Pier South Resort

I just went in to check in to my room for my cousins wedding. 530pm my room isn’t ready! The lady said she doesn’t know when it will be ready! My cousin is getting married. No one from the staff cared! So horrible you guys ruined my day and I will be having a long talk with your manager tomorrow.

I am appalled that this is a Marriott affiliated property, if you expect Marriott standards this is not the place for you! Yes it is on the beach, just be prepared for for your beach view. The homeless person on the beach is a nice touch, just not what I expect from Marriott. Our TV’s did not work in our first room, moved to another room, still no service in the living area, until tomorrow when we check out. Seems it’s a property wide problem … If you expect inside room access, not going to get that here. I do have to give props to the dining staff, the restaurant is nice, so just come for drinks/​dinner. Best bet to stay at the Marriott Marquis great views, clean property. Pass this especially for the price!

I came down to IB after staying in the Gaslamp for 3 nights. I will be staying here every time I am in SD. The hotel renovation is still being completed, so the only downfall is minimal noise. But it looks like it should be done soon. Megan was the nicest person at any property that I have stayed. She was courteous, sweet, and walked across the street to let us know when our room was ready. I would stay at this hotel now before it becomes 400 – 500 a night. Awesome restaurant and servers too. 5 stars. Especially for Megan! Thanks guys

Have stayed at this hotel at least 4 times and love it. Every member of the staff I’ve ever interacted with has been truly wonderful and happy to help. You can watch the surfers in the morning while eating breakfast and listen to the waves from your balcony. Spacious well accommodated rooms and a nice community to walk and enjoy. I look forward to returning again.

NPS = 9
Awesome boutique hotel right on Imperial beach.
The waves crashing and the awesome bar make this a destination in of itself.
The hotel room was very spacious. TV’s, living room, and King size bed. All the stuff you want after long days of travel.
The gym is a bit small and there aren’t too many places to eat around the hotel, but the bar/​restaurant downstairs is pretty cool.
Then again, when you come to Imperial beach I feel likes it’s more to disconnect than to be around a city atmosphere.
Didn’t get to visit imperial beach too much, but it totally reminded me of Jacksonville, Fl around the Ponte Vedra side.
If I ever need to come to this side of town again, I may choose this place again. Especially to check out the beach. I’ll definitely need to do that next time.

Okay let me first start of by saying Diana S. At the front desk was beyond amazing! Her attitude and costumer service skills were exceptional. First time I have stayed at this hotel and it won’t be my last! The service is exceptional and my room views are incredible. The views from my room are the best views, ocean waves crushing, sunset setting, I can see everything from downtown San Diego to Baja coastline all from my balcony, which is a wrap around! Room is spacious and the bathroom is clean with a great shower. I asked for a robe and it was brought up in less than 5 minutes. My hat goes off to the amazing staff, the room and the overall attitude of this hotel. I really needed to relax and get outside of LA and this is such a pleasant surprise. I can’t begin to tel you how stressed I’ve been… and to walk into a hotel with such a warm kind heart front desk staff as Diana S was beyond pleasant. Thank you Diana and thank you Pier South!

Pier South Resort is our go-​to when we come to California! Everyone is extremely helpful and they have exceptional customer service. Whenever we have questions or need assistance, Monique Cole, the front desk manager, was wonderful and catered to our every need! The restaurant is delicious too! We will most definitely return for our next vacation!

This hotel is really lovely. I didn’t know what to expect because it was booked for me while attending a conference at another hotel, and then I checked in late at night… but in the morning, wow. Waking up to a view of the ocean and the sound of waves was amazing. The room itself was also very nicely appointed with separated areas for sleeping and lounging, plus a balcony, and I liked the sliding wood blind doors.
In terms of what’s nearby, I was able to easily walk down the beach to the pier and watch fishers and surfers. Then I walked in the other direction and grabbed a delicious coffee and breakfast from Katy’s Café. IB Street Tacos directly across the street from the hotel were also very good.
Fantastic relaxing stay in a gorgeous room within walking distance to enough eats to keep me happy. Front desk staff also were very helpful with checking in/​out, getting me a cab, etc.

Location location location…
This fantastic hotel is located on and I mean ON the beach.
Beautiful lobby upon waking in. Checkin was smooth. I was offered a room with a huge balcony. Room 211. Unbelievable view.
The staff was excellent in all requests.
I was there for meetings and because my room was the best of our attendees, it kind of became the Animal House room for our group. So my apologies to the room service staff.
All said this is a fabulous hotel in every aspect.

Of all the hotels we stayed at during our recent trip to San Diego and Los Angeles I think this was our favorite.
The view from the room contributed greatly to this, and it was an amazing experience to be able to listen to the ocean all night for real instead of via a noise maker!
For the room with the view it isn’t cheap though, and while I have no regrets, I did feel the strain on the wallet. Of course, where can anyone realistically get a room with a view on the west coast for a low price short of just finding an empty beach and pitching a tent?
Another of the financial concerns is the fact that you have two options when you park. The first is street parking, the other is valet. I suppose maybe it’s more common for people to arrive at beach resorts WITHOUT cars, but I find it personally irritating any time I visit a hotel that I have to pay to put my CAR up for the night too. I can’t hold this particular hotel as the only one that does this, but they DO charge you to park.
One other thing, that wasn’t a problem for me, but could be a problem for others. Some of the rooms face the other rooms. For example, the room we were in as we came out the front door of that room looked into the back patio of another room. Since that guest had their blinds open (Because why wouldn’t you on a sunny beachfront resort) you can see directly into that room. We didn’t see anything we «shouldn’t» but it did seem a bit voyeuristic. If I was staying in that room I might be disappointed that I can see others and they can see me while I lay in bed.
In any case, and even with the various cons, I’d come love to come back in the future for another visit!

Do you live in a fast-​paced environment and it is driving you insane?
Are you super stressed out from work? Kids? The pressure of life?
Do you need to just relax and slow down?
Pier South Resort and Imperial Beach, CA are your answer!
Pier South is a wonderful hidden gem. Almost everything about this place was on point. The rooms were absolutely huge. I am not sure about the size but they were monsters. Every room has a balcony. Almost every balcony has some sort of ocean view, I think. I know ours was full ocean view and it looked like all of the others could see some amount of ocean. They had this amazing rooftop area to sit and lounge. The views from this place were just out of this world.
One of the things that really sold me on this place was the intense security. When you walk into the elevator, you had to place your room key against the key screener in order to gain access to a floor with rooms. To me, this was absolutely incredible. With the exception of somehow scaling the balconies like Spider-​Man, I did not have anything to worry about as far as random people entering the room area.
A few minor complaints. The toilet seat. I know this sounds ridiculous but it was way too small for the toilet. There was a physical gap between the rim of the toilet and the toilet seat. It was such an issue that when my boyfriend tried to pee the seat kept falling down. They also only had one trash can. It was in the bathroom. This seems like it wouldn’t be a problem but… Housekeeping didn’t come one day. As a result, we had empty beverage bottles and dirty kleenex piling up in the bathroom. It was becoming hazardous. And my last issue… Some of the pillows did not have pillowcases. This seemed like a breeding ground for lice.
With all of that being said, not a single one of these minor complaints ruined my stay. It seemed more like an attention to detail that was missing. If I were a lot more anal or a germaphobe, it would have ruined my trip. This is an amazing place to stay. The town is a wonderfully laid-​back sleeper of a town.

Beautiful hotel with understated décor located right on the beach. I was hesitant about staying in Imperial Beach but my opinion has changed. The neighborhood was clean and quiet, and I felt perfectly safe walking to dinner at night. We were upgraded to an oceanfront suite with gorgeous view of the beach and the pier. The ladies at the front desk were very nice but the valet, not so much when we told him we’d park the car on the street. Valet parking is $ 25, self parking on the street is free. We ate at Sea180 during happy hour. Our server was very friendly and attentive. The food and drinks were excellent, and great prices during happy hour too. I had the brussel sprouts and my husband had the Kobe TJ hot dogs and garlic herb fries. The rooms are large and bed was comfy. My only complaint is you constantly hear doors slamming shut and because of the open hallways, it echoes even louder. Plus, the light shines through the door at night lighting up the room making it sort of hard to sleep. All in all, a great stay!

We were so excited to stay here. Normally all properties associated with the Marriott name are up to snuff. I have to say that THIS one needs someone from Marriott to visit under cover. (Under Cover Boss?) Non Smoking property? Hmmmmm. Employees smoking on site!!! When we asked about it the gal at the desk said «oh, is the smoke blowing into your room?» Are you kidding me? What part of non smoking is not being understood? Just wow…
Things are already starting to rust in the rooms (lamp bases, etc.) and it’s a new hotel. Keep in mind; This is an «Autograph Collection» hotel??? Yikes. If you like Marriott hotels, please get reviews first. You might want to skip this one, Which is sad as it just needs a bit of TLC and better customer service…
and Management?
On the upside;
Nice people around. Nice location. Great restaurant staff and the grounds are pretty clean. Pool is extremely small. Hot tub is nice. Location is absolutely fabulous… literally ON the beach.
Side note. Jets. Lots of Navy jets, but then again. This is gorgeous San Diego!!! Would we stay here again?! Just not certain.

Me and my wife went here during the Christmas break and absolutely fell in love with the place. We stayed in 2 rooms during our stay. The first was a partial ocean view. They told us they did not have any availability on the first day but could shift us for the latter 3 days of our stay. The partial ocean view room was very good with nice, new wooden accents.
The 2^nd room was gorgeous. We had a full ocean view and felt like our room opened to the beach outside. It was that close. We had breakfast at the restaurant every day and the food was fantastic. We did a buffet on one day which was also very good. The staff and everyone in the hotel were polite and helpful.
We also did a spa session which was extremely relaxing. The women who worked there were extremely professional and we both loved our massages. It is a little pricey but you can expect that from a high end resort.
There were a couple of small things that we didn’t like but not enough to drop a star. One of the pillows in our first room had some dust on it which was pretty evident. Second would be mandatory valet parking or find street parking on your own. This is actually not a negative as valet parking at $ 24 is a positive and it is pretty easy to find street parking here. I have been paying upwards of $ 40 self parking in most marriotts.
On the whole, I loved my experience here and will definitely be back here when I visit San Diego again.
Keep up the good work!

I would not stay here if I were you (and I hate saying that). There are many reasons for my statement. Here we go:
The room was supposed to be ready at 2pm, we got there at 2:30, it wasn’t ready (not a huge deal but a tad frustrating).
Front desk person offered us a round of drinks while the room is being prepared and would call the cell when it’s ready, cool!!! Not too shabby at all… but wait…
We go to the bar to get drinks and sit on the patio to relax and were told we cannot sit outside because of a private event. After 4 – 7 minutes of being inside and wishing we were outside I noticed the pool out to the right and asked if we could sit there, the server acted as if I was asking for a secret code for weapons. «Hold on, let me ask my boss, don’t go out»
A manager says we can go by the pool. So we sit by the pool and finally at 3:30 still no call to my cell, I went inside and ask the front desk if the room is ready yet, OF COURSE IT IS, why didn’t they call? She says… «You have a great room with a great view and that’s why it took so long».
Now we’re excited. A great room, great view, wow, here we go, lets relax… NOPE! Horrible view, I’m not joking, it was terrible. It was supposed to be «ocean view»…to see the ocean, you had to walk onto the balcony and turn right. I called the front desk, nobody answered 3 different times.
Finally we said to each other, lets go, this is not good at all. So we went downstairs, gave the keys back, got our car from the VERY VERY nice valet guy and went to the Marriott Marquis who were incredible. I’ve called Pier South the past two days to make sure I don’t get charged and not once has the phone been answered. We’re not mad at all, maybe they had a bad day, maybe it was bad luck, who knows. They seem to be very lost.

The noise here is ridiculous. You hear every little movement from the people above you and to the side of you. 7:00 AM and the cleaning crew move their equipment around outside the rooms and it sounds like a battle scene from Apocalypse Now. Seriously, if someone to the side of you or above you opens and closes a door, it sounds like the Battle of Normandy beach scene from Saving Private Ryan. If you want to sleep in, sorry, loud noises will make you instantly wake up. Not to mention that the cleaning crew likes to talk up a storm outside my room like my window is the office water cooler. Now I would not really complain about them talking but the placement of the bed is right next to the window so you can hear everything they say. I tried to take a nap at 3:00 PM but kept waking up to the sound of Full Metal Jacket bangs constantly.
I tried to ask to upgrade the room but everything was booked up so there was nothing available. I tried to ask for a late checkout but since everything was booked I was denied that opportunity. The hotel itself is nice. There is a nice lobby and the room smells like fresh paint. However, you can the place is still new as there are some things in the room that were not finished. I was in room 103, the lights on the ceiling of the living room had no fixtures, there was just a hole in the ceiling with a light bulb in there. The toilet seat in the bathroom was not screwed in correctly so when I would sit on it the toilet seat would slide off. The toilet paper holder was not screwed in right to the wall so when I grabbed the toilet paper the whole fixture just fell off the wall.
When I asked for an upgrade and was quickly denied, the lady at the front desk assured me the room was nice and with a great view of the beach. When I stepped onto the balcony to look at this view of the «beach», I think she meant parking lot, because that was my view. I got the view of the parking lot and a basketball court. Since the NBA season is over I guess I got my basketball fix. I think my stay would have been a lot nice if I had a better room. The first floor rooms are not great, so try to avoid that if you can.
On to the good things. The hotel is nice looking. The look and décor are a lot nicer than most beach hotels I have been to. It is right on the beach. The spa is absolutely wonderful. The people there are extremely nice and my wife said her massage was one of the best massages she has ever had.
I wanted to take my wife to a nice hotel on the beach before we had our baby. I had booked a hotel in the gaslamp which I cancelled to try this one out. I regret my decision. Instead of a nice quiet getaway we got the opposite of that. I hate giving 2 star reviews but my wife was not very relaxed and that was the whole point of our stay.

During my stay I had the two queen suite with separate rooms and beach front view. Rooms here are very spacious and made to accommodate a family if need be. check-​in went smoothly, as I checked in I was given a couple vouchers to use during my stay. Found that to be a very nice gesture and will come back in a heart beat. Actually I’ve already booked my stay to return next month and I’m looking forward to it. No need to go out looking for surf boards because the hotel has no problem with supplying you with one.

I was debating between 1 to 2 stars but landed on 2 because it is a gorgeous hotel with a beautiful view.
So my husband decided to splurge on a one night stay for us and our 5 month old baby, and his parents who are visiting from out of state. He thought this was totally my kind of hotel. And when I looked it up online, it definitely was. Modern, new, and hip!
We pull up and it was right on the beach. The hotel looks fabulous and I’m ready to start our little weekend getaway. We had two rooms with a request for a crib in one room. When we checked in, they had no notes of a crib request. No problem, they’re going to take care of it.
Our room is spacious, beautiful, and had a fabulous view of the beach and pool.
Now onto the bad stuff… please keep in mind that the room rate is $ 665.90 (includes tax, but does not include the parking).
1. Keurig machine in my in-law’s room did not work. Well, it worked for the first glass. Yes, glass cause there were no mugs in the room! The machine broke down after that and did not work. My room had one mug. They called for coffee mugs, were promised coffee mugs, but never showed up. It’s standard — should be 2 coffee mugs per room.
2. Our crib never showed up. Unfortunately by the time I came up from dinner, my baby was asleep. She’s teething and I was not about to ask them again to bring up a crib with the possibility of waking her up.
3. I noticed from the confirmation that breakfast was included with our rate. No one mentioned breakfast when we checked in. So I asked my husband to call and yes, it is included. They will send our vouchers to the restaurant. By the time our bill came, the vouchers were still MIA. Luckily our waiter was kind enough to track down the vouchers himself. I wrote up a separate review for the restaurant in the hotel — Sea180 (5 stars from me). Great service and food from the restaurant.
4. The pool is open at 8am on Saturday. We were down there probably around 10am. Note: this is July… middle of summer and 2 hours after the pool has opened… their towel station is empty (actually closed). I went in the pool with the baby. After being in there for a few minutes, I realized it was too cold for the baby afterall (even though it’s a heated pool). I ask my husband to go track down some towels. He had to go to the front desk since there was no one around. They are OUT OF TOWELS! They must have been out from the day before because the pool was empty except for one other family (who were also towel-​less). And we had breakfast next to the pool and it was empty the entire time. How do you charge $ 600+ per night and not have beach towels in the summer when you are a beachfront hotel?! My husband was reluctantly told that they would bring him out some towels… which never came (we gave them time because we even took a walk down to the ocean). I ran up to our room and took down bath robes and the few towels we had in our room. (FYI– the pool area is very small and without any umbrellas or shade.)
I would say some of these things are minor, but not for $ 600+ per night. This was more expensive than many exclusive hotels along the southern California coast. It’s all in the details and that’s what the hotel was missing. All in we spent about $ 1800-​$ 1900 in less than 24 hours at the hotel (check in is at 4pm and check out is at 11am). That is a lot of money no matter how you look at it. The hotel left me disappointed with a big hole in my pocket.

My husband and I stayed here for a long weekend of our babymoon. The weather was pretty chilly so we didn’t get to use the pool. They say its heated but it definitely does not feel that way. Checking in was really easy and the staff was really friendly. They offer valet at about $ 25/​day but we opted to find our own parking and were able to do that every night extremely easily so I would definitely recommend doing that rather than paying for parking — its just not worth it at all.
We had a 1 bedroom ocean view suite which was really nice. The balcony had an awesome view of the pier, pool and ocean with seats and a table outside. The living space was great with plenty of room for the 2 of us. I would recommend some throw pillows for the couch for a little added comfort. The room and the bedroom were great. The decorations were modern and everything was really nice. Outlets were plentiful in the room so we never felt like we were struggling to find a place to charge our electronics. The bathroom was a great size and the vanity mirror is huge. I just wasn’t a huge fan of the shower head. It had a couple of different settings but never felt like a great rush of water was coming out of them.
Housekeeping needs some serious help though. It felt like our room never got cleaned unless we phoned in and asked them to do it. We could be gone all day and came back to our room having not been cleaned. When it was cleaned they did a bit of a half ass job on it and didn’t really tidy up all the way. That was disappointing.
I had requested extra pillows in my room upon check in but they weren’t there. When I called over to the front desk they brought them over very quickly.
The restaurant downstairs offers a partial menu for room service but at a mark up price of about an extra $ 2 per dish. Your better off just going down and ordering it to go and being able to enjoy the full menu.
The 5^th floor is a great sun deck with couches, heating lamps and terrific views of San Diego and Mexico.
As far as people saying the hotel is ghetto or in a ghetto area, I didn’t find that to be the case at all. I found Imperial Beach to be a quiet sleepy town and was actually really cute. Yes there is a park next door and during the afternoon on weekends we saw a birthday party and a baby shower but I didn’t find it to be noisy, sketchy or unnerving in the least bit. I mean its a quiet neighborhood and people live here and enjoy the parks — get over it.

We just stayed here for the 2^nd time and would recommend it to everyone! The staff is very accommodating and friendly, the view is amazing, and the hotel is clean and very well kept. We had a voucher for 2 free breakfasts and they honored it for room service since it was Easter and we didn’t want to wait until 10am to eat. We had to run down to the front desk a couple times for things and they remained professional and friendly (even though I’m sure they were tired of seeing my husband!).
Overall, I think it’s a great place to stay. Obviously there can be people outside the resort who can be loud or obnoxious but that’s anywhere. If you’re into the beach and being able to sit on a balcony and watch the waves and people surf, then this is for you!