Extended Stay America – San Diego – Fashion Valley

What a terrible experience at this hotel. When we got here, the room they gave us wasn’t clean. I mean, the sheets on the bed were tore off and thrown on the floor. It looked like the maid had quit mid-​clean. Then their was no apology offered for this blatant error. The front desk gave us a new room, which was horrible. The closet smells like cats were trapped inside for a week. It’s totally unusable and smells like ammonia. The breakfast consists of those terrible greasy muffins sealed in MRE packages, and we had to request water glasses to be put in the room. Then, 3 out of the 4 glasses they gave us were broken and leaked fluids. Why would anyone want to stay here? It’s a really disappointing and disgusting place. We paid almost $ 900 for a 5 day stay and really feel completely ripped off. Please don’t ever stay at this hotel!

So let me start by saying I am not a hotel expert. Now that we got that out of the way let’s begin our review!
We needed a hotel for the night since we were going down to watch the dodgers take on the padres. Seeing how this was a HUGE weekend, you obviously had to book early to save some money and get a room in the gaslamp part of SD. Well, with me booking 2 ½ weeks out from our visit, you can bet there was nothing available in or around gaslamp. So I shopped around and extended stay was the best price available. I was able to get a 2 queen non smoking room for only $ 145 out the door. While everything else close to Petco park was nearing 300 – 450 a night, I booked with extended stay.
When we first got here, I was greeted with a line of only 3 people to check in. Figured, «Cool!» This should be quick. The First person checking in took nearly 25 minutes to get her room. Apparently they had housekeeping cleaning her room at the time and it wouldn’t be available for another 15 – 20 minutes. It was 4:30pm!!! Check in is at 3! How is the room not ready? «Oh well, wasn’t my room», I figured. Next person only needed some plates… why was there a need to get in line for plates? Well now I’m up… guy that’s checking me in is trying to have small talk but at this point I’m pretty frustrating and just want my room key. He tells me I have a room with 2 beds non smoking. Not thinking of the fact that he told me 2 beds, I sign the contract, get my key, and shoot over to our room.
As soon as we walk into the door, we are greeted with the heaviest scent of cigarette smoke! Wtf! And not only that…2 beds…2 full size beds. I’m not sure what to do at this point. It’s already 5:15 and we need to hurry and go to the Dodgers game. I already heard the front desk mention they are sold out of rooms but why the hell am I paying for a room that isn’t mine? My friends and wife convince me to just let it go seeing how we weren’t even going to be in the room, but still. So already we have multiple issues and we still haven’t even settled in yet. Here’s our last one that really topped off our stay… while getting ready in the bathroom, under the counter… ROACHES! Omfg… Come on!!!
So going back remember… I am not a hotel expert. But seriously, this is probably the worst hotel experience I ever had. And I will NEVER book here again!

The worst, by a large margin. The room smelled like cat urine and had feces stains all over the carpet, and that’s just for starters. The toilet wouldn’t flush urine or fecal matter… at all. The shower was stopped up. The phone was completely dismantled. The window screens torn and ruined. Gouges and stains on every wall. The refrigerator was dented on the outside and smelled funny. The kitchen was tore up. Now, that’s not even mentioning that the cleaning crew left items from the previous occupants that include water bottles and, are you ready, pubic hairs on the toilet seat and shower curtain. Not even a couple of stragglers, but a bunch of them. In addition to the previously mentioned, a couple wall sockets didn’t have wall plate covers, so that perfect for families with toddlers or curious animals. Talk about a massive safety hazard. There were two dudes smoking weed in the stairwell by Room 268, which was our room conveniently. There were also a total of 7 visitors to their room that night, all night. Just a little creepy. In the continental United States, this was by far the worst hotel stay I’ve had. The only reason I went there was because they said it was pet friendly. The silver lining was I got a refund. I spoke with the manager after I sent a complaint to Extended Stay’s corporate website. She asked why I didn’t call to tell her about the issues. Would it have made a difference at 7 am, when I was trying to take a shit or a shower in a limited time frame? I’m addition, she was condescending. Ok, run a decent establishment then talk to me. Do yourself a favor, find somewhere else and just bite the bullet.

Little run down
Shower was dirty
Kind of noisy
But reasonably cheap
Nice location
Good customer service
Nice tvs
Kitchen could use an upgrade

Location was convenient. Staff was eager to help. Non-​smoking room was definitely a smoking room at one time. Asked for a different room but had the same result. Made the best of it by being out of the room as much as possible. A lot of the «guests» seemed as if they were residents. Steer away unless you like sketchy hotels.

This was my first experience with an Extended Stay and not knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised. We were booked here through insurance after our apartment flooded. Our room was clean and definitely met our needs with the kitchenette. But as expected, this is a no frills type of hotel. I really appreciated Arik, Ben and Sue making us feel comfortable and welcome while we were there. Anything that we needed, they were quick to assist us. The only concern that I had was the location of this hotel, (it is a little out of the way and tucked back behind some corporate office buildings) and the exterior corridors made me nervous so we only stayed 2 nights and ended up checking into a different hotel. The area itself was very quiet and is close to Fashion Valley Mall and a lot of eateries. The other guests were quiet as well. I have no complaints.

It’s unfortunate that a nice place in many ways is spoiled by stingy service. It’s in a safe, quiet part of town handy to the major highways, many stores and restaurants, and not far from the downtown area. The hotel is well-​maintained and clean with one exception noted below. Here is a list of things I found annoying:
1. They advertise free Wi-​Fi, but the connection is slow and inconsistent. I measured 0.78 Mbps download and 0.35 upload on
, which is far below standard these days (at Starbucks for example). The connection drops out frequently, interrupting on-​line sessions. I was frustrated trying to search for housing, get weather reports etc. So then they charge between $ 3 and $ 4 per day to upgrade to high-​speed internet. I felt gypped because they advertised free Wi-​Fi, but then wanted to charge for reasonable service. I don’t know if the high-​speed service is any more reliable than the (sub)standard service.
2. The cable television is low-​quality analog. The aspect ratio doesn’t fit the screen. There is a zoom adjustment that corrects the aspect ratio, but then the top of the picture is cut off.
3. The microwave oven was unclean (cheese melted & hardened on the bottom) when I moved in. When I reported it, they didn’t clean it. When my housekeeping day came, it was still not cleaned. I complained again and they finally sent someone to clean it.
4. They gave me 5 coat hangers for a 2-​week stay. I asked for more, but they stalled and said they couldn’t get more than maybe 1 or 2. I went to Target and bought hangers.
5. The silverware set they provided included no teaspoons, and the other utensils were fairly flimsy. I bought silverware at Target.
6. There was no stopper for the kitchen sink, and no dish towels. Another trip to the office to get those.
7. They provided one partial roll of toilet paper for a 2-​week stay. Another trip to the office to ask for toilet paper.
8. There is a fitted bedspread on the bed, but it’s too small for the mattress; so it looks sloppy even when the bed is made.
9. No kitchen towel racks or hooks.
Overall, I felt nickel-​and-​dimed on basic provisions and comforts.

Please for your own good, DO NOT SPEND YOUR HARD EARNED $$$ HERE!!! I am looking for a new apartment and was staying in room 114 for an EXTENDED STAY, which lasted from 8÷16−8÷31 and did not pay less than $ 106/​night. Room 114 barely looked like the pictures advertised, phone in the room did not work, the alarm clock started making a loud popping noise so I unplugged it, a light bulb burned out and I had to kill 3 large spiders in the room! Oh wait, it gets better; So I spend over $ 1,500 just to end up being FALSELY ACCUSED OF HAVING TOO MUCH FEMALE TRAFFIC AT NIGHT??? Because I’m a night owl and would go get food, so someone accused me of that BS! That it was they told me why they wouldn’t let me stay another day! When I asked to see video evidence of this, because there are 2 cameras that would CLEARLY SHOW me having FEMALES enter my room, the «manager» kept saying she has conference calls and wouldn’t talk to me! And then they charge my card ANOTHER $ 202??? I will be contacting the Corporate office, which probably won’t do much according to other reviews of this company. After this incident, I am happy I learned to never stay here again and that there are nicer rooms $ 50 cheaper if you just use
!!! Lastly, any of the reviews you see here with 3+ stars are probably for a wrong location and/​or paid reviews!

FILTHY DIRTY! BEYOND DISGUSTING!
Staff was very pleasant, so I am giving this one star. Beyond that we will NEVER AGAIN stay in an Extended Stay America. The first room that they gave us was dirty and the air conditioning didn’t work. The room was almost 90 degrees. Staff tried to tell us that they were booked and couldn’t move us to another room but we insisted. The second room was equally dirty but we decided to stick it out as the a/​c worked and we were tired after traveling all day. The free wi-​fi was worthless. There were stains on the carpet, black mold in the shower, and the refrigerator and stove top was filthy. The grounds are littered with cigarette butts and other debris and the exterior trash cans were overflowing with garbage. The «grab and go» breakfast consisted of coffee and some packages of oatmeal. There were no bowls or spoons for the oatmeal so I am unclear how I was going to «grab it and go». To obtain a coffee pot, dishes, etc. you have to «order» them from the front desk as they are not available in the room. I complained to corporate headquarters the next day, but so far haven’t heard back from anyone. It is obvious this establishment doesn’t care about the quality of their product or their guests. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND STAY AT ANOTHER MOTEL.

Where do I begin??? The place is disgusting. Mold growing in the bathrooms. The staff is horrible. The worst service I’ve ever received by far! I had planned on staying for more than 60 nights and when I arrived they’re were no dishes and utensils in the kitchen. When I called the front desk to ask about the issue she hang up! How rude is that? After being hung up on I go to the front desk to talk to her and she threatened to call the police… are you serious??? Someone is giving you business for 60 nights and that’s how you treat them??? On top of that she starts saying racists bigoted things. Stuff like «I don’t know where you are from but here in America we don’t talk like this» what the heck? I’m American. I serve and work for the U.S. Navy. I was so furious when I heard this. Please stay away from this place. I’m going to use this experience as an indication of service across the board for extended stay America (ESA)…I’m staying away from all of them!

I’m only giving this place two stars because the staff was really nice and friendly and the room did have a refrigerator with a microwave which helped greatly with preserving and reheating leftovers from dining out. but beyond that this was the worst hotel i have ever stayed in. upon arriving and checking into my non-​smoking room with two queen beds with my mom my room was all the way in the back of the hotel going through a dark hallway that wasn’t even dimly light but just dark i ended up having to change rooms because as a woman and knowing id be coming back to my hotel at night i didn’t feel safe with me and my mom in the location. the front desk was happy to oblige and change the room to the front facing area of the hotel. once inside the room there was a big stain on the carpet by the door and the room had full sized beds and not the queens that i had paid extra for. also long strands of hair were all inside the bathtub and on top of the toilet seat cover. now this hotel has this policy where you have to «upgrade» a.k.a pay extra to have a housekeeper clean you’re room daily or weekly but silly me i assumed it was supposed to be already clean upon initial arrival anyways not wanting to put a damper on anything i decided to go to bed and getting into bed the pillows smelled used and had a musty manly odor as if no one bothered to even change them. sigh okay still trying not to blow a gasket so i took the pillow case off and put a big t-​shirt of mine over
mom complained of her bed sheets having a urine odor. as soon as i close my eyes to go to sleep theres banging and pounding coming from the room above me that lasted for hours found out the hard way that the walls and ceilings here are thinner than 1 ply toilet paper so beware upon staying on the first floor. what was supposed to be a nice and relaxing vacation for me and my mom turned into a week long nightmare and not being able to leave or change hotels because the room was already booked and paid for months in advance and comic con being there the same week as our trip definitely did not help the situation either. will not ever stay at this hotel again

Okay service and free wifi.
**Bring your own blanket since their blankets are super thins you don’t want to be froze to death!

This isn’t my first stay at one of these hotels, but this place is the worst. Non-​smoking room smelled like a dirty ashtray. Bugs flying around in the room, but the worst part of it, is finding someone else’s clothes still in the cabinets. This place is gross and the room stinks!
In fairness, the front desk people are professional and courteous. After talking with the front desk, they may refund our money, but that hasn’t happened yet… but to get to the front desk, I had to leave a message with their answering service. At least they called us back.
Well, ended up running to Target and got 2 sets of sheets, as we weren’t going to sleep on theirs b/​c we now don’t trust they’re clean, some Fabreeze, which didn’t help in the long run, room still stunk, and towels, just to make sure…
All the pics were taken out of a single room…

I have never stayed at an extended stay and probably never will now. I firstly want to say that the young lady who helped me was incredibly professional and should be commended for her courteous approach. When I got to the room there were several animals perched inside the windows of three of the rooms next to me and one elderly woman passed out on her bed almost naked with curtains open and what looked like a crack pipe on the bed stand. There were also a few street like people lingering around the ace who evidently lived there. The room smelled of pot the bed was harder than a 2×4 and there was mould in the bathroom the only nice thing was the manner in which the front desk lady reimbursed my credit card and let me escape. Do not stay here!!!

Sharing so that others benefit from our terrible experience and avoid this place. We had booked during the winter break and prepaid for the trip. We had booked a «King Suite» so that we will get a kitchen to cook kids meals and have sufficient space. The room was very cramped and small and the kitchen was super tiny — someone was very creative with room photos.
The Kitchen was NOT stocked with any utensils or any required items like hand towels, dishwashing soap, dobie pad etc. After following up multiple times they gave us one pot and pan, and a few forks and spoon and blunt steak knives. No other utensils were provided. We didn’t get serving spoons or towels. When we asked for a can opener we got a rusty non working can opener.
They also did not provide the bed linen or pillows for the sofabed and we had to follow up multiple times about these items. The sofabed matteress was awful but there wasn’t much we could do at that point. Also two of the lamps in the room didn’t have bulbs in them. We had to follow up about these as well. They gave us the wrong Wifi code so we had to follow up about that as well. And each time the phone rang for several minutes before anyone picked up.
They advertised grab and go breakfast daily but we were able to get this on one day out of our 5 day trip. Rest of the days they said they were «out of stock». This is not ideal at all. Families travelling with kids please stay away.

Horrible…
I had to stay here for a full week. While I understand Extended Stays are not resorts, this place should be shut down by a health inspector.
— My room had fleas (it was a non-​pet room) and now my new apartment I’ve moved into has to get flea bombed.
— The floor in the room was damp and literally ruined any socks I wore or stained my feet black.
— The sink was missing a stopper and had large black clumps of hair visible… totally disgusting.
— None of the kitchen drawers closed properly.
— Every chair had rips in it and the main chair was completely destroyed by a dog chewing on the arms.
— The bed spread had massive rips across it.
And many many more issues… Hopefully we didn’t pick up bedbugs at this place also… I’ve stayed in many hotels and this was by far the absolute worst…

Oh my god this place is ghetto. I check in then they kept calling me to see if the room is okay and I didn’t know why! a couple hours later I went to the bathroom and oh my God the smell. I called the front desk and they say sorry were sold out call us tomorrow for another room, I call the next day and the ladies says sorry no one’s ever complain about the smell so you can just check out will refund your money! Huh? She also said we don’t have any other rooms and she was rude. they had nothing in the room, no pots, no pans & no dishwashing liquid or coffee cups! Crazy

Let me start off by saying that the lack of stars has very little to do with the quality of the room I «ended up in».
I made a reservation through
. Before I booked, I asked if the bathtubs have sloped backs for relaxing or square backs. I requested a smoking room and an early c/​in, around 1pm. After phoning the hotel to make the inquiries,
returned to the line and told me the hotel said the tubs have sloped backs, smoking rooms and early c/​in is okay.
I arrived around 1:15pm after an expected hard day and was behind one guest checking in. As I waited, the front desk person, Kristine, was coughing and gagging… yes, gagging… throughout the c/​in process. A fur ball perhaps? I didn’t know but it sounded nasty and I thought, «I hope whatever you have cannot be passed to others.» Continuing my wait I read a sign on a table, «Free breakfast between 6:30am and 9:30am». Breakfast!
Okay, my turn. After going through the typical c/​in process, the not so typical sounds of coughing and gagging, and looking and looking for a ready room, Kristine finally found one. Obviously they did not have a room designated for my reservation in advance of my arrival. Off to my room I went… ground floor at a stairwell where there was a floor ashtray and two 20 gallon trash cans with no lids. I entered the room, checked the water pressure and hot water in the shower. Checked good, but the tub did NOT have a sloped back! The TV checked good with an assortment of stations. I determined the room was okay, until… I sat on a corner of the bed and the whole bed nearly flipped over on top of me! At 170lbs I can still see my toes looking down from a standing position, and I did not pay $ 90 to have a BED rest on top of ME.
Back to the lobby and I found coughy gaggy taking care of guests. My turn again. After I told Kristine what happened, she began looking for another room for me. And looked… and looked… and finally, my patience depleted, I told her I was going to run errands while she finds me a room and will return in a while.
I returned two hours later, 3:15pm. Kristine was finishing with a guest. My turn, AGAIN. I approached the desk and she recognized me. SHE THEN PROCEEDED TO LOOK FOR A ROOM FOR ME! Luckily, I think for her AND for me, it took her only a few moments. Together we headed for the room to make sure it was okay. We walked out the lobby door when she said the room was above my first room. I muttered above my breath, «I guess the $ 90 rooms are at the stairwells.» She chuckled/​I did not. Another guest approached and told Kristine a cabinet door had fallen off the hinges, can it be taken care of. After a looooong silent pause when there should not have been one, she asked the guest if tomorrow would be okay. He agreed. He must have known Kristine by now.
We made it to the room, I checked it out and it was fine. Back down to the lobby, 3^rd time, to pick up a programmed key. Thank you/​see ya’.
Later, just nestling into the room, I found there were no ash trays. I phoned the desk and Kristine said she would be right over. I met her half-​way, figuring I would not get an ash tray before c/​out time the next day. She handed me a generous amount of… ONE…ash tray. If you are a smoker you would understand what I mean.
Night fell and I was definitely in for the night. Until I found a bulb missing from a lamp. Phoned the desk and a man answered. I guessed coughy gaggy decided to end it all or simply left for the day. I told the man I would pick up the bulb. He met me half-​way, no drama. TY/​good night.
Went to the lobby for breakfast at 7:15am where I found coughy gaggy at the desk. I scanned the breakfast bar: coffee, small assorted Quaker Oats bars, choice of instant Quaker Oats Oatmeal pkgs, small individually wrapped assorted muffins, pkgs of instant cocoa. Is this a joke? Am I on camera? I asked Kristine, «Is this the breakfast?» Her reply was plain, simple… cold: «You are correct.» The attitude of her words just hung in the air. No orange juice, no fruit, no kidding. A ‘continental breakfast would be more accurate but still a stretch.
The property overall; the motel was clean and well located. Close to freeways, shopping, markets, attractions and entertainment. The room was clean and quiet with a great A/​C. Kitchenette stocked for two with a sink, good fridge, two-​burner stove and a microwave. Good water pressure and temperature in shower. Good flat panel TV on a swivel to eat at counter or sit in a nice recliner.
The service: If you can avoid Kristine you should have a pleasant stay. She appears disorganized, untrained and lacks customer service skills. I wonder if management has performance standards. I wonder if that guest ever got his cabinet door fixed. I wonder if my dog really ran away when I was a child. NOT!

GPS glitch. .kept telling us we reached our destination when in fact you had to keep driving up the hill… destination will be on your right.
We reserved a king bed with a sofa sleeper. When we arrived, they told us that they did not have one available so they «upgraded» our room to a 2 queen size bedroom. I was not happy, I wanted my king size bed so that my husband and I can sleep with our baby with us. The guy at the front desk was really friendly and dealt with my anger appropriately. Kudos to him and his great customer service.
The room was clean, included a microwave, small kitchen (sink, stove, fridge, few cooking utensils), & the shower head had great water pressure compared to other hotels I’ve been to. My only complaints were: bed was too soft, no paper towels, sponge, dish rack, lotion, or shampoo. Usually other hotels provide these, but this hotel didn’t. =(At least our room had a sink, stove, and fridge.
To me, the location of the hotel was safe and very convenient. Near stores and about 15 minutes drive from SD zoo. Plus they offered free continental breakfast (coffee, fresh fruit, breakfast bars). For the price, overall a good deal.

I got a great deal for this extended stay hotel on Priceline. It’s worse than a regular hotel but better than a motel. Looks kinda new too, they probably remodeled it. Great if you are on a business trip with a rental car.
CLEANLINESS:
The shower, kitchen, and bed were all very clean.
QUITENESS:
Even though it’s located right off 163, noise isolation of the building was good. I didn’t hear the freeway noise as long as I kept the door closed.
AMENITIES:
No gym, no pool. But there is a small kitchen in the room (with a small stove, pots and pans, silverware, plates, etc), and the front desk had free breakfast every morning. It was all to-​go food, Quaker oatmeal snack bars, apple and oranges, Quaker instant cereals, muffins, and coffee. That’s all. And of course, free wifi, it’s 2013!