Kacee

I've stayed in those rooms on the Springhill Suites side. They are considered desirable due to lack of an adjoining room, and the FDA was doing you a favor by assigning it. The concrete never bothered me at all. I don't pick Springhill Suites expecting luxury wall coverings.

Note the room furnishings are different on the Springhill Suites side.

This is my favorite property in downtown SD (I have tried most of the major ones).

Seattlenerd

While not having an adjacent room is always appreciated, the front desk assigning me a room with a concrete wall was not a favor, from my perspective. I don't expect luxury wall coverings either, but some kind of wall covering would have been nice to improve the in-room experience on the Residence Inn side.

I did suggest that they consider putting another painting or picture on the bare concrete to help improve the look of the room, for the sake of future guests. To their credit, they took note of that.

All in all, it was a decent stay. The only blemish was the inside appearance of the living room part of the one-bedroom suite, and it was a dominant visual feature. If I stay again, I may try the Springhill Suites side.

Kacee

You may not have thought so, but they were. They preferentially give those rooms to elites. Most of the rooms at this property have connecting rooms and it attracts lots of families. The stairwell adjacent rooms are quieter. I expect they were rather surprised to get a complaint.

Seattlenerd

They didn't seem surprised, actually, and were apologetic. As I noted earlier, it seems an easy fix to cover more of the bare concrete wall with another photo, picture, or different piece of art to make it seem warmer since this is a dominant visual feature when someone enters.

Now that I know this is typical of this property, I'll be prepared if I stay there again.

DELee

Another approach might be to use the back of the door floor map (if you took a shot of the map) to see which ones are least desirable or most desirable from your perspective and be ready to make the request at check in next time.

David

aroundtheworld76

I've gotten those rooms a few times I kinda dig the concrete vibe. very urban and industrial - ish. This is one of my favorite properties though breakfast is a scrum. A few months ago they had set up an overflow breakfast area in a conference room with banquet style tables. Now I skip the scrum and hit the coffee shop to the right as you walk out of the lobby

Seattlenerd

I'd be more fine with that if the rest of the decor in the living area also had a more industrial vibe, so it matched, but that's obviously unlikely for a subset of rooms. For me, it was so unexpected for a Residence Inn after many RI stays, and so jarring, that it didn't sit well. Others, clearly, have had different reactions and preferences.

Still, I think it's good for those coming to this property who have not been there before to know what to expect if they get a stairwell-adjacent suite, whether they love it or not love it quite so much.

yyzflyer

I am currently staying at this hotel (Springhill side) and am leaving shortly with mixed impressions - mostly unfavorable. My SNA was denied 2 days out, so I wasn't expecting much in the way of an upgrade. We're moving later today to our usual San Diego hotel, so wasn't a big deal. I had read elsewhere that the front desk at this hotel can be a bit pretentious, given it's supposed to be a budget hotel (although at $300 a night I'm not sure whose budget). With this in mind I did mobile check-in to avoid any unnecessary interaction. It didn't matter. First, there is no elite or mobile desk, although there are four stations. You get in a line with everyone else. When my turn came I was greeted with "Yes", which turned out to be the preface to the rudest front desk clerk I may have ever encountered. I told him I had done mobile check-in and he handed me a list of "rules and procedures" for the hotel to read over and requested my ID "out of wallet" and a credit card. I repeated that I had done mobile check-in and simply wanted my key. He said "I have to run your credit card anyway", adding something about hotel policy. He then said "Are you parking a car?", to which I replied "No, we took the train" (station is across the street). He pointed out on was on an AAA rate, so must have a car and that parking would be added at $38/night. I reiterated that I had no car. He then went over other items. Welcome gift was 500 points or $5 at their store... chose points. My requested late-checkout was approved, but would be $49 + taxes to 2pm and $99 + taxes to 4pm. I told him I believed this was a Titanium benefit, but he replied the rates applied to everyone. I asked for directions to the Ruth's Chris steakhouse where we were having dinner and he pointed in the direction of the bay and said "between here and the Wyndham". Real helpful. As I was leaving he asked one more time "Are you sure you don't have a car?" I left shaking my head. The doormen outside (who actually don't work for the hotel) were much more informative.

The hotel itself is quite beautiful and is in a fantastic location, especially if arriving or departing by train - my preferred method of getting to/from San Diego. (Anyone who has done the route will know why.) Although not even a bay view - let alone my suite upgrade - was forthcoming, I don't think there is a bad view to be had. We were looking north with a view of the planes approaching the airport. Rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows and they were reasonably clean. Room furnishings are quite spartan or modern, depending on your taste. The bed was very hard, as others have mentioned. The bathroom is quite tiny, with the smallest counter I've ever seen in a hotel. This was more of an issue for my wife, so may be for others. It was also not particularly clean, with evidence of previous guests still present. Towels are also tiny and quite rough. The breakfast area is adequate if not crowded, but it was pretty busy at 8:00. We wondered how it would accommodate the guests of two hotels nearer to closing time when the real rush usually occurs. Oddly for a Spring/Fair/Res/TP hotel, the breakfast is not extended to 10:00 or later on weekends.

Check-out time, which we are told is rigorously enforced, is 11:00 for the Springhill section and 12:00 for the Residence Inn. Not really sure why the difference. We had hoped to stay until noon or 1pm, before moving to a nearby hotel for the rest of our SD stay.

Kacee

Not my experience, but . . . .
Wow wow wow did you ever draw an absolute zero in the FDA lottery.

Please ask to speak with a manager, advise him/her of the inexcusable rudeness and service lapses, and get your 4 pm checkout. It is guaranteed at this property. I've gotten it many times, no issues.

kumarshah

Any recent stays here? Got 6 nights coming up at Springhill Suites, booked a Bay View 2 queen Suite room at reasonable rate due to long term stay.

msp3

How on earth does this property command such high prices (cash and/or points)? It's $450+ or 70,000 pts/night for my dates(!) I realize it's in front of the cruise ship terminal, is that what's filling up their rooms constantly? It sounds like other than the location and the relatively new construction, the property has no elite recognition, is generic (in the bad sense), and full of large adult groups/kids (categorical bad for me)?

If I'm here for a cruise/the train and don't mind a short walk, am I much better off at the Autograph Collection if I want to be pleasantly surprised and delighted?