Doubletree by Hilton Hotel San Diego Downtown

So far, I’m not impressed. I stay almost exclusively at Hilton portfolio brand properties of which Doubletree is one. Typically, Doubletrees are consistently comfortable, modern and fairly flawless places to stay. I’m a HHonors highest loyalty category member and generally have really nice HHonors experiences no matter where I am in the world or what type of property I am staying in. I just checked in here today and so far, this one is not quite up to par. In general, while the lobby is kind of hip and modern, the rest of the hotel seems to be kind of dingy, dark and dated. My room has some outlandishly looking colonial era style striped wallpaper and the room doors look like they are vintage 1960’s dark wood veneer. The biggest issue for me though was the screw up at check in. I took advantage of the electronic pre-​check in process that HHonors has. This allows me to pick my room in advance and just grab my room key upon arrival. when I arrived, I was given the room key for a room number that I thought was not mine. (I prechecked in to a room on floor 20 but was given the same room on check in on floor 22). I questioned it but was told it was my room so I figured that the hotel knew what it was doing. Once at the room, my keys would not allow me to enter. Back down to the desk and the front desk burns me 2 new keys to the room. I go back up and promptly open the door to an occupied room where some poor guy is sitting in it. I think I scared the hell out of him. It certainly scared the hell out of me. I apologized and went back down and told the front desk what happened and they looked in the computer and verified that indeed they had somehow transposed my room to the wrong floor. They burned me new keys for my real room and that was the end of it. The part that bugs me was that I don’t think it was handled as well as it could have been. I did not receive much more than a «sorry, it happens sometimes» comment and the poor bugger in the room that I barged in on I’m sure did not get an apology at all from anyone except me. That was a total screw up on the part of the hotel and I think it deserved a bit more than what I got. I will say that the people that work here are courteous and friendly but I think the place needs an update and their check in process needs some safeguards.

The room is great, cookies are a nice touch and everything is on par for a Hilton branded property except the experience I had at the lounge. The bartender was almost non existent and when I ordered a couple of cocktails to end the night, I was shocked with a double shot in a drink meant that the price literally doubled. $ 32 for two well drinks seems s bit excessive even for a hotel bar. I would expect that on south beach, Miami or if I were drinking a high quality liquor.

Not impressed. What is the point of dry towels being placed in a mini fridge in the fitness room? Dry towels don’t chill. Moist towels chill.
And a $ 20/​night charge to have a mini fridge in your room… ridiculous.

It’s very convenient, smack in the middle of downtown but, never received certain things we requested from house keeping.
Room service was great, staff friendly

I love this hotel. As a flight attendant, I’m always excited when I get this layover. The location is very convenient. Walking distance to so much with breathtaking views. Even better, a balcony! Walk to little italy or the outdoor shopping mall. Safe area, people are always out walking. Can’t forget about thst yummy fresh cookie at check in! High rise hotel so you’re guaranteed a stellar view whichever floor you get placed on. I stayed on the 17^th and 15^th floor and let me tell you, I could sit out on the balcony for hours. They have a very nice outdoor pool as well! Free airport shuttle and close by. Highly recommended

I wasn’t terribly impressed. It was a loud hotel, we had to be moved after the first sleepless night… a lot of people roaming the halls at odd hours too.
A lamp and the phone in our first room didn’t even work. Getting a couple hypo-​allergenic pillows took an act of Congress.
The staff was not very friendly and if we didn’t have to be in town for a family wedding and need someplace central to most everything in downtown, I would have booked someplace a bit more quaint and relaxing.
Blah, blah, blah… probably won’t stay there again. You get the picture.

I came here to attend a seminar in a conference room, so I don’t have anything to say about the guest room accommodations. A couple things that just sort of grinded my gears though– there is no free parking. I feel like this should be validated if you stay or attend this location for an event. Luckily I found parking directly across the street that was 3 bucks cheaper for 3 hours MORE than the hotel lot.
The floors in the public bathrooms are so shiny that you can see the person on either side of you in their stall. I’m saying, it’s like an actual mirror, so that really creeped me out. I’d mattify them ASAP.
The last thing that just made me say UGH was the fact that they are cash only for purchases under 10 $ in their lobby store. I just wanted a candy bar and didn’t have any cash… how outdated is that, ya know? If everyone else is making it work, a Hilton hotel sure could too. Their vending machines are also cash only.
All in all, not impressed really. More things to aggravate than not. On the plus side, the hotel restaurant staff was very accommodating and so nice.

Old and outdated with a horrible parking garage. The entrance with no service. The garage is so small if you have anything other than a smart car your screwed.
I stay in Hilton brands every week (Diamond Member). This has to be the worst Doubletree I have stayed in. Nice staff though.

The room was nice and clean but the customer service was just a joke. Ivan and Paolo were absolutely helpful. However, two ladies at front desk were Js disrespectful and came off as if they Js hates their job. They treated us as if we were not as important as their other guest. They’re interaction was short and so cold. The lady who assisted us had an attitude the whole time we checked in. 30 mins I we received a noise complaint at 3 in the afternoon. Then told if they cont. to complain, we would have to leave. My issue with that is that what if someone’s complaint is sensitive that just the thumping of feet is annoying compared to a group of people running up and down the stairs?
I felt like I was not welcomed there. I paid the same about (or at least similar amount) to stay at this hotel yet my welcome and continuous customer service was as if I was a Burden to stay there. It Js so upsetting they they would favor certain guest than others.

I was extremely disappointed with my experience with this hotel. Check in with me and my wife at 1130 pm was tired they had my in a double bed room and on top of that the bed sheets were messy. Called to change room but they said they couldn’t and complained about the messy room and they said they would take care of it. Went for dinner and came back after a hour and still the room was not done and was to tired to wait for someone. Next day left the room and came back around 4pm and the room was still not cleaned yet. Charged me $ 25 a day for parking and a $ 50 charge I have no clue for yet but will dispute. The parking lot is extremely tight, and I believe the hotel staff is extremely understaffed and this is a major cause all these issues. Overall I will never stay at this hotel again. I have been to other double tree hotels and they are light years better then this one.
Only good thing was there cookies & location.

Just arrived to the Hilton after a long flight from Hawaii. The shuttle brought us to the hotel which was very convenient. Miguel at the front desk was awesome. He gave us warm cookies, ice water, and the number for Domino’s so we can order some dinner.
Miguel even has breakfast being delivered to our room in the morning for my husband who has an early flight out. The room is clean and the bathrooms are nice. We would definitely recommend this place even after a very short time here so far! Thanks Miguel!

I hate the hotels with a door in-​between the rooms and this hotel is one of them.
Lobby service is friendly and they kept filling coffee/​tea in the room.
There is no mini bar.
3am: 3 or 4 of the Comic Con staff came back to the hotel. Drunk, excited and shouting about which Playboy bunny landed the corner of their eyes. Their hormones were floating and exploding. They were talking about the playmate’s butt.
They start to bang the wall, shouting to each other.
One of the guy kept telling their friends” shhhhhhhh… be quiet, you can get me fired” But unfortunately, this guy is also drunk and he has no control over his friends.
I couldn’t hold my temper, so I shout it at them“Shut up and be quiet”. They were quiet for 2 minutes.
After I contacted the lobby/​security for more than 5 times, nothing happens.
4am: they were still partying.
5am: they fell asleep.
I brought a pack of brand-​new Sephora charcoal swap with me, it disappeared mysteriously on the 3^rd day. I am not so sure whether somebody stole it or flip the entire bottle under the furniture while cleaning the room or trow a brand new bottle away because they thought it’s trash. It’s gone and this is the first time that stuff were gone from my cosmetic bag in a hotel.
The hotel is near the highway and the airport, you don’t hear much air planes, but the noise of the highway is pretty annoying and it’s nonstop.
The bed is very soft and the pillows make you have a stiff neck because of it’s flatness. There is no support from the bed and the pillows.
The parking lot is a joke. 25 dollars a day, but you need to have skill to drive in and out. (not for new drivers) We witnessed a small car in front of us, crushed their back light when they try to make a turn. You have to back and forth and back and forth a few times to make a turn. The parking lot is only good if you have a Smart car.
The hotel location has a lot of one way traffic, so if you miss a turn, you will get on the high way immediately, then you have to make a huge turn to get back to the hotel.
The only good thing about the hotel is their location. This place is surrounded with nice bar and tasty Italian food.
I won’t recommend anyone to stay in this lousy hotel with noisy rooms, no security, shitty parking lot, disappearing cosmetic goodies and uncomfortable beds.

Stayed here during SD Comic-​con. I do like that they have a free airport shuttle. Makes things very convenient, especially if you don’t have a car. It’s right near Little Italy and is easily walkable to nice restaurants in the area.
The rooms and the facility was adequate. A very business-​like hotel with not too many frills but good enough if you need somewhere to lie your head at night.

I was really worried about this place after reading some of the reviews but I thought it was totally great. We actually got to check in at 10:30 in the morning and they gave us free extra breakfast that first day and also of course for the following day. They had mentioned that the room that they had in mind for us wasn’t ready yet and it had a view but if we wanted a different room we could check in a lot of earlier. We chose to check in a lot of earlier minus the view. The room was big, nice, clean and I thought it was perfectly fine. I was really worried everything would be rundown or something but actually I wouldn’t have noticed anything at all so I’m not sure why some of the other reviews were a bit worried. This is the first Doubletree that I’ve stayed at and I did see one in Los Angeles but I thought they were both great. I love the warm cookie upon check-​in and in the lobby there’s free coffee and free water. This one also had three computer stations and printers that you could use. There is also a small gift shop in the lobby. And they had a hot breakfast here in the restaurant. They also have a free shuttle that takes you to and from the airport.

I’ve stayed in about 4 other hotels in San Diego and this one is one of the best! Great rates, very good location (right in Little Italy, walking distance to restaurants and bars, AND I walked to the convention center… took about 15 min at a leisurely pace).
*Warm cookies and waterbottles on arrival
*Room is clean, spacious and has a balcony which was so nice to enjoy the sunset and the city
*Free shuttle to/​from airport
*Free wifi
*happy hour prices at the bar are so good ($ 4 for a strong martini!) and they have free chips and salsa
*Free coffee in the mornings
*expansive restaurant/​room service menu with reasonable prices
*friendly staff
*Business area in lobby with printers and office supplies
It was the perfect spot with everything we needed. Will definitely return again

Had a very nice stay here. My room was in the top most floor so it had very nice view of the downtown and the bay. I could even watch the sunset from the balcony. The complimentary cookies was a nice gesture during check-​in. We liked it so much that we asked for it the next day too.
Breakfast was good at the Ariana restaurant and I am glad they are open till 11am for breakfast.
It is very close to the airport, so you could hear the plane noise occasionally. I am very fond of airplanes so that wasn’t an issue for me though.

Short review: yuck
Long review: this place is not the shining showplace for the Doubletree Brand. It got off on the wrong foot when I asked the shuttle driver if the service ran 24 hours because I had a 6:45 flight and he told me there would be no way I could take the shuttle in the morning because I’d need to be at the airport at 4:00 am because security would take two hours minimum. Note to driver, it took all of seven minutes to go from the cab, through security to a comfy chair at my gate.
Now the hotel. It’s located right by an exit ramp off the freeway so it’s noisy. When you walk in, it looks kind of cool and boutique-​y, with nice glass décor and cool blue lights. But it has those pods for check in rather than a desk and I just don’t care for them. So seeing this, you think the hotel is trendy and up to date. Be prepared for a big case of «Nope!» Once you walk out of the lobby to the elevators, welcome to 1987. It’s like the set designer for «Golden Girls» decorated this place.
The from desk lady «upgraded» me to a suite and I would recommend anyone else think twice before accepting an upgrade because this was the worst hotel room I’ve stayed in in years. Many of the lights didn’t work, it was right by a housekeeping supply room and people were in and out all night. I maybe got four hours of sleep.
Then the shower was awful. There was a big jacuzzi tub in the bathroom and a shower head just sticking out of the ceiling. No surround or curtain so water went everywhere even though I tried to minimize splashing. The whole bathroom was wet and climbing in and out of that tub made me recall all those years I spent doing gymnastics (full disclosure, I never did gymnastics, but I did see the movie «Gymkata». Google it).
If they try to give you room 1401, it means they hate you.
Oh, and the fire alarm went off twice while I was there (all of 14 hours total) and both times they came on the loudspeaker and said «please disregard. A guest pulled the alarm by mistake». Why not just say it was a mistake and not try to place blame?
Ugh, never again.

I wasn’t quite sure what to think of this hotel. I made a reservation at this Doubletree (getting it mixed up with the Hazard Center Drive location just a few miles away that I had previously stayed at) and was not pleasantly surprised with my mishap.
First off, the parking entrance is like immediately off the freeway so be prepared. I checked in at around 5:30 and still had to wait 10 minutes as they checked to make sure my room was ready. That’s pretty late for a check-​in time, my room should definitely be ready by then. I hate elevators, so staying on the 22^nd floor was probably a mistake because I felt like the elevator was going to explode the higher up I got. However, I don’t much complaints on the room itself. The balcony and view was nice. The hotel is located pretty close to the ocean, and in cute Little Italy.
However, yet again I’ve had to ask for free breakfast vouchers because of the HHonors Diamond status.
The staff was all very nice and accommodating, but I could tell this hotel was not originally a Hilton affiliation. While my stay was not terrible in the slightest, I don’t think I’ll be returning.

Very god location right next to Balboa Park and Little Italy. They just updated their gym with new treadmills and other equipment. The rooms are clean and somewhat up to date. The front desk does a good job with check in.
This is not a boutique hotel or even a high end place to stay. It is comfortable and clean. I wouldn’t recommend eating in the hotel. There are just too many other great options in the area.
I have stayed here many times and I feel it is more than adequate for a business trip or a quick family vacation.

I booked the «1 King Two-​Story Suite» online pretty last minute, and I wasn’t expecting much because of the average reviews on Unilocal.I went with it because of the good location of the hotel. This place is walking distance to the Gaslamp bars and a few breweries.
The 1 King Two-​Story Suite on July 4^th costed $ 338, with the Unilocal 10% discount included. Parking overnight is $ 25. Kinda pricey for the hotel, but it was a holiday and the room was huge! We fit 13 people in there shhhh. There is 1 King bed and 1 pullout sofa bed. There are also 2 bathrooms so it’s perfect for groups.
We didn’t hear any airplanes fly by. The staff was super friendly and helpful. Although this hotel isn’t the newest/​most modern out there, I had an overall good experience and would stay here again to be downtown.
PS. There is a parking lot across the street for only $ 15/​night.