The Sheraton San Diego Marina & Hotel is a four-star outfit in close proximity to the San Diego International Airport. We stayed here for 1 night in March. We had a 8-ish am flight out the next morning, so we opted for the Sheraton San Diego Marina & Hotel, because of the free airport shuttle. The paid rates of this hotel are in the mid-200 USD range, but we used a 10,000 Starpoints redemption instead.
The hotel has a very nice hard product, but there is definitely a lot of room for improvement.
Check In/Check Out:
At check-in, the front desk lady was lovely enough, but pretty much every guest who walked in was given an upsell pitch. This actually set the tone for our stay. She did comp our resort fees (20 USD), and was good about granting us lounge access as part of my Amex SPG Business benefit.
We were running a little late for check out, so we just dumped our keys in the express check out box. There were no billing issues.
Room:
The SPG award room books into Lanai rooms. These are in a further wing at the resort, facing the airport. We did get a marina-facing room, but our window wasn’t exactly sound-proof, so we could hear planes taking off and landing. The room itself is large, and in a beautiful nautical theme, with rich-blue paint. There was a little entry foyer with an armchair, and there was also a little private balcony with two lounge chairs.
The bathroom was also a very lovely white-tiled affair, and looked like it could have come out of Home & Decor.
So, why the complaints?
Well, outside our door, we found a dirty wine glass. We checked in at 3 pm, and got back to our room at 9 pm. It was still there.
When I lifted the toilet seat, the toilet was not flushed. Gross!
To add to the diming practice of the hotel, the refrigerator was rigged. You couldn’t move any of the items in the refrigerator. Or put your own items in the refrigerator. A sign on the refrigerator indicated that if you put your personal items in the mini-fridge, you’ll be charged a $20 “cleaning fee”.
Grounds:
They have two pools. They looked lovely. The pool by the lanai wing was significantly less crowded.
Lounge:
The lounge is on the top floor of the main wing. It offers amazing views of the marina, and at the lift landing, you can also get some beautiful views of downtown San Diego. They serve hors d’oeuvres from 5-8 pm. It was pretty much salad, some cheese, and no hot item. While they have a self-serve fridge with some sodas and water, there was no coffee machine. They did put out some coffee and tea during the evening hors d’oeuvres.
I do recommend sitting here to enjoy the view. I’m not sure sure about the food.
Room service:
We ordered room service. It was prompt, the food was decent, the prices were ok. Mister might have gotten sick from the mayonnaise, but I can’t say for sure.
Overall:
I want to like this property, but diming practices do tend to leave a bad taste. I probably wouldn’t stay here again if I’m San Diego. Downtown really isn’t that far from the airport.
Wanderlust 