Alpha

I was here back in May.

Check in:
The concierge was kind of annoyingly over-zealous. I'm trying to check-in with my co-workers and the concierge comes over and starts talking about the history of the hotel and all the things that she can do to make our stay better. Great, but I really just want to check into my room, which is why I'm standing at the check-in counter and not the concierge counter.

Check in overall was thoroughly unimpressive. I had orchestrated everyone's stay at the hotel. Everyone was supposed to have a king bed and after speaking with some manager and a number of front desk people I'd been assured our rooms would be ready at noon when we arrived. They were not. And only 1 king room was available, which they gave to me after telling 5 of my associates that their rooms were not ready. Why I got it I don't know.

The room:
Was small but very nice in a quaint sort of way. There was a clock radio with a horribly bright screen that lit up half the room at night. I tried to find an off button either for the entire thing or the light and ended up just unplugging it.

Biz Center:
Outright sucked. I tried to fax something and the fax was broken. So I had to use this multipurpose copier/fax thing that for some reason cost twice as much as the broken fax. I had them adjust the charges at the front desk.

Food:
Had several meals at the hotel restaurant. The wine list was very mediocre. The lunch was quite good. I'd highly recommend the shrimp tempura BLT if you don't mind the 10,000 calories. Dinner was a mess; a lot of pretentious things thrown together that didn't really fit. But it wasn't terrible, either.

mahasamatman

To make a long story short, we were extremely disappointed. All I can say is never again.

We stayed there this weekend on the TZOO rate (see posts 77-85). The hotel itself is nice enough, but

1. There was no suite upgrade. OK, the bait-and-switch promo did say "if available" (are they ever?).
2. There was no Gold upgrade. Not great, but I'll accept it.
3. They didn't even honor our King bed reservation. Not acceptable.

In addition, both the housekeeping and maintenance were substandard, especially so for a "luxury" brand. I'm working on a detailed letter to Corporate Customer Service (my first ever), and I'll let you know what happens.

itsaboutthejourney

I used my Free Weekends stays a few weeks ago and was very impressed:

- Booked same day as arrival (last min visit to SAN)
- Was upgraded to top floor corner suite; which included 2 bathrooms (one with whirpool tub), bedroom, sitting area and small dining area. Very tasteful decor, some hardwood and some carpeted floors, 42' HD flat screen in the living room and 32" flat screen in the bedroom. Nice art, and decent view.
- 4PM checkout gladly offered.
- Desk staff couldn't have been nicer.

TIP: for those on the top floor, only the two back elevators service that floor. I wish there was better signage indicating that.

If I had to quibble about anything it would be just 1 bottle of water and I was never offered a platinum amenity, but who can argue too much it was free!

AZ Travels the World

In my experience, as Gold, you should expect nothing in terms of room upgrades at any Starwood property. At that level, you should book the room you want to stay in and anything you receive beyond it is a gift.

JonathanIT

I had a one night stay last month using a FWN on a Saturday night. My experience aligns with itsaboutthejourney's I had an awesome stay.

I was upgraded to an "Event Planner Suite" (#201) which was a huge three room suite with two bathrooms. It had a very large King Bedroom with its own large bathroom, a living room, and third room which was set up for doing business with a conference table, living area, bathroom, and even it's own door with a waiting area outside! Kind of cool even though we did not need all that space.

The only kind of strange part was that it is in a very secluded corner of the hotel on the second floor where there are only large banquet rooms and meeting rooms. Very quiet, dark and kind of creepy late at night with all the empty banquet rooms. I went exploring a little bit walking around and did not see a soul; a lot of the rooms were just left open. Eerie, but kind of cool at the same time, you can really feel the age of this hotel. I almost expected so see a couple of twins standing in the hallway or an elevator full of blood lol

I saved on the obscene parking fees and found a space on the street less than a block away; overnight and all day Sunday is free (no meters).

Turndown service was nice, they left a bottle of water on the nightstand, and filled the ice bucket in the living room reception area. ^

I was offered 4pm checkout as well but ended up checking out about 1pm.

At checkout my balance was exactly $0.00

Oh, and I was given 500 Platinum Amenity Points at check-in! I would call SPG and ask, they will probably credit you for the points.

mahasamatman

Did I ever say I expected it? I just mentioned it.

Though FYI, it is officially advertised as something you should expect. I've been upgraded about 40-50% as a Gold, including suite upgrades. So while I don't expect it, I definitely note it.

drnp

I have to be in San Diego in Feb for a conference at the convention center. I do not want to rent a car and have to pay for parking. If I stay at the US Grant, will I be able to walk to the convention center within 15 mins assuming a normal pace? Or is ithere public transportation that would easily me there quickly?

Totoro

You can walk to the convention center in 15-20 minutes depending on your pace. I personally take <15 minutes, but I walk quickly. I don't know of any bus route that goes to the convention center from the Horton Plaza area.

You can stroll through the Gaslamp District to and from the convention center. Many downtown restaurants are clustered in that area.

drnp

Thanks for the quick reply Totoro!^

boifromtroy

Valid today only for one-night stays...

@USGrantHotel Happy 09-09-09 travelers! CELEBRATE US GRANT's 99th YEAR WITH $99 RATES! http://tinyurl.com/lr3xum

Not bad, IMHO.

CandymanJim

I think I had the same room on 9/6/09. It was the Foundation Suite room 1104. It took up about half the 11th floor on the street side. It had about as good view as you could get around all the buildings. I had emailed the property and asked about a room with a Jacuzzi tub and mentioned we were celebrating our 19th anniversary and we were upgraded in advance. The reservation showed the foundation suite right on it! And we were using the free night from the promo!

I have to say, this was one of the nicest rooms we have ever stayed in, It had to be over 1000 square feet in size.

Jim

Jim

rvivian

Thanks for the info on the special rate! I was booked for 2 nights in December with cash and points for $180 + 9600 points. I rebooked using your link and am paying $20 more but I got my 9600 points back!!! Thanks again!!!

Kalboz

I guess the word is out ... I tried to book four nights (Nov. 11-15) but the $99 rate is not available ...

A recent article in the LA Times:

http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal...%80%99s--5321/

boifromtroy

@Kalboz it was a one-day deal only!

@rvivian Congrats! I got 3 nights, non-consecutive of course!

rvivian

Wow! I am sure glad I booked this when I did. I guess I am pretty lucky I was able to book 2 consecutive nights! Thanks again for the info boifromtroy!!!