The most horrible service I have EVER received at a hotel.

Pros: Beautiful hotel, nicely appointed.

Cons: I have never stayed at the Westgate, so I cannot offer a review of the rooms. However, I have dined there, and if the service I received when dining is any indication of the overall service at the hotel, DO NOT EVER STAY HERE! I can honestly say I've had better service at McDonald's.

I came with four friends, dressed in formal evening attire (we were going to the opera later that day) for afternoon tea. Even though I had a reservation, I waited 20 minutes before anyone so much as said hello to me. We were rudely told to move from where we were sitting to another table because "the couches are only for parties of three:--even though there are FIVE chairs! we had just had brunch so none of us were hungry.

We wanted to share two tea sets and two or three pots of tea. The server repeated loudly, almost shouting: "you want to SPLIT the set???" When two of my friends said they did not want to order tea, he said (and these are his exact words: "No no, you have to order tea. Even if you don't order tea, you will have to pay for tea. So what tea would you like?" He waved the menu in front of my sister's face and asked her what tea she wanted five times.

Now, if an establishment has a minimum purchase requirement, it should be either printed on the menu, or the servers need to very politely tell you about it--not shout at you and strong-arm you into buying tea! Everyone ended up ordering their own pot of tea, even though two of us had dinner reservations in half an hour. When he came back with our tea, while he was pouring tea for my friend, he looked at her and said "you are ordering tea and just a scone." And turning to my other friend he said "and you are ordering only tea, Nothing else." It was his tone of voice and the looks he gave us that made us feel extremely uncomfortable--like we were low class for not ordering food we didn't even want.

I'm bewildered. We were polite to him, we were not loud, and we were extremely well-dressed--yet he treated us like bums. I will never dine or stay at this hotel, and I recommend that you seriously consider against staying here given the way they treated me.

I have filed written complaints to the hotel management and to the board of the Leading Hotels of the World. What a horrible experience. If you want more details, feel free to email me.

Excellent hotel. Perfect location.

This hotel is amazing. The service excellent. The rooms are beautifully decorated with much attention paid to detail. The rooms are also large (for a city hotel) making the stay that much more comfortable. You cant beat the location...it's in Horton Plaza and two blocks from the Gaslamp district. I would highly recomment staying here and will stay here again.....

Westgate Rates A-

On the plus side: Excellent car valet service; good front desk staff; beautifully appointed rooms; a most comfortable bed; extraordinary shower pressure; great room service (although the order was incomplete at delivery)

On the minus side: No ice machines - must call room service (very inconvenient); no coffee machines in room; rooms could use more pieces of furniture, e.g., a table; inconsistent housekeeping- items were removed and not replaced.

Overall: One of the better hotels in San Diego - I would stay there again.

The Westgate falls short

The Westgate is an attractive hotel that falls short of its apparent goals. If you want to stay in a pretty place and you don't really care about service, the Westgate is for you. Otherwise, keep reading...

Good things about the hotel: free airport shuttle; safe in room that fits a laptop; clean, new decor in room including bedding; clean, new decor in bathroom; staff is friendly.

Not so good:

The room: the room itself was fine, but the bathroom was designed by a thoughtless person. There are no hooks for towels, no fan, only 1/2 of a shower door, and no wall mounting for the shower wand. This is European style, but annoying and inconvenient for Americans. Also, there was a small pipe-access door in our bathroom that did not close. That was weird and tacky.

Service:

*housekeeping: they took things away and did not replace items such as towels, soap, or robes. No one told us where to get ice, or that we actually had to request it. "Nice" hotels don't make you beg for ice.

*Room service: they brought us terrible coffee and tried to make excuses for it instead of apologizing and simply bringing acceptable coffee. They also brought things we did not order, which was wasteful and annoying.

*There was a window-washer outside of our room EVERY morning we were there. This was disturbing.

* Concierge: she was not professional. We asked for a seafood restaurant recommendation, and she attempted to tell us that the French restaurant in the hotel was a seafood restaurant, which it is not.

*Billing: we received extra charges on our credit card weeks later, and we had to make several phone calls and talk to several different people to find out the reason. They claimed it was one reason, and then it turned to be something different. "Nice" hotels keep track of billing and are able to explain the items on your bill.

Terrific Service at the Westgate

I stayed at the Westgate in February 2004 for a business meeting and was very impressed with the service and facilities. I was repeatedly greeted by name and received above average service. The catering and sales office was not as organized as I expected but responded promptly to my needs. I recommend the Westgate as a downtown hotel.

Bad Service

I recently stayed at this hotel and made certain that I read all the reviews at tripadvisor prior to my visit. I noticed that there were a couple of negative comments, but didn't pay much mind. I was convinced that the Westgate was a fine hotel.

It is a very nice hotel, with great amenities. The service, however, is absolutely horrible. When I checked in, the young lady behind the desk was more interested in laughing off an elderly gentleman's request for a double, rather than a king, and interrupting me while she helped everyone calling on the telephone. It was 4 pm and she told me that my room was not ready...period...no explanation or apology. I talk to the assistant manager who laughed it off as if I should feel honored to pay them $300 a night to stay at their hotel. I then asked to talk with the manager, who also laughed at me with a snooty attitude.

After much throwing of the fit...not because my room wasn't ready, but because I felt that $300 a night warranted a little hospitality and warmth...they offered me a cart full of sandwiches, cheese, crackers, fruit, and chocolates and a bottle of champaign along with perrier.

Lesson here is...if you insist on staying at this hotel, don't let the cold attitude get to you...or if it does, throw much the fit and get the goodies.

Defines customer service

A truly outstanding experience. We bailed out of the US Grant next door due to rude staff and poor facilities. What a great move it turned out to be. This hotel has the most competent staff I have ever encountered. From the front desk to housekeeping to the restaurant staff, all are impeccably polite and helpful, and friendly as well. It's apparent the hotel management keeps this as a high concern - as it should be. The room was superb, with only some very small maintenance issues keeping it from being an A+. I will gladly stay there again and actually look forward to it.

Westgate-an experience by itself

We had a great experience at the Westgate! My husband and I were there for a medical convention, and we booked by internet to all the dinners that the Westgate had that same week. They were formidable! It is one of the best places to have dinner in San Diego. And what to say about the service? they really made us feel at home, like if we were living there, like if we were San Diegans. The room was beautiful (just renovated) and spacious, and the location of the hotel is very convenient to go touring around (in downtown, next to the trolley station).

Thoughts on the Westgate Hotel

We stayed at the Westgate Hotel in San Diego. While the hotel looked very impressive, upon a closer look, it was lacking in service in many ways. There were some annoyances including a) a courtesy van that was 90 minutes late in picking up the kids and babysitter from SeaWorld despite a number of phone calls and promises to the contrary and b) a maid who left our door open, the TV on, and her belongings in the room. But the biggest problem was that the hotel refused to cash more than $100 (per day) of travelers' checks. I find this a very strange policy for a nice hotel in that the hotel should anticipate that its customers will want to cash more than $100, and it is easy for the hotel to gain access to currency from banks, even on the weekend. For me this was a very big problem because the hotel first informed me of this lunatic policy on a Saturday morning as I was preparing to spend a whole day in a room interviewing job candidates with my children's babysitter needing $200 in cash. They suggested I go to some local drugstores and buy gum with $100 traveler's checks. That sounds like a strange suggestion to a guest at a supposedly quality hotel. When I asked to speak to the hotel manager, he refused. In the end, their policy made life significantly more difficult for me (and the babysitter). I received better service at a Holiday Inn Express in Chula Vista where we stayed one day. I definitely would go to a different hotel when staying in San Diego.

Very nice hotel, but I like to be a little self-sufficient

This is a very nice hotel, maybe too nice for me. The staff was very polite, and not "snotty" like you kind of expect from this type of European theme. My only complaint is that I want to get my own ice, and make my own coffee. Guess what.. no coffee maker in the room, and you have to call someone every time you need more ice--looking for more tips????. I had to go across the street and buy a coffee maker. I have stayed in San Diego every year for about 7 years in a row now (convention), this is the nicest one I have stayed in so far. It has a small balcony, but hey at least it has one-most don't. The trolley stop is right behind the hotel and makes getting around very convenient.