Author Topic: Hotel Review and Feedback Thread  (Read 83978 times)

Offline Angology

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Re: Hotel Review and Feedback Thread
« Reply #75 on: April 27, 2016, 10:49:35 AM »
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Renaissance — Formerly the W

Stayed there 2014 -

Caveat: I’ve stayed at quite a few W’s and generally like them even though they trend to small rooms.

Overall:  Not a great choice when it was the W Hotel. Renaissance (new management) can probably fix some of the problems, but not the location.  I’m only going to comment on the things that can’t readily change.

Nearby Dining: Not really anything great.

Room Size:   Tiny

Travel time to the convention: 1 mile.  Walking a mile is not a problem — but this is a tough walk.  You have to cross the Jail and the crowd around there can be very rough.  It was not cool for 2 women, particularly in the evening and even worse if you are in costume. Taking the shuttle (you have to walk to a shuttle hotel) takes longer than walking to the convention center but it’s safer.

Pro’s of Staying Here:  They have a pool.

Cons:   Location.  I think MV is probably better than this hotel.  The pool is not great pool.

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What do you mean you have to cross the Jail?
[member=5531]LB42[/member]-I believe this question is directed at you, based on your review. Can you clarify?

[member=5726]sciencebird[/member], I believe they are talking about the proximity to San Diego Central Jail at 1173 Front St.
Ang

Offline LB42

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Re: Hotel Review and Feedback Thread
« Reply #76 on: April 27, 2016, 07:51:41 PM »
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What do you mean you have to cross the Jail?

So yes -   The Jail is about 2 blocks from the Renaissance ("W")  and there is also a regional detention center nearby. Couple that with the nearby courthouse and a few bail bond places it can be an uncomfortable route to walk in the evenings. It doesn't feel at all like you are part of SDCC.  That being said - when we stayed there construction was everywhere so our ingress and egress were pretty restricted. This year you might be able to walk a better path.

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Re: Hotel Review and Feedback Thread
« Reply #77 on: Today at 03:30:08 AM »

Offline geargirl

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Re: Hotel Review and Feedback Thread
« Reply #77 on: May 31, 2016, 12:07:57 PM »
Question -

Which hotel would you choose?

Town and Country or Crowne Plaza

thanks!

Offline Transmute Jun

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Re: Hotel Review and Feedback Thread
« Reply #78 on: May 31, 2016, 12:43:37 PM »
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Question -

Which hotel would you choose?

Town and Country or Crowne Plaza

thanks!

You can find member reviews here:

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Offline Angology

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Re: Hotel Review and Feedback Thread
« Reply #79 on: May 31, 2016, 02:30:59 PM »
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Question -

Which hotel would you choose?

Town and Country or Crowne Plaza

thanks!
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You can find member reviews here:

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Use this thread for easier navigation. It has links to the specific review posts:

List of Hotel Reviews for SDCC:
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Ang

Offline fruitflan

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Re: Hotel Review and Feedback Thread
« Reply #80 on: July 26, 2016, 10:49:40 AM »

HOTEL REVIEW AND FEEDBACK LAYOUT

Name of Hotel: Embassy Suites San Diego Gaslamp

Type of Room: 2 rooms: 1 King and 1 Sofa pullout sleeper, 2 double beds + 1 sofa pullout sleeper

Number of Nights You Stayed:  5

Year(s) You Stayed There: 2015, 2016

Hotel Review:

* Were there any dining options inside or near the hotel?
   Dunkin donuts around the corner, some other ones we did not use.

* How was the hotel staff?  Were they polite and courteous?
  Very polite

* Did you order room service?
   no

* Tell us about the hotel amenities, like the gym or pool.  Did you use any of them?
   no

* Were you and your roommates able to sleep and move around in the room comfortably?  Do you think the room is smaller or larger than the same type of room in other, comparable hotels?
   When sleeping in sofa sleeper, you can hear the bfast noise if you are a late sleeper.

* Does the hotel have free WiFi for guests?  (Yes or No)
    free wifi for hhonors members (free signup)


What did you like about staying at this hotel?
Pros:
+ Free breakfast
+ Free happy hour with alcoholic drinks and snacks
+ Spacious rooms
+ There are birds inside the hotel.. random wild birds. I’m not kidding


Finally, what didn't you like about staying at this hotel?
Cons:
- Low flow toilets. Even a #1 requires 2+ flushes
- Rooms are not very clean. Some bathroom shelves had a month's worth of dust sitting on it. 
- Low flow showers.
- Our bathroom door was sticky and required a shoulder check to open it every single time.
- Little farther than some other hotels in the gaslamp.
- However, close to a tram route (we went to little Italy a few times)
- Room safe didn't work. Front desk told us they would send somebody in the morning but they never arrived. Called again and said we had to stick around for them to fix it.
- No free wifi in lobby anymore. Wifi is free with hhonors (free) but spotty.

Offline rushfanyyz

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Re: Hotel Review and Feedback Thread
« Reply #81 on: July 26, 2016, 11:49:52 AM »

HOTEL REVIEW AND FEEDBACK LAYOUT

Name of Hotel: Town and Country

Type of Room: garden view room, two queens

Number of Nights You Stayed: 5

Year(s) You Stayed There: 2016

Hotel Review:


* Were there any dining options inside or near the hotel? yes
   If "Yes," tell us about the restaurants and type of food they had (if you remember). snack shop and restaurants, kinda pricey so didn't choose them, nothing spectacular for the price either

* How was the hotel staff?  Were they polite and courteous? very polite and helpful

* Did you order room service? no
   If yes, tell us about if you had a good experience with room service.

* Tell us about the hotel amenities, like the gym or pool.  Did you use any of them? pool, didn't use it though

* Were you and your roommates able to sleep and move around in the room comfortably?  Do you think the room is smaller or larger than the same type of room in other, comparable hotels? yes, two people were totally fine in the two room bed. its not huge but plenty of space. 4 people mayyy have issues with storage space but could be doable

* How long did it take you to travel to and from your hotel by shuttle, trolley, or on foot? shuttle to cc~10min, shuttle from ~20, trolley ~15/20 once you boarded

* Are the walls of the room thin?  What are the noise levels in your room from outside sources (hallway or next door)? very rarely heard any noise

* Does the hotel have free WiFi for guests?  yes

* Is there anything else you like to mention about the hotel (i.e., celebrity sightings) or your room that isn't mentioned above? all of the plants make it smell weird when walking around outside


What did you like about staying at this hotel?


- shuttle/trolley easy access
- cheap(er)
- early bird sale included breakfast
-quiet and chill


Finally, what didn't you like about staying at this hotel?
 


- older, but currenlty going through renovations
- air conditioning not the best in some rooms, we actually switched bc of the heat. that said, they were very accomodating of the switch
- not walking distance to cc
- breakfast started at 7am so only took advantage on preview night and one other day

[/quote]

Offline retired

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Re: Hotel Review and Feedback Thread
« Reply #82 on: July 26, 2016, 01:09:04 PM »
HOTEL REVIEW

Name of Hotel: Hard Rock

Type of Room: 2 Beds

Number of Nights You Stayed: 5

Year(s) You Stayed There: 2016 (Type in the actual year: 2012, 2013, 2014, etc.)

Hotel Review:

(Here are some questions to get you started as you think about your hotel stay during Comic-Con.  Again, you can answer all or some of these questions to help you write your hotel feedback comments.)

* Were there any dining options inside or near the hotel? Yes
   If "Yes," tell us about the restaurants and type of food they had (if you remember).
       Nobu: VERY expensive. Good Sashimi and drinks. Nothing bad to day about it really. (the $12 sashimi I bought at the MMM bar was just as good to my tastes...)

* How was the hotel staff?  Were they polite and courteous?
     When I first arrived about 4:45AM in the morning on Wednesday, the lobby was deserted. Had to wait ~10 minutes before someone came out of nowhere to help me check in. However they were always very friendly and helpful. After Wednesday morning I never had trouble with the lobby being deserted lol.

* Did you order room service? Yes
   If yes, tell us about if you had a good experience with room service.
     One of my roomates ordered room service. Not sure what he ordered for food, didn't hear any complaints.
     We got extra towels once and they showed up within a few minutes.

* Tell us about the hotel amenities, like the gym or pool.  Did you use any of them? No

* Were you and your roommates able to sleep and move around in the room comfortably?  Do you think the room is smaller or larger than the same type of room in other, comparable hotels?
     Ive stayed at the Marriott Gaslamp, Omni, and Hilton Gaslamp and Hilton Bayfront. All have bigger rooms to my recollection. The hard rock wasn't horrible by any means though, fit 4 of us no problem. I know the suites are bigger.

* If you drove and parked your car at the hotel, how much was the parking rate per day for overnight stays? Used self parking by the hotel. rates were great. had to get there by Wednesday morning though before the rates get increased.

* How long did it take you to travel to and from your hotel by shuttle, trolley, or on foot? on foot, well that depends on the where I was traveling from. From the convention center at E/F (5th avenue) its about 2 minutes to cross the road. its literally the closest hotel to the convention center besides the MMM, even closer than the Bayfront I believe.

* Are the walls of the room thin?  What are the noise levels in your room from outside sources (hallway or next door)? Its difficult to say. I was only in the room a few hours each day, typically between 1am and 4am, and in the afternoons to take an extra cold shower (most humid comic con ever). And with such little sleep, I was able to sleep through most anything.

* Does the hotel have free WiFi for guests?  (Yes or No) I don't know about guests. they gave me a card with the password, and I never used it. (again. hardly ever in the room)

* Are you a member of the hotel's rewards program?  What level do you have, and what kind of perks did you get? No

* Is there anything else you like to mention about the hotel (i.e., celebrity sightings) or your room that isn't mentioned above? Ton's of celebs. lobby/elevators. I don't get star struck so much. They are all people, and like all people, some are nice and some are not.  Danny triejo (spelling?? aka Machete) pretended to be bleeding out in the elevator for one of my roomates (the elevators had walking deal overlays on the floor and walls with a bunch of blood). Sounded pretty funny cause my roommate didn't realize he was acting and though he was having a heart-attack or something. Everyone in the elevator laughed.

What did you like about staying at this hotel?
Since you might have already wrote about it from the questions above, just make a quick list about the things you liked the most about your stay at this particular hotel.
#1 was the location. so close. #2 was the celebrity appearances and #3 starbucks accessible from the lobby.

Example list:
- close location to the convention center
- had great customer service
- close to a lot of restaurants
- great view from your room
- a lot of celebrity sightings, etc.

Finally, what didn't you like about staying at this hotel?
Tell us about anything that negatively impacted your stay at this particular hotel that you may not have already mentioned above. 
#1 was having to get my room key out every time I needed to go in. very inconvenient until they started to remember me and motion me through.
#2 For how little I was in the room, I feel I paid too much. Didn't have a great view. I miss the Omni and their free daily delivered coffee and other perks. Omni and Hilton Gaslamp just seemed more easy going.
#3 I am not really THAT into seeing actors in real life. Autographs are great for memories, but really I like the characters they play. That being said, id rather see celebrities at a bar or something when they are more likely to want to talk and drink, than at a hotel when they usually have somewhere to be. All of this is not really a knock against the hotel itself though, its just the hype surrounding the hard rock and celebrity sighting that I think is overblown.  EDIT: Jason Clarke (Everest/Terminator Genesis) Said Hi to me when we passed in the hallway. Nice guy. I didn't place him at first, but I had just watched Everest a few weeks ago, So I knew he was an actor.

Example list:
- expensive hotel rates per night
- small size of the rooms
- far distance from the convention center
- long traveling time to and from the convention center, etc.
« Last Edit: July 26, 2016, 01:22:46 PM by jopari »

Offline Transmute Jun

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Re: Hotel Review and Feedback Thread
« Reply #83 on: July 26, 2016, 01:29:17 PM »
Name of Hotel:  Marriott Marquis & Marina

Type of Room: Double room (2 double beds) and king room (king bed and double sofabed)

Number of Nights You Stayed: 6

Year(s) You Stayed There: 2016, 2014, 2012, 2008

Hotel Review: One of our two preferred hotels at SDCC. Next door to the convention center and has some programming/administrative aspects of the con inside the hotel, as well as the Nintendo Gaming Lounge offsite. Rooms are big and have fridges, although double rooms only have double beds (not queens).

Were there any dining options inside or near the hotel?  Yes - Starbucks, a counter-service cafe and a couple of higher-priced restaurants. I got coffee for someone else at Starbucks, which was fast (but it was early morning on Wednesday) and many of us grabbed food at the counter-service cafe, which was overpriced, but served a decent selection of quality food.

Seaport Village isn't too far, so if you want to go to a different restaurant (but not into the Gaslamp) then that's also a good option.

How was the hotel staff?  Were they polite and courteous? The few with whom I interacted were all polite and courteous, and happy to see con attendees.

Did you order room service? No.

Tell us about the hotel amenities, like the gym or pool.  Did you use any of them? There is a beautiful pool and hot tubs. We have used this area in previous years, but didn't have a chance this year. Don't know about a gym (not a gym person) but I would presume that there is one. We tried the spa inside this hotel (the Hideaway) for the first time this year and were not impressed. For the price, the spas at the Manchester Grand Hyatt and the Hilton Bayfront are much nicer, with more amenities.

Were you and your roommates able to sleep and move around in the room comfortably?  Do you think the room is smaller or larger than the same type of room in other, comparable hotels? The only other hotel I've stayed in for SDCC is the Hilton Bayfront, and the rooms at the MMM are much bigger than the Bayfront. I would say that they're on par with a 'regular' hotel. Bathroom sinks are separated from the toilet/shower room, which makes getting ready in the morning a bit easier. Beds were comfy, but small. The person on the sofabed also had no complaints.

If you drove and parked your car at the hotel, how much was the parking rate per day for overnight stays? Parking was moved this year to all underground (previously  there was outdoor parking where the new expansion now site) but was $32 per night. Ugh. Also got yelled at by the parking attendant for not understanding their complicated parking system. Apparently the parking garage is run by an outside company and they have a deal with the Marriott to let their guests park there.

How long did it take you to travel to and from your hotel by shuttle, trolley, or on foot? From the edge of the hotel, 1 minute to the A doors of the convention center. Unlike previous years, we were let into the convention center via the A doors every time we tried, except during Preview Night.

Are the walls of the room thin?  What are the noise levels in your room from outside sources (hallway or next door)? We did not hear noises.

Does the hotel have free WiFi for guests? Yes, but only if you are a rewards member (free to join) and book through the Marriott website. Otherwise the charge is $13 per day.

Are you a member of the hotel's rewards program?  What level do you have, and what kind of perks did you get? Yes, lowest level, got free wifi for booking through the hotel website.

Is there anything else you like to mention about the hotel (i.e., celebrity sightings) or your room that isn't mentioned above? I've seen a lot of celebrities around this hotel in prior years, but for whatever reason, I diod not see anyone famous this year.

What did you like about staying at this hotel? It's close to the convention center doors (which was a blessing in the humidity) and has big rooms with fridges. It's easy to get connecting rooms (king to a double, or double to a double). The location was also convenient to some of the offsite locations, such as Nerd HQ and Amazon, and not too far from the Hyatt (for picking up fulfillment items) or Seaport Village (for food). Nintendo Lounge being right there was also super convenient for us. Once we discovered that they also had an entrance/exit at the back of the convention center, we used it a lot as well, because it was much easier than walking along the sidewalk/convention center halls through the crowds.

Finally, what didn't you like about staying at this hotel? The beds are small (but this is true at most of the downtown hotels), the parking is expensive, and it's a long trek to the Hall H/Next Day lines, especially in the heat.

Offline jazzyj

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Re: Hotel Review and Feedback Thread
« Reply #84 on: July 26, 2016, 02:07:01 PM »
Name of Hotel: Hard Rock Hotel

Type of Room: 1 King Bed Studio

Number of Nights You Stayed: 4

Year(s) You Stayed There: 2016

Hotel Review:

* Were there any dining options inside or near the hotel?
   A lot. The hotel is right in the heart of the Gaslamp District so finding restaurants isn't an issue. The only real issue is that the restaurants nearby are pretty expensive and can be super crowded in the evenings. There's a Starbucks that connects to the lobby of the hotel which is great for a quick caffeine pick-me-up in the mornings.

* How was the hotel staff?  Were they polite and courteous?
Hotel staff was super nice and helpful. Didn't have any issues talking to them.

* Did you order room service?
   No

* Tell us about the hotel amenities, like the gym or pool.  Did you use any of them?

Didn't use either. I think the only time the pool was open was on Wednesday. After that the pool area was closed for private parties. Was able to go there on Thursday for the Fandom Party and the pool is pretty nice. They had zombies on floaties and fake limbs in the pool to promote The Walking Dead which I thought was cool.

* Were you and your roommates able to sleep and move around in the room comfortably?  Do you think the room is smaller or larger than the same type of room in other, comparable hotels?
I thought the room was small but it didn't have a negative impact on us. There were 4 of us and we were able to fit 3 comfortably on the bed while the other person slept on the floor. None of us spend that much time in the room during the day so we didn't have any issue with space for the most part.

* If you drove and parked your car at the hotel, how much was the parking rate per day for overnight stays?
I believe the rate per day was $47.

* How long did it take you to travel to and from your hotel by shuttle, trolley, or on foot?
Hotel was super close so we just walked everyday. Only took us 5 minutes to walk from the convention center to the hotel depending on how the crossing light went.

* Are the walls of the room thin?  What are the noise levels in your room from outside sources (hallway or next door)?
My room was on the fourth floor and faced the convention center so there was always outside noise but it didn't bother us too much. It was also on the same floor as the hotel parties so we can hear the bass and music coming from the speakers but like I said, didn't bother us since we slept rather quickly from how tired we were.

* Does the hotel have free WiFi for guests?
No


* Is there anything else you like to mention about the hotel (i.e., celebrity sightings) or your room that isn't mentioned above?

There are a lot of celebrities roaming around it's like Celebrity-mon Go in there. Saw Amanda Abbington, Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, Jared Leto, Scott Eastwood, Anna Kendrick, Jamie Alexander, Zac Levi, and Ruth Nega. The only downside to the amount of celebrities is the heightened security and the amount of paparazzi/people trying to catch a glimpse.

What did you like about staying at this hotel?
Since the hotel is so close to the convention center and hosts a bunch of parties, I felt like I never stepped away from any of the con action. The proximity also made it easier for me to drop off swag and stuff I bought at the convention and made it easy for me to take quick naps throughout the day.

Finally, what didn't you like about staying at this hotel?

My hotel was on the same floor as the huge parties so it was a bit hard for me to go to my room at night. Security would always let party guests go in first and have the hotel guests wait until the elevator hallway cleared out. On Saturday night I was stuck in between security and the party guests who were trying to push their way into the elevators. Definitely a claustrophobic experience.
« Last Edit: July 27, 2016, 07:18:30 AM by jazzyj »

Offline Iris

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Re: Hotel Review and Feedback Thread
« Reply #85 on: July 26, 2016, 09:33:42 PM »
Name of Hotel: Hilton Bayfront

Type of Room: Two (2) Queen Beds

Number of Nights You Stayed: Three (3) nights

Year(s) You Stayed There: 2014, 2015, and 2016

Hotel Review:
We always love the Bayfront and look to stay there every year as our top choice.

* Were there any dining options inside or near the hotel?
There are multiple options.
  • Vela is a sit-down restaurant that's open for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. It's a bit pricey (we paid ~$16-20 each for breakfast) but the convenience was a bit worth it. There is also a pokestop right outside the restaurant that makes for easy access during a meal
  • There is the Odyssea bar which I've never gone to, I think.
  • The poolside bar and "restaurant," I believe it's a full bar but the food options are fairly limited. Very nice service though.
  • Fox Sports Grill is attached to the hotel so a very quick walk down from the room/Hall H. However, they severely limit their menu during the con and I found the food to be just okay. They don't post a copy of this menu during the con and we were told it'd be easiest to just walk down, last year, to view the menu at the restaurant and order for take-out. A bit annoying since we just wanted to order and then pop down, but we ended up ordering, getting fro-yo, and then heading back to the room once the food was ready.
  • Sweet Things is a frozen yogurt/parfait place that's attached to the hotel. We found their frozen yogurt to be good, but their parfaits were a bit lacking. They also have bottled water, sodas, etc. available if you just want to hop in to get something like that.
  • Starbucks is also attached to the hotel, it's right across from the Hall H line so it can be a bit insane, but my friend didn't seem to have issues getting through quicklyish in the mornings.

* How was the hotel staff?  Were they polite and courteous?
Always incredibly helpful, polite, and happy to help us! Of note, if you need change (which happened a few times this year), the front desk is happy to provide change for $20s, etc.

* Did you order room service?
  I don't think we've ever actually ordered room service.

* Tell us about the hotel amenities, like the gym or pool.  Did you use any of them?
  • Pool: This year was the first year I stopped by the pool, but I only went for the bar as it was open fairly early while other places were closed. The pool area was very nice, including tables, sitting areas, etc. They left ice water out on the bar so you could pour yourself a cup as needed.
  • Gym: I assume that they have a gym and I've maybe even seen signs for it, but I'm not a gym person so no idea.
  • Spa: I've heard they have a really nice spa and services, but we never have time to partake during the con haha.

* Were you and your roommates able to sleep and move around in the room comfortably?  Do you think the room is smaller or larger than the same type of room in other, comparable hotels?
We had four (4) people in our room this year and even with all our stuff (bags, cosplay, camping gear) we were able to easily store everything so that they were all out of the way. There were no issues with moving around and tripping over things.
I have never stayed at any of the other downtown hotels (at least not in recent years that I recall?) so I can't compare them. However, the queen beds were large enough for two people each and we slept quite comfortable.

* If you drove and parked your car at the hotel, how much was the parking rate per day for overnight stays?
It was $25/night with in-and-out privileges.

* How long did it take you to travel to and from your hotel by shuttle, trolley, or on foot?
A few minutes from Hall H, 5-10 minutes from the main Convention Center, 5-10 minutes to the front of the Gaslamp, 10-20 minutes if you need to go deeper into the Gaslamp. The only time we take a shuttle is if we're going somewhere further out, or on the last swag room run from MGH when we're too tired and that busline drops us off right by Hall H.

* Are the walls of the room thin?  What are the noise levels in your room from outside sources (hallway or next door)?
You could hear some noises from the hall, but not much. The most noticeable was out last day when we heard a child crying in the hall, but we may have also had our door cracked open as we were in and our.
We were given the option of facing the bay/convention center, but we felt so need. So we were facing Coronado Bridge and the Dole Plant, as a result we had no noise from outside te hotel.

* Does the hotel have free WiFi for guests?  (Yes or No)
If you are an HHonors member (free to join) and it's your name on the reservation. I believe you can connect multiple devices (I know we did), but you need to know your HHonors login info to do so (like your password/pin to give to your roommates etc.)

* Are you a member of the hotel's rewards program?  What level do you have, and what kind of perks did you get?
Hhonors and my friend has Silver status (she travels for work frequentlyish).
Perks:
  • ***Second guest stays free (we originally had a triple but then had four people. We were still charged only the triple rate and I'm fairly certain this is why.)
  • Free in-room and lobby wi-fi.
  • Digital Check-In (if available, it wasn't as far as I'm aware this time.)
  • Complimentary gym visits.
  • Free water bottles (we received two on check-in and were given more when we asked as we passed the lobby once.)


* Is there anything else you like to mention about the hotel (i.e., celebrity sightings) or your room that isn't mentioned above?
We actually saw a lot of celebrities as always. There were many times where I was too tired/hot to care and just kept going. I think I was walking next to J.R.R. Martin while walking up to the back entrance because someone rushed up behind me to ask for a picture/autograph. I only looked at him when that happen, shrugged, and kept going haha.
Something useful that a lot of people already know: the back exit right onto the Marina. Faster than trying to cross the street to the convention center or going through the lobby/crowds in front of the events on the gross.

What did you like about staying at this hotel?
  • Ridiculously close to Hall H (which is where we spend a lot of time in line.) It's always nice to be able to quickly go from line to our hotel room for the bathroom, supplies, etc.
  • Large bathroom counter which accommodates 4 girls and all their make-up easily.
  • Incredibly friendly staff who wear geeky shirts etc. during the con.
  • The celebrity sightings (I know my friend loves them. She gets so many pictures usually.)
  • Multiple restaurants and options within a few minutes walk from our hotel room. I know it's not as great as food options in the Gaslamp, but it always seems way less crowded than there too.
  • Proximity to Gaslamp/other Downtown areas for delivery options.

Finally, what didn't you like about staying at this hotel?
  • Walking over the pedestrian bridge to get to the Gaslamp. It's the easiest/quickest way to get over, but I'm AFRAID OF HEIGHTS. I have trouble making the walk if I'm by myself sometimes.
  • Not as close to the Gaslamp, which has countless food options, but I can't complain much because it's still really, really close. Plus a lot of places use postmates/another delivery service that will go to the Bayfront.
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Offline Deathbyjackal

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Re: Hotel Review and Feedback Thread
« Reply #86 on: July 27, 2016, 12:07:14 PM »





Name of Hotel: Andaz San Diego

Type of Room:  2 full-sized beds,

Number of Nights You Stayed: Five (5) nights.

Year(s) You Stayed There: 2016

Hotel Review:

This was our first time at the Andaz and it was great experience.

* Were there any dining options inside or near the hotel?
    Yes, its not too far from a coffee shop, some Crazy Goose bar, and a few other restaurants.

* How was the hotel staff?  Were they polite and courteous? The staff was excellent! The same night staff member Michael remembered us and repeatedly checked up on us. We saw him on the floor on Sunday too!

* Did you order room service?
   No, but it was available.

* Tell us about the hotel amenities, like the gym or pool.  Did you use any of them? The roof was super awesome, with a swanky pool, although...they had industry parties there at night, so we didn't get up there much. There was a nice gym, and a printer etc in an office.

* Were you and your roommates able to sleep and move around in the room comfortably?  Do you think the room is smaller or larger than the same type of room in other, comparable hotels? The room was super small, but perfectly adequate and very quiet. We were facing an inside courtyard.

* If you drove and parked your car at the hotel, how much was the parking rate per day for overnight stays? We did not drive a car there, but there was valet parking I believe.

* How long did it take you to travel to and from your hotel by shuttle, trolley, or on foot? By foot maybe 10-15 minutes, 5 minutes there on the shuttle....25 back.

* Are the walls of the room thin?  What are the noise levels in your room from outside sources (hallway or next door)? I didn't hear really any noise from the walls or hallway.

* Does the hotel have free WiFi for guests? Yes.

* Are you a member of the hotel's rewards program?  What level do you have, and what kind of perks did you get? Yes, but the total lowest level of Hyatt....no perks.

* Is there anything else you like to mention about the hotel (i.e., celebrity sightings) or your room that isn't mentioned above?
   The other was great! Did it's job well! Obviously, there are closer hotels, but this was fairly close!

What did you like about staying at this hotel?

convenient. Nice staff. Accommodating. Fairly close.



Finally, what didn't you like about staying at this hotel?

The room was a little small, but that's really not a huge negative for us. It's also not that cheap...I think it was 299 a night. 

Offline Angology

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Re: Hotel Review and Feedback Thread
« Reply #87 on: July 27, 2016, 12:07:58 PM »
Name of Hotel: Hotel Z

Type of Room: 1 king-sized bed

Number of Nights You Stayed: 5

Year(s) You Stayed There: 2016

Hotel Review:

* Were there any dining options inside or near the hotel? Yes-near the hotel
   If "Yes," tell us about the restaurants and type of food they had (if you remember).
So many options. The Broken Yolk was super convenient, as was Café 222 (a little further, but worth the walk). CVS is right next door, and they had lots of snack options. We were also able to buy PB&J and bread to make our own sandwiches every day (no fridge in room, however). Was also super close to Burger Lounge, an annual ritual for us. Horton Plaza was also fairly close, and was a great choice for Saturday night, when most sit down restaurants are crowded. We ate at Panda Express.

* How was the hotel staff?  Were they polite and courteous? Always a friendly greeting when you entered or exited. Any requests or comments were met with what seemed like genuine interest/concern. We generally leave our Do not disturb sign on  the whole time we are there, and were not questioned at all (we sometimes are!)

* Did you order room service? No
   If yes, tell us about if you had a good experience with room service.

* Tell us about the hotel amenities, like the gym or pool.  Did you use any of them? No-I don’t believe they have either. They do offer free bikes, but we did not use them.

* Were you and your roommates able to sleep and move around in the room comfortably?  Do you think the room is smaller or larger than the same type of room in other, comparable hotels? The room is small, but did have a tiny sitting area, so DH and were able to move around comfortably. The bed does take up much of the room. Also-for cosplayers-there was no closet in our room. The desk area had a rod with hangers, but it seems hanging any long costumes could be an issue. I would suggest bringing one of those command adhesive hooks (for lighter stuff, anyway).

* If you drove and parked your car at the hotel, how much was the parking rate per day for overnight stays? N/A

* How long did it take you to travel to and from your hotel by shuttle, trolley, or on foot? By foot-about 10-15 mins. We worked out a route that did not take us down the more congested streets. We were also mostly able to find shade for our walk.

* Are the walls of the room thin?  What are the noise levels in your room from outside sources (hallway or next door)?We never heard any noises from other hotel guests. Some morning outside noises came through. Our room faced the pool in the adjacent condo building, but we never heard any noise from there (there were people at the pool). I had read reviews complaining about the noise. I think because we had an interior room, on the 4th floor, it wasn't as much of an issue.

* Does the hotel have free WiFi for guests?  (Yes or No) Yes!! It worked very well. No password-you just had to accept the terms & conditions.

* Are you a member of the hotel's rewards program?  What level do you have, and what kind of perks did you get? They don’t offer one.

* Is there anything else you like to mention about the hotel (i.e., celebrity sightings) or your room that isn't mentioned above?This was our first time not staying at MMM. We only missed being next to the CC when a freight train got stuck at the crossing Friday night after the Preacher panel. I missed not getting a WB key card, but DH didn't care.

What did you like about staying at this hotel? In a spot with lots of restaurant choices around. WW activation was across the street, so it isn’t too far removed. Keurig in the room was a big plus since we have one at home, and just brought our own coffee (there is free coffee in the room). Every afternoon, they have free pineapple cupcakes in the lobby. They are tiny, but delicious, and were often a welcome pick-me-up. The room was modern and minimalist. The separate duvets for each side of the bed was an interesting concept. I am sure DH appreciated it! ;)
 
 Finally, what didn't you like about staying at this hotel?
The main cons would be

- sliding doors for the bathroom. Not as much of an issue for couples, but could be awkward for roommates. At least it was a solid door, not frosted glass!

- The shower! I know that rain type shower head is modern, etc., but it was really ineffective. Given how humid it was this year, we really missed our shower at home. We would get back to the room, take a shower, and feel a little better, but not very much. It’s not a deal breaker, by any means, but if it is as hot & humid next year, it will definitely be incentive for us to try harder during Hotelpocalypse. I applaud their attempts at sustainability/water savings, but there are better solutions. They just aren’t as pretty.

-Lack of closet might be an issue for some (cosplayers in particular).

As you can tell-the cons were pretty petty! Overall, we had a good experience at this hotel. We booked it as our backup for next year, and won’t be too upset if we have to stay there again.
« Last Edit: July 28, 2016, 07:39:14 AM by Angology »
Ang

Offline escape

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Re: Hotel Review and Feedback Thread
« Reply #88 on: July 27, 2016, 12:34:18 PM »
Name of Hotel: Residence Inn San Diego Downtown / Gaslamp Quarter

Type of Room: 1 king-sized bed / 1 full pullout bed

Number of Nights You Stayed: 4

Year(s) You Stayed There: 2016

Hotel Review:

* Were there any dining options inside or near the hotel? Yes-there was a light dining bar inside the hotel

   If "Yes," tell us about the restaurants and type of food they had (if you remember).
It was really convenient to a lot. The Broken Yolk was across the street, as was J Six and Water Grill.  We made a quick trip to Ralphs, which was a few blocks, as the room has a kitchenette with a full fridge, microwave and stovetop.

* How was the hotel staff?  Were they polite and courteous? The staff was SUPER friendly.  The front desk always greeted / said something when we arrived and left.  We needed extra pillows, blankets and towels... they were brought up immediately.  Housekeeping was polite and quick.  And the maintenance staff that came to fix the disposal was also incredibly great. 

* Did you order room service? No
   If yes, tell us about if you had a good experience with room service.

* Tell us about the hotel amenities, like the gym or pool.  Did you use any of them? They had a pool, but I didn't use it.  They also had a gym, but I didn't use that either.

* Were you and your roommates able to sleep and move around in the room comfortably?  Do you think the room is smaller or larger than the same type of room in other, comparable hotels?  The room was really well sized, but when we pulled out the sofabed, it was hard to get around.  We solved that on day 2 by moving the sofabed the other direction and giving the room MUCH more space in between.  None of the staff ever mentioned it either.

* If you drove and parked your car at the hotel, how much was the parking rate per day for overnight stays? N/A

* How long did it take you to travel to and from your hotel by shuttle, trolley, or on foot? By foot-about 5-10 mins. The hotel is literally about 2 blocks away from the convention, located at J and Sixth, so it was a congested street, but we made it fine.

* Are the walls of the room thin?  What are the noise levels in your room from outside sources (hallway or next door)?  Noise from the hallway or other rooms wasn't an issue at all.  We did hear a lot of street noise (sirens, etc.) which was weird because we were on the 14th floor.

* Does the hotel have free WiFi for guests?  (Yes or No) Yes!! No password-you just had to accept the terms & conditions.

* Are you a member of the hotel's rewards program?  What level do you have, and what kind of perks did you get? Yes.  Marriott Rewards - the person who reserved was silver, I am platinum, and another guest was gold.

* Is there anything else you like to mention about the hotel (i.e., celebrity sightings) or your room that isn't mentioned above?  There was a note that we could extend our checkout time for some ridiculous amount of money ($100 for an hour?) and when I complained at the front desk, they just extended the checkout time without charging us.

What did you like about staying at this hotel? I actually really liked it.  The room was spacious and near lots of places and super near the con.  We managed to book with points, so even better.
 
 Finally, what didn't you like about staying at this hotel?  The bathroom was a sliding barn door style and it was not great for privacy.  We've all traveled together for years though, so we all were fine.

Offline Michaelnaut

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Re: Hotel Review and Feedback Thread
« Reply #89 on: July 27, 2016, 12:35:55 PM »
Name of Hotel: Hilton Bayfront

Type of Room: 2 queen beds, 1 occupant

Number of Nights You Stayed: 6

Year(s) You Stayed There: 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016

Hotel Review:

* Were there any dining options inside or near the hotel?
The Aqua lounge right down from the lobby.  I didn't eat there tho this year, kept the hotel restaurant food stuff down this year.  Did drink at the bar tho :)  Also the Fox Sports Lounge, the Starbucks, but again I limited myself at these places this year.

* How was the hotel staff?  Were they polite and courteous?
The staff, those I interacted with, were great.  From the front desk, to folks wandering around, the bartenders and the room cleanup folk.  Special shout out to the concierge as when I asked this year if they had free bottled water he left me fill it from their water machine in the back.  This place always has great service.

* Did you order room service?
Nope

* Tell us about the hotel amenities, like the gym or pool.  Did you use any of them?
Every year I bring a bathing suit cause this pool looks great, and every year I either collapse after my day or I'm already out so late that there's no poolin' happenin.  *Next* year, pool, definitely!  Now, WiFi...this year the hotel WiFi kinda sucked...kept booting me more than a few times when I was on it.

* Were you and your roommates able to sleep and move around in the room comfortably?  Do you think the room is smaller or larger than the same type of room in other, comparable hotels?
Room was great.  Only had a roomie for Saturday night, as he flew in and needed a place to crash, he just had a Sunday badge, so I told him he had a bed.  Barely saw him, but the room overall was great.

* If you drove and parked your car at the hotel, how much was the parking rate per day for overnight stays?
No car, so no drive/park

* How long did it take you to travel to and from your hotel by shuttle, trolley, or on foot?
Not long at all...there's always traffic down by the Starbucks, or the cross-street getting over to the convention center side, but that's a given.  Walking time to the first hall entry door...10 min.

* Are the walls of the room thin?  What are the noise levels in your room from outside sources (hallway or next door)?
Not particularly, pretty much the norm for a hotel.  I couldn't hear my neighbor chewing potato chips, but it was easy to hear the doors of rooms shut...they closed relatively loudly.

* Does the hotel have free WiFi for guests?  (Yes or No)
Yes, see above amenities section

* Are you a member of the hotel's rewards program?  What level do you have, and what kind of perks did you get?
I am, free WiFi, room view upgrades.

* Is there anything else you like to mention about the hotel (i.e., celebrity sightings) or your room that isn't mentioned above?
This hotel is ripe for celebrity sightings.  Many camp out at the lounge area facing the elevator block to possibly get a chance at seeing someone.  It was also a pokemon treasure chest for folk :)

This is my favorite hotel to stay at, and I've also stayed at the Marriott Marquis and also on Coronado Island.  Great place, great views, great bars, and easy access to the promenade walk-over to the other side of the road, making it easier to get in/out of Gaslamp.  Always my first hotel choice.
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