor. Gee thanks for taking care of me.

Got free breakfast coupons and a water and granola bar at check-in. Nice gesture but the granola bar was cheap.

Free internet (wired) in the room and furniture is pretty nice.

Train horns in the middle of the night are somewhat annoying, parking is a rip-off $35.

Rate was $199.
mnredfox is offline  
Old May 27, 2010, 3:42 pm
  #92  
 
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Recent trip as HH gold

Stayed here for 4 nights this last week. I was attending a conference in the convention centre, but also travelled with my wife and infant daughter.

After booking the hotel, I noted the adverse comments (particularly on tripadvisor) regarding the noise from train horns etc. I called the hotel and asked for a quiet room in advance of arrival. Upon arriving at 15:30, we were told that our room won't be ready until 16:30, but that we would have a quiet room, but no upgrade due to the hotel being busy.

Our room was a corner room on the 8th floor: it was away from the elevator, but was overlooking the train tracks. However, to be fair, although we heard the train several times, at no point were we particularly bothered by it, and our daughter slept as well as could be expected.

The main benefit for us of hiltons when travelling en famille is the free breakfast. There was considerable confusion for the first couple of days with regards to this benefit -- the breakfast vouchers weren't ready etc, but it was ironed out. The hotel allows full choice of the breakfast menu, not just continental. The quality of the breakfast itself is rather mediocre, and very expensive for what it is if one was paying. The selection is reasonable, however. One could have bacon -- stiff as a board, sausages (sadly no British bangers), overcooked scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes and sad looking pancakes, and made to order omelettes, all from the buffet. On the plus side, the buffet also included some rather tasty smoked salmon, and a good selection of fruit, pastries etc.
One could even order the steak and eggs from the menu, which my wife did on our last day, although it was (as with all else here) over-cooked, but we were in a rush and just ate up. The staff were friendly, especially the hispanic restaurant staff.

The room was smallish, but with nice faux art deco decor. The bathroom was very much on the small side, but the shower had a good water pressure.

The pool was having work done on all but our first day. The hotel had made provisions with another hotel (?bayfront) but were too busy to take up the offer. I did check it out briefly on the first day -- the pool is very much on the small side, next to the even smaller gym.

The lobby was rather small. One week-days, there was a 'happy hour' in the lounge with free 'hors-d'oeuvres'. We only checked it out briefly one evening whilst waiting for friends. It consisted of sad looking salsa and chips, and 1980s style potato skins. My wife thought they tasted OK, though.

The location is excellent: it is 3 minutes to the convention centre for those on business, and at the corner of the gaslamp district. We didn't have a car, but parking is valet only at a stiff $35/night, although other cheaper options are nearby.

All in all, an OK stay. Nothing superb, but nothing terrible: just what one would expect from a corporate hotel. I don't think, as advertised, this is a 'boutique' hotel, although guests staying in the 5th ave lofts might disagree -- I didn't get a chance to find out. The quality of the restaurant was somewhat of a let-down. Many similarly priced hotels in SD have much better looking food offerings.


tb
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Old May 28, 2010, 6:36 am
  #93  
 
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FYI, there is a great little deli/convenience store right across the street, Cine Cafe. Great sandwiches. The chicken club and BLT are awesome. Also beer, wine, etc.
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Old Jul 27, 2011, 10:41 pm
  #94  
 
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Had a one-night stay here. Definitely can't complain about the location, and the breakfast buffet was good as well (I'm a sucker for an omelet chef). Was a little surprised they'd give a Gold a 3rd-floor room on the side facing the train tracks, although I guess it did constitute an upgrade from "standard" to "deluxe." (I didn't communicate with the hotel beforehand, so I don't think they knew I was "trainman" -- I would have wanted a couple floors higher for optimum train-watching anyway. )
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Old Jul 28, 2011, 5:36 am
  #95  
 
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Lofts/exercise room...

This is not the hotel I stay anymore in San Diego. The exercise room is abysmal and the lofts are okay....had a huge one (351 ?) once but it wasn't anything special. It had a refrigerator which was nice because I've stayed in other lofts there and they don't all have refrigerators.

Staying 4 nights at the newer Hilton near convention center. My coworker is down there right now and sent picture of the new pedestrian bridge over to Gaslamp!

This is the 1st hotel that has Precor AMTs in their exercise room! Now that is cool. If I'm not running, that is definitely my 2nd choice.

Breakfast at the Hilton Gaslamp is really good, but it's wasted on me. I like to grab some fruit, yogurt and coffee and get going. The Hilton I'll be staying at in August gives you a coupon to be used at Starbucks. Now that won't go to waste!
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Old Jul 28, 2011, 5:58 am
  #96  
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Roseville, CA
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Wow...

Originally Posted by Elena
Just had two stays at Hilton Gaslamp, one night each.

First stay- upgraded to loft jacuzzi suite. Breakfast was very good.

Second stay- Not upgraded. Front desk agent lied about all the lofts being sold out due to a group that booked all of them. Offered to upgrade to king deluxe room (not much of an upgrade). After pressing he reluctantly offered me a standard room in the loft section. Once in my room I checked the Hilton site and found plenty of loft jacuzzi suites available and booked one. Went back to the lobby with my new confirmation number and offered to pay the difference. Spoke to a different agent who switched the room for me free of charge.

My main complaint is not the agents refusal to upgrade me to the jacuzzi loft which I understand might not be part of the diamond benefits; perhaps he could have offered me the room for an additional charge. I am however upset that he blatantly lied about all of the lofts being sold out. There was plenty of availability the night before as well as on the day of my arrival and since I did get my room switched it's obvious he was full of bologna.

In regards to the jacuzzi loft it's a nice room, nice tub, amenity toothpaste, and milano cookies at turndown.
I had to reread your post to make sure I understood that you went through this whole ordeal for just ONE night in a hotel! You could have really been taken on a ride if they made you pay for both reservations! Not a risk I would be willing to take for one lousy night. All of the times where you might want to pull a stunt like that, this just wouldn't fall under that category, for me anyway.

This reminds me of the Southwest Airlines show that was on tv for a little bit. A passenger trying to get on a flight walks up to SWA agent and said, "Do you know who I am?" The SWA agent gets on the intercom and asks, "Does anyone know who this person is?"

I think if someone could have videotaped your entire act from beginning to when you finally "won" your right (?) to a loft room and shows this to you in 5 years, you are going to feel rather foolish.

Your antics give Gold/Diamonds a bad reputation that we all act like this and stomp our feet when we aren't given a suite or loft. You were probably used as a training tool to teach staff how they must deal with those guests that demand upgrades because of their loyalty. I'd rather be used to show the other side of a Diamond member and reading threads like this is a constant reminder to me on how I should treat people. So I suppose you were a learning tool for me too--or at least a reminder of how not to behave in public.

Last edited by kymbakitty; Jul 28, 2011 at 6:16 am
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Old Jul 17, 2012, 3:02 pm
  #97  
 
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Beware that this hotel has a 48-hour cancellation policy. The hotel manager "George" just refused to cancel my reservation with a mere 24 hours notice, which is the first time in my experience that a request to waive a cancellation fee has ever been denied.

I will avoid this property going forward.
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Old Jul 26, 2012, 10:47 am
  #98  
 
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This is the review I just posted on TripAdvisor.

Just finished a 4 night stay here. I am diamond with Hilton, and my profile clearly states high floor, away from elevator. I arrive at the Hilton Gaslamp, and am assigned a room on a high floor, but right next to the elevator. In the minute or so I was in the room, I could hear the dinging from the elevator the entire time. I went to the front desk, and asked to be moved. I get quite an attitude from the man at the front desk who reluctantly says he can move me, but the only room available in the entire hotel is on the fifth floor. I decline. I then go back to my room, and within a half hour, the room is almost 80 degrees. I call and ask for engineering to come and take a look, and they say they will be up immediately. 45 minutes go by - its getting hotter and hotter - and no engineering. I finally go downstairs and ask to be moved again. This time, a very nice woman very quickly finds me a corner room on the 10th floor. She says engineering is in my room, and the compressor for the air conditioner is broken. Where was the room earlier?? I also never got my Diamond perks - such as my breakfast coupons and my water - I had to ask for them separately. Several of my colleagues had other problems with their rooms, including a sewage gas leak. Not quite sure what to make of that.

Once moved, my room was very nice. Nice bed, big clean room. Quiet. I did not experience much train noise as others had mentioned, but did have a room that faced the train tracks. I did have earplugs in my room, but didn't need them,

Great location near convention center, restaurants and shops in the Gaslamp, Seaport Village, and Petco Park.

If I didn't think I would get the run around from the front desk, I would consider this hotel again without hesitation. I am not one that likes to throw my status around, but I do expect the level of service promised by Hilton in their loyalty program, and will ask for what is promised. I really loved the location, and the room I finally ended up with. I just wish I didn't have to fight so hard for it.
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Old Sep 2, 2012, 3:59 am
  #99  
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
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Does anyone know if this property has an executive lounge and if so if it's just breakfast or if it's also open in the evening. There is so conflicting information out there.

Also, are the rooms WIFI ready yet? I almost can't believe reviews saying they aren't. Thanks.
danpeake is offline  
Old Sep 2, 2012, 5:15 am
  #100  
 
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Originally Posted by danpeake
Does anyone know if this property has an executive lounge
No.
pauleeepaul is offline  
Old Aug 14, 2013, 11:46 am
  #101  
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Recently completed a one-night stay. Arrived very late at night, so wasn't expecting much in the way of upgrades. We did get a corner room on the top floor looking out to the convention center, which I think was technically an upgrade. A bit noisy, but I thought it probably would be. They provided earplugs by the bed.

Check-in was friendly and acknowledged status. WiFi was adequate, free full breakfast buffet was quite good. No executive lounge. I think there were coupons for appetizer and drinks.

Only cons were the noise, the high valet-parking cost (we parked at the Ace garage about 2 blocks away), and the fact that they did not remove the feather comforter as requested (they did swap out the feather pillows, though). We even called on the way to the hotel to check on the feather removal.

Location is good, if you want to be in the Gaslamp/Convention Center/Petco Park area, but prone to traffic/pedestrian congestion and noise.

I'd stay here again, if the price is right, but overall I probably prefer the Bayfront. Although, I think Gaslamp has Bayfront beat on service and free breakfast offering.
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Old Oct 4, 2013, 2:24 pm
  #102  
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: New York
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Bump, I'm thinking about switching from Bayfront to here due to Bayfront not being the promo. Any other recent experiences?
AnthonyF1227 is offline  
Old Oct 30, 2013, 9:42 am
  #103  
 
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Stayed here recently. Was on the tenth floor with a view of the convention centre and train tracks. The room came with earplugs, so that concerned me when I saw them. However, never used them and never noticed any outstide noise. Friendly staff. Didn't have any food at the hotel. Used the pool one late afternoon and had it to myself.

The location is great if you are going to the convention centre. It is at the base of the Gaslamp district, with lots of dining choices.
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Old Oct 30, 2013, 11:42 am
  #104  
 
Join Date: May 2006
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Originally Posted by laidback71
Stayed here recently. Was on the tenth floor with a view of the convention centre and train tracks. The room came with earplugs, so that concerned me when I saw them. However, never used them and never noticed any outstide noise. Friendly staff. Didn't have any food at the hotel. Used the pool one late afternoon and had it to myself.

The location is great if you are going to the convention centre. It is at the base of the Gaslamp district, with lots of dining choices.
The train crossings through downtown have recently been re-done to be quiet crossings, so no more train horns at every intersection at 2am.
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Old Nov 7, 2013, 6:04 pm
  #105  
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: New York
Posts: 158
So I ended up staying at this hotel last month. Observations:

1. Parking - Unfortunately, you're forced to pay $40 per night for valet. The valet guys were all nice and quick in retrieving your car . No issues here except price.

2. Front Desk - Great and helpful. No issues at check-in. I had to deal with a few of them in order to get our room sorted out (I made a thread about this a while ago). They were very accommodating to help us.

3. Room - We got the KING BED TERRACE LOFT room. These rooms are actually separated from the hotel. You have to walk outside and take an elevator (or stairs) up to your room. Our room was on the 4th floor (the highest). The room itself was decently large, pretty new looking, and clean. Only negative here was that there was no fridge. Our room was in the back/side of the hotel (facing K street), so we never had issues with trains or anything. However, on Friday and Saturday night, it can get quite loud until the bars close. Music from the bars, people yelling in the streets, those guys riding those bikes with the carriages on the back blasting music.

4. Bathroom - When you first walk in you're like niiiice. When you see the shower, you're like ehhhh. The entrance to the bathroom looks like a really nice, but the shower is just a regular bath/shower combo. It did have a neat shower head that had a few different settings, although the shower curtain was odd in that it curved like a C even though the tub was rectangular (difficult to keep it in the shower). In the back of the bathroom was a door to go out onto a balcony. I'm not sure if this is standard for all of the rooms or just ours (we were next to the elevator in the corner). Unfortunately, there were disposed cigarettes just sitting on the balcony that wasn't clean. Also the view was just of the opposite side of the hotel and the apartments across the way on K street.

5. Breakfast - We got a full buffet breakfast. Eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, muffins, toast, fruit, etc. Also they have a person making omelets and waffles. Breakfast was good, no complaints here. We did skip it one day because we got bored of eating the same meal every day.

6. Neighborhood - It's right at the beginning of the Gaslamp Quarter if you're into that area. It's nice in that you can just walk out of the hotel and walk into the gaslamp quarter. For the bayfront hotel, the walking distance to anything is actually quite far. This was a big plus. On a side note, the Gaslamp Quarter honestly wasn't all that impressive to us, but IDK, I guess it depends on the person. We really weren't overly crazy about the city itself, but loved everything surrounding it. Anyway, there are a few stores and lots of restaurants and bars in the area.


and that's about it.

Last edited by AnthonyF1227; Nov 7, 2013 at 6:13 pm
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