DJ_Iceman

This is far and away my favorite hotel for San Diego, but as someone who travels with kids I can say the biggest drawback is the lack of a pool. The Marquis, on the other hand, has a large resort-style pool (but inferior customer service and room quality, plus it feels as big as it is while the Gaslamp feels like an intimate, boutique hotel).

mh3265a

Thanks for the input! I didn't realize they didn't have a pool so that is an important consideration especially for my son. I wonder what about the Westin Gaslamp? I've stayed at the other Westin and it's a good corporate hotel but not sure I'd stay with family but have no experience with the Westin Gaslamp.

River in Sight

Just completed a four night stay here. I was proactively upgraded to what is referred to on the website as the Larger One Bedroom Suite; these face north so don’t have views of the water, but do have city views and you can see the planes coming in to land at SAN. On balance I think I prefer the smaller suites as they have more light, but this one was certainly nice. A rollaway was provided for my son at no charge and it fit in the bedroom, so my wife and I were able to use the living room after he went to bed.

I’ve been staying here once or twice a year for 13 years and it has remained very consistent, I think it’s a great property and one of my favorite in the US. They unlock the rooftop at around 6AM and I would go up there each morning with coffee to get some work done, it’s a really nice feature. The lounge is a little small but we never had trouble with crowding. The lounge attendants were very friendly and attentive, they brought my son coloring and one day packaged up a small bag of candies for him to take with him after breakfast (the hotel is very candy focused - there’s always candy around and peppermint patties at turndown). As soon as we finished with a plate, they appeared to clear it. Food wise, breakfast in the lounge was standard. Small snacks are available during the day.

One small change I noticed is the lobby used to have coffee and tea for free in the morning, that seems to be gone. I just got mine in the lounge.

When we arrived, my son was carrying a balloon he was given at the CVS up the street. The knot on the balloon end came undone and it floated to the ceiling, he was left just holding the ribbon. Without asking, a couple of employees hurried over with a ladder, retrieved the balloon, then ran into the back to find a new ribbon and tied it back up again. Thus waterworks were avoided until we finally had to leave the balloon for good for our flight home.

The morning we arrived, we went to Broken Yolk on the same block since it always seems to have lines. We weren’t really impressed. However, I continue to like Meze - also on the same block. We loved Half Door Brewing, a few blocks away.

overall I think this is a great spot and continue to look forward to returning. I was in San Diego two weeks prior and tried out the Marina property, this visit confirmed I certainly prefer the Gaslamp property.

DJ_Iceman

Your experience matches mine, River in Sight. The Gaslamp Marriott "does it right" in terms of customer service, and is my family's ONLY choice when in San Diego.

mikebor

Marriott Marquis is imo much better. And by the way, I would never stay at this property for 1 main reason: the television is positioned where you can't see all of it while you are laying in bed. It's the most bizarre setup I have ever seen. Half of the tv is literally blocked because the stand is so low. Maybe I'm not explaining it correctly but lots of guests have commented on it on TripAdvisor. I called and spoke to the GM a few years ago about this issue and he knew but didn't care at all. That told me screw it, I'm not spending a dime at a hotel that doesn't care that guests can't lay down in their beds and watch tv. Just my 2 cents.

VickiSoCal

Any recent stays here? Website says lounge and restaurant are still closed due to state restrictions, which are no longer actually a thing.

DELee

Maybe a call would be useful to get current status?

David

Kacee

That's just been code for "cost cutting" for a long time now.

Jailer

Stayed yesterday at the HILTON Gaslamp. FWIW, their excuse for not opening the restaurant was an inability to hire staff. Both understandable and inexcusable, but can you imagine the front desk using that excuse pre-COVID?

VickiSoCal

And the answer is 2 Elite Breakfasts per day in a top go bag.
We passed and walked to Broken Yolk. We are on vacation.
Hotel restaurant is open for to go breakfast only Friday through Monday.
If this is a staffing issue I question why every other restaurant up and down the Gaslamp is fully operational.

jaejaez

Any recent stays here please?
Was going to book a stay here for four nights but it gave me pause when I read in the terms & conditions that "house keeping was not guaranteed",.......... i presume due either to 'state restrictions' or for the 'safety of our guests and colleagues'????

can't believe there're still hotels going on with this nonsense.

WillBarrett_68

I had a four-night stay here in February, it was fine and relatively unremarkable. Very standard US Westin with a good location.

I don't particularly put a high value on housekeeping when traveling solo, I think I had them come in once during the stay. my guess is that it's more that they're unable to maintain the staffing levels they had before the pandemic. There are no regulations/restrictions in california that would apply to housekeeping.

Kacee

Are you referring to the Marriott or the Westin?

WillBarrett_68

ah yeah I just saw "gaslamp" and my brain filled in the rest, yes I was at the westin, not the marriott