mendel k

Im planning on going in aug for about a week. Ive been thinking of the Sheraton hotel and marina because im interested in a hotel on the water. Does anyone know if its worth it, or is there a nicer hotel on the water. Thanks

cmx

Are you looking for ocean and beach or just any water? Sheraton Marina is on a man-made island right walking distance to the airport. It does have cool views of the point, Cabrillo and the docked boats to the west and the harbor and city to the south and east (and non-runway views of the airport to the north), but it's not by the beach or any place that you would want to take a beach towel to and hang out by. Though if you married to Starwood, it's the best bet for some water views.

If you want less expensive beach somewhat close to downtown, search in north PB or La Jolla, unless you don't mind a little noise, then I'd go for south PB or Mission Beach (Catamaran is a relatively quiet place close to the action). Paradise Point, Bahia and Hilton are also options within a mile or two of there. If you want beach and don't mind being far from downtown, then Del Mar and up is the best bet. Stick west of the 5 and you'll be in good shape. If you don't mind parting with some cash, go Coronado, it's the best of all worlds. Sometimes you can find a small rental home on Coronado (no bad areas) for a week cheaper than a hotel that comes with some bikes and you can see the whole island at your own speed. Then you can take the ferry downtown if you want more action.

mendel k

I need a starwood property because im using Spg points for my stay. Hilton has nothing available. I want to be able to see water from my room. Im also planning on jogging by water, so I want to start off jogging by some body of water and then getting to the ocean, as opposed to jogging through city and after a bunch of miles finally seeing the ocean.
So any starwood property reasonably close to any body of water, not too far from the ocean, is what im interested in

cmx

Well, the Sheraton Marina is your best bet then unless you want to stay in Sheraton Carlsbad, which is a nicer property less than 2 miles away from the ocean, but 45 minutes north. The Sheraton Marina is surrounded by the harbor. Boats on one side and the harbor across the street. Ask for a room in the tower away from Harbor Drive (there are two towers- I don't know which one it is) facing Coronado. There's some pretty cool water views there.

I will warn you that though the jog to the ocean in OB is probably only 4 miles, the hill to get to the ocean is BRUTAL. You can avoid most of it by jogging along Nimitz which adds a mile, but that's a crappy road to run on. If you're willing to brave the hill, I'd take Harbor to Nimitz to Narragansett over the top. It's a run through neighborhoods and the last 3/4 mile or so is all ocean and it's a great view from up there.

You might want to bring $2.25 with you so you can take the 923 bus back rather than attempting that hill. And if you're taking the bus, you may as well get a burger at Hodad's before hopping on.

mendel k

Thanks I really appreciate it, especially the jogging tips. Can't wait to come

jpdx

I'm looking for advice on where to stay for a conference that's held at the convention center. I normally stay at the Grand Hyatt (where I have top tier status as well), but the hotel is tired. With SPG, I have stayed at US Grant and W, which are at the upper limit of my "walking distance" comfort zone. Are there any other SPG options worth exploring? Thanks!

cmx

US Grant's my favorite. The two Westins, which are right next to the US Grant and W, are okay. I've heard there's bad platinum recognition at both. I know from experience at the Gaslamp Westin (across the street from US Grant) that platinum recognition is miserable. You won't get an upgrade, even if you ask for it. The Sheraton Suites on the hill has some pretty cool rooms and views, but is sort of out of the way and definitely not a fun walk to the convention center as it's on a big hill.

I'd stick to US Grant if it's within $50 or so of the others.

You could also stay at Sheraton Marina and take the 992 bus (a short walk to Harbor Dr. and it drops you off near the end of the Gaslamp) or a ferry (I think from a 10 minute walk away. I think. That might be Shelter Island.) to the convention center. It doesn't change my recommendation of the Grant though.

jpdx

Thank you! The US Grant is $269, both Westins $249, W $199. Also considering Hilton Gaslamp ($199) and Hyatt ($125) ... As much as I like the US Grant, I think I'll probably save my employer the cash and go with the Hyatt again. Sigh! Shockingly, US Grant is the only SPG property available on P&C (4.8k+$90).

sunk818

I noticed westin gas lamp is under construction. Us grant is a beautiful space.

McFlyPHL

I've always had amazing stays at the US Grant, and the building and staff are on top of anything you could want.

As far as running routes, I like to run down broadway to the water, then around the marina. Depending on how far you want to go, there are several options. My quick morning run is about 3 miles and most of it is on the water.

Avoid the W - it's just not in a great spot, IMO.

Bean

Any recent reports?

I'm heading that way in Aug. with the wife and both kids (2 and 7) for 8 nights.
We have an early morning flight back, so I plan to do the Sheraton Marina for the final two nights due to proximity to the airport. That way I can also drop the rental car off the night before.

Considering both Westins, the W and the US Grant for the first 6 nights.
We've done Ws before and liked them alot. Westins also seem to be very good with the kids (backpacks, little gifts, etc....).

While the Grant looks beautiful, I'm thinking you don't see many kids running around that lavish lobby!

Any suggestions from those of you who have stayed with kids in tow?

chanp

Did the W and Westin Horton Plaza 2 weekends ago. W for me all the way, but I like the vibe there.

cmx

I don't think you'd be crazy to stay at the Grant with kids. Though it's a very beautiful place, you're not going to find too many people in San Diego that are snotty, it's a pretty laid back place.

I recently had another disappointing stay at the Westin Horton (Gaslamp). I wouldn't recommend that hotel. Nothing terrible, just not the place I'd go with considering all the other good options in town. The new remodel has made the hotel lobby about 100x better though.

Because the rooms are pretty small and the location a little further away, I wouldn't go with the W for this situation. I like the Westin Emerald Plaza. You'll likely get more businesspeople there than anywhere else.

Downtown San Diego is not far from the airport (5-10 minute $15 cab from the Grant), so it's not necessary to stay at the Sheraton Marina. If you do stay there, go to the hotel's website and check all the deals. I almost always get a $99 rate there through one offer or another.

jchiguy1

I agree that the US Grant is by far the nicest SPG hotel in SD and is not too fancy for kids. I stay there often (five times a year) and there is nothing at all intimidating or snooty about the place. Platinum recognition is good, the rooms are quite lovely and well maintained, and the service is friendly as well as efficient. They also often have some great AAA deals including a parking package (my favorite).

ramalama8

I have GOT to report on the worst hotel stay ever - a three-night experience at the Sheraton Mission Valley in San Diego.

This is a lesson in learning from others' experience and trusting their trip reports, because I heard from others that this is a dump of a hotel. And boy are they right! The reasons I stayed here were: location, price (redeemed points as Cat 2 on weekend), presence of a lounge. In retrospect, each of those pros were as miniscule to the cons as a blade of grass is to a palm tree.

First, no upgrade as a plat. I can't really knock them too hard for this as no suites were available to purchase, but I didn't even receive an upgrade to a club/preferred floor. I wasn't TOO miffed by it, but still...

Second, cleanliness of rooms. So we get to our standard room and it's pretty dark and dreary. Low ceilings, filthy windows, and worst of all, the carpet looked like it had been to hell and back. After spending a the night and next morning in the room, the bottoms of our feet were nearly black, and my infant son's knees were just as bad. So I called down and spoke with the manager - she committed to moving us to a better room by the end of the day, around 6:00p that evening. So we pack up all our bags to have them ready to be moved. And then as we left the hotel, I dropped by the front desk just to verify that they would be moving us to a new room. I spoke to the same manager - she apparently had forgotten to write down my request, but had remembered that I called and once again confirmed that I would be in a new room when we got back.

We arrive back at the hotel around 9:00p with an exhausted 13-month-old (we were out later than I anticipated) and expected to have already been moved to a new room, so that we could bathe my son and put him to sleep. I walk up to the front desk to get my new room key, but there is no record of my request to move to a new room. Apparently the manager completely dropped the ball after taking my request and receiving a reminder. That was really annoying, but I was taking it all in stride as I expected to be in a decent room in the next 10 minutes.

We were moved to a new room (actually, we moved ourselves - they didn't even offer to have our bags moved for us) but soon discovered there was water dripping from the ceiling. I called down to tell them we needed yet a different room - they said to come down and they'd give me another room. Adding to my frustration and wait times is that the elevators are INCREDIBLY S---L---O---W, and it's taking so long that my kid is fussing uncontrollably and has now peed through his pants. They only had one of the two working at the time - an average wait time for the elevator, going up or down, was anywhere from 4-5 minutes. I go down to the front desk to get a new room, and they assign me a corner room on the 14th floor. We walk in and my wife immediately notices that the carpet is a bit wet. We don't think anything of it, so we start getting my son ready for bed, bath and all. But THEN, we notice that the carpet being wet is a much bigger problem then we thought - we discover pink mold growing all over the carpet near the wall. I took pictures of it. A secondary issue was that the furniture was in worse shape than you'd find at a second-rate garage sale - it was so ragged and dirty - but after all we had been through, I would have just dealt with it considering what we'd already been through that night. So I call down and tell them I need yet ANOTHER room - the fourth of the day. At this point, we interrupt my son's nighttime routine, and while I'm quite frustrated, bordering on angry, my wife just about loses it. She wants to move to a different hotel altogether and report the mold issues to the department of health. She is completely fed up, and understandably so - we weren't moved to a different room as promised, the next two rooms were completely unacceptable with one of them posing a health risk, and nearly one and a half hours later, we still aren't in a room.

So one of the front desk agents meets us upstairs, gives us the keys to yet another room (this one right next to the club lounge - noisy in the morning which woke up my kid, but at least it doesn't pose a health hazard), apologizes profusely, and I show her where the dripping water and the mold are. I let her know of the manager that dropped the ball, and that I would be pursuing a complaint with SPG.

We finally get settled in at a far later time than a competent establishment would find acceptable. The manager in question called up to the room in the morning to ask about the ordeal last night, and frankly, I didn't feel like talking to her at the moment. So I told her that I was unhappy with the situation and that I would be pursuing a complaint to SPG - if she wanted further details to talk to the staff on duty the night before. I was a bit surprised that she wasn't already informed and thus deeply apologetic.

Anyway, we just had a horrible, horrible stay. Stay away from this hotel at all costs.