An amazing stay at the Occidental!

After having a terrible experience with another hotel that same night, we drove by the Occidental and decided to give it a try. We were greeted by one of the most helpful employees we have ever met, Aldo. He showed us around and fully explained what the hotel has to offer: a low cost stay with community bathrooms and restrooms. We opted for a room which included the restroom and shower inside, so we didn't fully experience the "community" part. It was Fourth of July weekend, so while the other hotels were booked, Occidental was a quiet pleasant stay at a fantastic rate. In the morning we were greeted by the manager who, again, gave excellent customer service. It's a beautiful, clean, well ran hotel and I would highly reccomend it. We will definately return!

We love this hotel!

We saved so much money yet there was no lacking in service or quality. Yes we shared a bathroom..and the staff jumped in right away to make sure it was clean and spotless for whoever would use it next. As far as staff goes..they were so helpful and friendly. Parking is limited..but you will have that with all of the downtown hotels. As far as dead flowers and other complaints I have heard..this was never an issue for us. I personally enjoyed the fresh flowers that were placed in our room daily.We were close enough to enjoy all that downtown has to offer..as well as being so close to Balboa Park and the Zoo..yet we weren't in the "muck" of it. We were able to just relax and enjoy our trip..without breaking the bank. In fact we spent less than we planned.

Love this place

We came here for 3 days for the San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon, this hotel is wonderful we saved some much money we were able to goto the zoo ( we walked too) and Sea World. We had a full size bed with a shared bath, it was so neat. The staff explained it was a European style at first we thought "nah" but it was a cool experiance. The bathrooms were very nice and well maintained, even when we all returned at the same time and the whole hotel needs to shower, it was cleaned everytime! I can tell you I will never stay at another "chain brand hotel again"

Thanks Hotel Occidental

Was very disappointed

After reading all the reviews I thought I would give this place a try. What eveyone fails to mention in previous reviews is that this a community bathroom hotel. The bathrooms are not part of your room. I stayed on the second floor where there are three shower rooms and four toilets or "water closets" as the hotel calls them - and one of them was plugged up and out of service. So if you need to use the toilet in the middle of the night you have to get up and get dressed and go out into the hallway and find an unoccupied toilet. The night I stayed there there was a large beer drinking party going on outside in the patio area until around 2 am - and with the walls being as thin as they are you could hear everything going on as if you were part of the party. The TV in the room was only a 13" but with the room being not much bigger than a closet I guess you really don't need much bigger. This place is not what I would consider within walking distance of the convention center - probably a good 30 to 45 min walk. There are only 4 parking stalls within the gated parking area so if you plan on using one of them for $15 a night you might want to make sure they reserve one for you. Luckily I arrived on a Saturday evening after 6 pm when all street parking meters are not monitored - so I was able to park for free on the street in front of the hotel. The hotel is clean and well kept and I would recommend this place to the traveling younger crowd or people used to community bathrooms - but if you are looking for a place with a private bathroom - look elsewhere.

Great find

A friend of mine recently returned from a trip to San Diego and told us about a new hotel that justed opened in Downtown San Diego called Hotel Occidental. This hotel was a great find and truly made our vacation special. We had only planned to stay for a weekend, but extended our stay for 5 days. We went Sea World and swin with the doifins, went to Mexico and the zoo. The week cost $285.00 for the hotel, we saved and were able to do so much more than we throught.

Great staff and charming rooms made me feel like at home. Super clean too.

Close to all

I came in from out of town on business to SD. for the Himms Convention . The airport lost my luggage for one , the hotel i was supposed to stay at (marriot) lost my confirmation for my reserved room ! So now my day is complete , a cab driver that i had flagged down told me about a new hotel that had just opened up 11/05 ! He took me there & the staff asked me questions on how to make my stay much better & they did a great job in making it a better stay : good room rate for duration of my stay , attractions close to all , continental breakfast & to top it off shuttle service to & from the convention ! Thank you for the service ,it was a great stay ! will be back soon ! ps. thanks for helping recover my luggage !

Charming, but cheap

When I travel I look for small hotels with great locations, not always easy to find, but worth the seach. I had a convention for 5 days resently and knew I would only be in my hotel room to sleep and didn't really want to spend over a $100.00 a night to be close to the Convertion Center. I called around and heard there was a new hotel that just opened within walking distance.When I arrived, I felt like I was in Europe for a moment or a Bed & Breakfast, but not in Downtown San Diego. I found that over my 5 day stay that I spent more time at the hotel than I thought just relaxing! Warm staff, very helpful.

Not as nice as expected

We stayed in a Queen / Kitchen room expecting something like a suite- a seperate kitchen living and bedroom area (the word suite was on the website when we booked)