musikdude

I have a stay booked for later this week- got a great AAA rate of $151 plus the ANDAZ5 bonus as well. The hotel website mentions an "escalade service". Does anyone know what this entails? I am coming in via the train and would like to save the $10 cab ride but using this service. Is it comp?

Also, is the pool on the roof heated??

Thx...

JFKSFOLAX_friend

Hasn't the Escalade service been discussed already in this thread? If I remember correctly, it will take you around town but not do airport runs.

NDDomer86

He asked about pick-up from the train station, not the airport. Santa Fe Depot is very much in Downtown San Diego, so I would think that the shuttle would pick you up/drop you off, but you might want to call the hotel just to be sure.

musikdude

I did call and the bell desk said they would not pick me up but would be able to drive me back after I check out. One way free is better than nothing

skywalkerLAX

Nice rate. Anyhow, I cant say anything about the Escalade Service but regarding the Pool. It is just 1m deep, therefore a little bit of sunshine results in the water being on "pee temperature" !

Domer579

Just finished a weekend BWB award stay here.

Let me preface my review by saying that I am a 26 year old urban professional. Probably pretty close to the target market for this particular brand.

My girlfriend and I arrived at the hotel around 1 am, after a grueling trip from IAD in coach with a 4.5 hour delay tacked on for good measure. We couldn't locate the valet parking with all the clubgoers and traffic out in front of the hotel, so ended up parking in a lot on E St for $10. Later learned valet was $30, so it ended up being a blessing in disguise. The lobby at 1 am was full of the mid-20's crowd with varying degrees of sobriety. A lot of people were coming and going with drinks in hand, but I was able to get checked-in and receive diamond breakfast acknowledgment. After reading reviews here, I didn't even bother with an amenity and decided I would just call after the fact for my points.

At this hour, two of the elevators were roped off. There was an attendant manning the velvet rope, as well as an attendant in the elevators. We were shuttled through in front of a big group of people waiting to go up to the rooftop bar and given our own elevator to ride up to our room, which was appreciated.

Our room was a fifth floor corner unit (519). I believe we were upgraded to the XL King room, which was quite nice. They layout was very attractive and posh looking, with a long bathroom running parallel to the bedroom. I would not recommend the room for platonic relationships, as the fishbowl viewing shower area could get awkward.

The minibar blew me away. Liquor and wine galore, and the free pringles, cliff bar, ghirardelli bar, soda, juices, and water were much appreciated. Also, our unit had a Kuerig machine, which I prefer to the cheap drip units you get at Hyatt Regency properties.

The noise wasn't overwhelming. You could clearly hear the bass from the club, but I fell asleep just fine. That also may be desensitization from a few years of living in Manhattan.

We both found breakfast to be excellent. We did not have great weather, but heat lamps were provided at the rooftop and the menu had some excellent egg dishes with Mexican flair. The view is great as well.

Late checkout of 2 pm was granted on Sunday. Neither breakfast was taken off the bill, but they were quick to correct it. The food and coffee was removed, but no cocktails, tax or tip (which was fine and expected). I also requested and e-folio, which I have yet to receive.

All in all, if you go in with eyes wide open (which we did after reading this thread) it is a fine place to stay. If you plan on staying out late in Gaslamp, you could do worse.

srodr

I didn't think they could deny this for a diamond???

astan100

The oddest part was that they haggled with me. I asked for 2, and they said "how about noon, we're full". I might have gotten it to 12:30...I don't remember.

I just completed another stay last night and holy god, the noise from the club is UNREAL even on a Thursday if you are in one of their "loft" rooms. So, here's the key question to ask if you upgrade - "Is the room facing the interior courtyard". The interior courtyard is open air and all the music from the club upstairs comes down through it. I'd much prefer a slightly lower floor with a street view - that wasn't so bad.

Now, it's a pretty nice room. Separate bathroom (where you get water EVERYWHERE) and it's divided with a big wood wall that has a flatscreen on both sides.

Honestly though, for business, this was just too much. No more Thursday nights at the Andaz - that ANDAZ5 code is tough to pass up, but I will from here on out if I need to sleep before 1 AM or so. It's possible it was just extra bad because they had a live band too.

srodr

I'm doing my first stay here this weekend, so I will try for a room NOT facing the interior courtyard.

I'm still a little unclear on how the diamond breakfast and the ANDAZ5 $50 credit works. Is the breakfast for a fixed amount at the restaurant? Is the $50 hotel credit good for just food, or can you use it for drinks at the bar or for parking etc? And on that note is there any suggested cheaper parking lots in the area for a weekend night?

I'm definitely a little nervous about this stay since the reviews are so mixed.

lorribarnes

I am here now and I will not return. This hotel is all about the club. I would not recomend this place to anyone that is not into the club scene. I checked in last night about 7pm and I had to wait for all the club goers. We went to go to the pool and they said sorry since the club is open now we have to close the pool because the people from the club may get drunk and try to swim. I like the Manchester soooo much better. I think it just is all about being comfortable where you stay and if you are not 20 or 30 something I would wonder if this place is for you. We had a so called quiet room and all night car alarms were going off, road noise and on and on.. I am back to the Manchester.

srodr

Had our first stay here last night and overall it went pretty well. Yes, it was very loud with drunk people seemingly right outside our door (6th floor) until about 2:30am, but since I expected that I didn't let it bother me too much. Other than that, the staff was pretty nice, the room was pretty nice (although a little funky), the bed was comfy, the pool was great this morning, the breakfast was good, and the lunch we had before checking out was also good.

The only other complaint I could find was that they tried pulling that 12:30pm "late" checkout until I insisted on 2pm, and then that we got locked out coming back from the pool at 12:15pm and had to go down to the lobby all wet to get a new key which took 15 minutes because they had one girl working and about 10 people in line to check in or out. They really need to re-think their whole lobby system because what they have is not efficient.

I would stay here again at a good rate, but I have to agree that I'd prefer the Manchester if rates were similar.

WBurcham

Well... if you are 20 or 30 something, this hotel is an enjoyable place. It's marketed very much in that direction, similar to the W's....

JonathanIT

I have a BWB stay booked here in a couple weeks, and I'm curious about the upgrade policy for Diamond members. Early in the thread, many posts described stays utilizing suite upgrade certs. I could only find one recent thread that referenced a FFN stay upgraded to an XL King.

Any Diamond members care to share their upgrade experiences?

astan100

I've never done a BWB award here, but if you go to the photos, I've gotten upgraded to the "Andaz Executive King" and the "Andaz Loft" before on paid stays. One time I didn't get upgraded at all on a paid stay, but I think they were sold out that night.

The problem is that the photos have titles of rooms that don't exist in their actual room descriptions, so your guess is as good as mine. The Andaz loft was a pretty large room though - I was a big fan (size wise).

ldsant

It depends. The weekend that I stayed there I know there were at least 5 other diamonds and 3 of them received suites; I received a "city facing" room which they consider an upgrade.