Is this the Marriott Marquis at the Marina, San Diego thread?... or the I Hate Marriott Marquis at the Marina, San Diego thread?

Agreed. We went last year and loved it. Bit pricey but great location/facilities. Unfortunately no lounge access based on merger any longer but lounge was decent

I've had probably a dozen stays at the Marquis over the past couple of years. I like the bay view balcony rooms. Elite recognition is hit or miss and the lounge is a zoo. The pricing ultimately chased me a way - they charge a major premium to the competition which IMO is not justified by the product.

Warning: Instead of silence or elevator music, this property plays a recorded advertisement for Marriott/Bonvoy in their elevators. Very annoying.

Had a last minute trip come up to San Diego last weekend and at $119/nt including Valet Parking (AAA Hot Deals) I thought the deal was too good to pass up. I normally stay at the Marriott Gaslamp or Andaz, on my many trips to San Diego i had never actually checked out this hotel.

Marriott Gaslamp is one of my very favorite hotels in the US and I like it much better then the Marina property. The Marina is massive.. the day we were leaving, they had 1000 checkins and everything was a zoo. 20+ minute waits for the valet, lines at least a dozen or more long to check in or out, just general madness in the lobby.

I did find the advertisement in the elevator mentioned above (which seemed to mostly focus on the Marriott Charlotte) to be strangely annoying.

I was traveling with a friend who arrived before me so I can’t really comment on the checkin process. We did get “upgraded” to a water view room on the 14th floor. The desk agent told him he would be charged for valet parking and didn’t seem to know about the AAA deal, but it was gone at checkout without any further questions. The latest checkout he could get was 2PM, I suppose due to the 1000 checkins on that day.

I was up early Friday and had breakfast in the lounge, it was typical stuff and nice views. The lounge is closed all weekend with no other breakfast included for Titaniums (sort of bogus altho I know it’s in the rules - didn’t remember that when I booked it).

The grounds of the hotel are nice and I enjoyed sitting by the pool to work. In general the location was good for what we were looking to do. Next time I will be back at the Gaslamp, however. The only real reason I can think of to stay here over the Gaslamp would be for the pool.

Did they add the $35.00 + tax amenity/destination/resort fee?

they did, the only value I received from it was one poolside beer covered by the food and beverage credit. That said, even with the fee (which I find very annoying) it was still a much better deal than other options since parking was included.

At least this property actually has some true resort amenities (including not just the very nice pool but a fantastic fitness center), unlike the two Westins, which pioneered urban "destination fees" in San Diego.

This is a convention property, so the high guest volume comes with the territory.

San Diego to Dana Point or in between?
 

Hi all,

Last years vacation got canceled so trying to get away to the San Diego. Saved up my Marriott points, am an Elite Gold member.

We have family in Carlsbad, but are willing to stay 20-30 minutes away.

I would like a hotel as close to luxury as possible, with a pool for my kids.

I looked at the Dana Point Ritz, but even after using my points they want $60 resort fee and $55 parking per night! While I can afford that, the room I get better be AMAZING...and it does not appear to be that would be the case.

Please give some suggestions. We were considering the Sheraton or Westin resorts, but being attached to Legoland sounds problematic as the reduced capacity of the pool area won't allow us to get in there freely.

I read much of this master thread, but due to the length of time it's been around plus Covid-19 it's tough to know exactly how good a place is.

All comments and suggestions appreciated.

We went in August 2019 - it was a nice hotel but very large. The pool area was nice (large, not great) as well and the surrounding area to walk along the water was amazing with lots of shops - what that area is like now I'm not sure...nice gym too.

Sheraton at Legoland (we also stayed there) was amazing, potentially best pool area we've seen for a hotel and kids loved it. Gym was horrible

You're going to get hit with a resort/destination fee at most of the full service San Diego properties, and most of the city properties and resorts will also charge a pretty penny for parking.

The Marriott behind Petco Park does not have a resort fee.

I don't think that property meets OP's criteria of "close to luxury" with "a pool for the kids."

Sheraton La Jolla doesn't either. But "most" of the full service properties do.

Well, the Marriott Gaslamp Quarter certainly is "close to luxury", certainly moreso than any other downtown property in terms of customer service. But it's true they have no pool.