cblaisd

Please take any further general discussion of Dana Point to the California forum, and any discussion of Hilton properties there to those properties' threads.

Thank you.

cblaisd, Co-Moderator, Hilton forum

aimango

Was planning to stay at the Marriott La Jolla for work but the prices were very high. Heard the standard rooms were pretty small too. Ended up choosing the Embassy Suites right down the street which was a much more reasonable rate. Suites are huge, got the one with the Murphy bed in the living room and it was plenty of stay for myself and a friend visiting. Rooms are not modern but the property is well maintained. The koi pond at the lobby level is quite nice.

Elevators are fast. Chose 607 at checkin which faces the parking lot, but didn’t know there was ongoing construction right adjacent to the lot. I avoided rooms facing the main road (pool side) since I thought it would be noisier, but I did wake up to construction vehicles backing up one morning. I needed to wake early most days anyway but I would not like it if I wanted to sleep in.

Got a goodie bag with a reusable Path waterbottle during checkin, a small bag of ChexMex, as well as some “thanks for being diamond” chocolates even though I’m just Gold.

Indoor pool, outdoor hot tub, and gym are all reasonably sized. Only a few people using the gym when I dropped by on a weeknight.

A conference was happening on my checkin date, it was very packed at the bar that evening when I arrived around 9p, but the rest of the days were quite calm.

Breakfast is decent, an average amount of hot food options and an above average amount of cut fruit options which was a lovely surprise. Their 5-630pm reception each evening is a nice option - a free drink for you to redeem. They hand out a stamp card for it but the bartender didn’t check - I went when it was empty.

We added a vehicle for the parking lot starting the 2nd day of our stay, but the keys were not updated properly. We needed to manually validate until the final day when they finally updated the keys.

This property is located across the street from UTC. It’s very walkable. Also a 6min drive to the business parks. It’s a longer trek to La Jolla Shores, Pacific Beach, or the downtown area, and you may face traffic during peak weekday hours.

Never used their shuttle service but from chat, they said it’s available starting 730a, not 8a as stated on the website.

Overall I enjoyed the stay. It was quieter and low key, but would prefer downtown properties like The US Grant if traveling for leisure.

dmarge18

Two properties work with my corporate rate currently for a stay next month (two locations that are at least convenient to work); the Hilton Harbor Island or the Old Town Hilton Garden Inn. Is one much better than the other?