Pleasantly surprised

I almost cancelled our reservations because of the bad reviews but I was pleasantly surprised. The room was very clean. The service was great. The pool was clean and very warm.

I don't think it is necessarily the nicest area in San Diego, but I did not feel unsafe at all. It was well worth it for the price.

A Disappointing experience

What a disappointing property - We booked this "Inn" based on a 3 star rating from AAA - how in the world they can consider this a 3 star property is indeed a mystery - The "inn" lobby is indeed beautiful but that is about all that even comes close to a decent property - Our room was small and not particularly clean, it had a large hole that someone had apparently punched in our bathroom door (it was obvious no repair job was even attempted) - Also guests down on the 1st level were cooking on an outdoor grill - We felt as though we were in the ghetto! DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT, stay here - you WILL be disappointed

Great Vacation- would return again

We drove from Vegas and stayed at this Holiday Inn for a week in May, 2004 with our 3-year old son. We got the room for the week, along with passes for Sea World & the San Diego Zoo as a wedding present from our close friends, but after reading some of the posts here, I was a little concerned as to what we might find when we arrived at the hotel.

I was pleased to find a very nice, clean room, and we had no problems at all with the linens, service, etc. Like the previous post stated, there are plenty of restaurants, stores, etc VERY close by, which is great, especially if you have kids. The restaurant adjacent to the Holiday Inn offered our son free meals every day of our visit, & had great service, which was a plus.

Regarding the post about parking in front of the rooms, yes our room was a bottom floor room, & we got to park our car directly in front of our door, which made it very much easier to pack/unpack the car, especially with children, so we considered that a plus. If you're looking for a RESORT, or an ocean-front view-HOTEL, this is not the place for you. But if you want a nice, reasonably-priced place to stay, this place is definitely a place we would stay at again. (and p.s. - we're from Vegas-so we're used to those big resort-type hotels, but this hotel served us just fine! --it just depends on what you're looking for. )

Roach motel

This is a motel and a DUMPPPP. Do not let the picture fool you. The rooms are dirty and smell. The linens I am convinced are not washed on a regular basis. This is a MUST MISS. The one night we stayed (we were forced to because of a late plane arrival) was enough for a life time.

A 'Psyo' type of hotel

I stayed with my wife 3 nights in this hotel, as we went all over the place in California for the honey moon (25 days, 10 hotels). This was by far the worst of all : we could'nt do anything, as our agency had already made the reservations from Italy. Room dirty, small, the door in front of the parking : a Psyo" type"of hotel. Had my wife cryng the first night : a nightmare!

This is Bates Motel

Please do not be fooled by the website. This is not a hotel it is a motel. We were to stay in this hotel for six nights. We checked out the next morning. The rooms are disgusting. The service is poor at best.

The area is not one to have children (several "adult entertainment" establishments). We checked out and found the best hotel Ocean Park Inn Hotel. You will spend the same money for a million times better room.

Right on the beach, three minutes from Sea World, with a fantastic staff. The holiday inn is a dump.

Cleaner linens

My husband , four young children , and myself stayed at this hotel for three nights. Our stay started Aug.23. The first night, we checked in and left for the beach. Upon returning late in the evening, I discover that two pillows were dirty, covers had horrible looking stains, and the sheets did not smell clean. When we called to the front desk, there were no pillows available and housekeeping was not available. We were guaranteed, that the beds would have completely fresh and clean quilts and linens, as well as clean pillows. This did not happen. On the second night, the same dirty pillows, smelly sheets and covers were in the room. Housekeeping also left dirty towels on the shower rod.

Because it was late at night, the front desk could not offer any housekeeping. We were compensated one night and 20.0 off another night.

The third night was the only night that the hotel changed the linens to clean and fresh ones. Needless to say, I strongly do not recommend this hotel to anyone who cares about cleanliness. It is not worth any amount of money. My family and I will never stay there again.

Clean, Friendly, Comfortable

We stayed at this property from July 12 - 19, 2003. We had a two-room suite. It was a bit small, but very clean, comfortable and quiet. We never heard our next door "neighbors" except for the closing of their doors. The staff, including the evening manager, front desk and housekeeping, were very friendly and helpful. It is located close to numerous restaurants including well known "fast food" places. If you have booked a room which has a refrigerator and microwave, there are two grocery stores nearby.

This is a very kid-friendly property. The pool was used almost exclusively by children. It is also nearby to Sea World, Old Town and the Embarcadero. You can watch the fireworks display from Sea World every night if you have a room on the upper floors.

The hotel was sold out every night we were there so it is advised to book early if you want a good vacation value.

Don't be a fool

Upon check in time, the people there said they didn't have the room I reserved ready, so they gave me another room. Also, this room was very far away from everything, such as the pool, restaurant, and even the ice machine. Not only that, there are no refrigerators or microwaves in the room. They should let people have those if they at least stay for more than 2 days. Don't let the picture fool you, it's not as nice in person. This hotel is in a very ghetto, unclean, neighborhood. Forget the alarm clock, you'll have wake up calls throughout the night and morning with sirens of police cars. I promise to God I heard at least 6 sirens every night and morning. The room was very small and the sheets did not smell clean. I really think they need to improve this place. Please believe me, it will save you a lot of money. I wish someone would have told me something about this hotel before hand.

Reactive not Proactive

We stayed at the Holiday In Mission Bay/Sea World from 11/15/02 through 11/22/02. Suites were very small. The first suite they put us in smelled moldy and there was water damage on the ceiling. The first night a huge spider crawled across my bed and upon further review there were bug legs, etc. in the bed. The maids came and stripped both beds and cleaned everything, but it still made us uneasy. That night was free. There was also a problem with the door. It seems if a red light comes on before it turns green then your door is not locking. We didn't know that and our room was left open for three straight days. Again, they gave us a night free. The washers and dryers were beat up and two of them were down. Overall you get what you pay for and they were more than willing to give us nights free, but if they were a little more proactive will problems versus reactive they wouldn't have to give away free nights. Also, don't let the picture fool you. This hotel is OLD.