Empress Hotel of La Jolla

Why would anyone want to stay at a different hotel in La Jolla except if they wanted to pay top dollar for a view of the ocean? The Empress hotel was small enough to be called a boutique hotel, but large enough to provide the services of a grand hotel. The rooms were sparkling clean and certainly large enough for comfort. The bathrooms provided comfort and serviced whatever needs might develop. The service was warm, friendly, and efficient. The Empress Hotel is located in the heart of La Jolla within walking distance of everything! For my $139.00 price I had everything I could want including valet parking. The money I saved I spent on dining and shopping.

We had a great stay at the hotel. The location was ideal, within walking distance to the beach and all of downtown La Jolla. The room was terrific, large and comfortable. Finally, the staff was very attentive and friendly.

We just returned from 4 nights at the Empress. Our room was very clean, and the hotel is well maintained. Staff was very friendly and helpful, even for helping strategize street parking if you don't want to valet park with the hotel. They even have apples or cookies in the lobby for snacking. The location is just terrific (unless you must have an ocean view) -- a short walk to the ocean, and a short walk to lots of shops and restauraunts. We'll stay here again.

I recently planned a fun trip to San Diego with a girlfriend. We stayed one night at the Empress and that was plenty. As a disclaimer, let me say that I am not a finicky traveler, a whiner or even a letter-writer type of consumer. But I feel compelled to speak out about The Empress. To begin, we checked in with an apathetic front desk clerk who neglected to tell us that all of the hotel's power would be shut down at midnight. What??? Yes, that's right, no lights, phones, television, air conditioning, elevators, clocks, etc. all night long. When the power did go out, we also found out that the technicians were setting up shop right outside our window with a generator, tools and talking all night long. The hotel did refund our money after some prodding, but I was surprised that they weren't somehow required to contact customers beforehand to let them know that the power would be out. This incident aside, the beds were soft and the bedding was pretty, the location was convenient but the bathrooms were pretty crusty for anyplace with the name Empress. I would not stay at this hotel again.

Rebecca Bardsley

What a great place to stay. Rooms were very clean, no smoking issues. The Hotel is just 2 blocks away from the beach. What a deal for the location. The continental breakfast was set up nicely. (fresh pastries, cereal, coffee, etc.) Wonderful outside patio. I will stay here again.

We stayed 4 nights and loved it. My wife insists on ultra clean bathrooms and found ours perfect and the room clean and beautiful each day. Very fine location enabled us to walk throughout La Jolla Cove easily. The continental breakfast was ok but nothing special and the eating area (indoors) rather cramped; however, it has an adjoining great outdoor patio with tables and great fresh air if the weather is good. There's no pool but we certainly did not need it in the cool 45 - 65 degree weather of late February. The hotel has an excellent restaurant and lounge! We would be happy to stay there again.

I stayed from March 7-10 and found the hotel to be clean, perfect location and the staff was friendly. The rooms aren't like a 4 star property but it was clean and had all the amenities as any higher priced hotel. It's within walking distance to all the great restaurants, shopping and the cove.

I would return in a second especially if the weather was good and I could lounge with a good book on the deck upstairs.

We were very pleased with the proximity to restaraunts, beach and shops. We walked everywhere, even the grocery store! The concierge was very helpful and the service of all of the employees was wonderful. The continental breakfast is served in a charming outdoor garden/ courtyard. The only area that needs improvement is parking. The first night they were not able to valet our Ford F-250 due to it's size and parking in La Jolla is impossible to find!! Once we spoke with another employee the next day, they were able to valet our truck. We LOVED this hotel and will stay there again on our next vacation to La Jolla.

The Empress Hotel was average. The room DID smell like smoke even though it was a non-smoking room. It's very close to the shops in downtown La Jolla and it's two blocks away from rocks that overlook the ocean. You'll have to walk farther down the coast if you actually want to get to a beach where you can swim. So I ended up driving to the beach. The room was clean (except for the smell) and the breakfast was adequate. Like I said, the Empress is good for its price.

We got a nice big room (called "Empress Room"?) with a King size bed for $149 + tax on a Labor day weekend Saturday.

Location is nice, very close to the shops and only 2 blocks to the beach. You can walk to the Cove too.

The lobby was very nice & stylish, staff/service was avarage, not very friendly but was ok.

Breakfast was served (included) on patio, which was nice, but almost everything they had was sweet, including cereals & fruits (sugared)!

The room had a comfortable bed & Pillows, sofa & 2 chairs, and a small window side table with chairs, fridge and mini bar. It was a non-smoking room but it smelled like cigarettes. Told the front desk about it and they said they will spray the room with air freshner, but we couldn't tell the difference when we came back.

Overall, I think it was good deal considring how expensive everything is around in this area.

Valet parking was $8 overnight, in & out ok.