Hillcrest Cleaners

— Prices are not as advertised
— Quality of dry cleaning is poor
— Buttons and zippers are left undone, which leaves wrinkles
— DC is done off-​site, so if they mess up you have to wait a while to get it re-​done
— A few staff members smoke so when you enter you smell it, which is unpleasant when I just spent so much $$ getting my clothes cleaned.

RUDE. I took in some dress pants to get the zipper fixed. They said they could have it fixed in a week and then asked if that was okay. I told them I was going out of town the following week and asked if they could have it done sooner. They asked when, and I replied «how about Wednesday?» The worker replied «well I guess I have no choice then…» in an extremely rude way. Based off first-​hand experience I do not recommend them.

I have been going to this dry cleaner place for a long time! They always take care of my clothing and are highly personable. Their prices are also very good. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad incident with them.

These guys have been cleaning my clothes and Doug alterations for a few years now and always do a great job. They are super nice and pretty fast turn around. They have altered my suits, hemmed pants, and repaired items. I have my shirts dry cleaned here on a weekly basis for work and they do a great job.

No complaints. I have had suits, silk dresses and shirts, and sweaters cleaned here and they always look great and are neatly sorted when I arrive to pick them up (on time). You do have to pre-​pay as a first time clinet — duh. How would that warrant one star? You want service for free when they don’t know you? After that, you’re good to pay either in advance or later on. I lost my slip last time when I’d pre-​paid, but they still quickly found my clothes and had recorded my pre-​payment. This will be my regular spot as long as I live nearby.

They ruined my suit and pants. This is why they’re so cheap. Also they kept denying it even after seeing my suit shriveled.

Warning to first time clients: You must pre-​pay for your laundry when you drop it off, but they only take cash or check. (Who uses checks anymore?)
I just moved Downtown and was looking for a regular cleaner so I specifically drove to this location based on Unilocal reviews. Imagine my surprise when I was expected to have cash on hand upon drop off. Owner/​clerk was not willing to make an exception. Wasted my time. Wasted my drive. Won’t be coming back.

In terms of dry cleaning needs this place is satisfactory; however, I would suggest looking elsewhere for alterations. I had a faulty zipper on a dress that they fixed, charged me for and ultimately got stuck again (said another way they didn’t fix it and made it worse.). I took the dress in again and the gentleman in charge of alterations was less than kind but ultimately said he would fix my dress if I sourced the proper zipper (at this point I should’ve just gone elsewhere). A week later, upon giving him the dress and the appropriate zipper he began to scold me that it was the wrong color. I said I was fine w it and he continued to treat me like an 11 year old. It was bizarre to say the least. I won’t be back but was treated poorly enough that I thought the experience merited a review.

the absolute best place to get any alterations done. i have taken over 30 garments to Arsen their tailor on site and he has worked MAGIC. I couldnt be happier with their services!

Great place to take your garments if you need your garments de-​grimed. The lady is really nice, asked if my pickup time was ok and even trusted my discount price I named from what I saw online without checking. I didn’t see any cleaning going on so I hope they actually clean your clothes and don’t just put them on a rack in a plastic bag and make it look like it’s being cleaned. Also nice parking spot literally right outside the door to run in and out to pick up/​drop off dry cleaning.

Terrible place! Dishonest and does poor work.
This place is close to my house otherwise I might have thought to looked on Unilocal first. MISTAKE. First thing they did that was bad was make my leather totally dull after a small stain removal, and he tried to change the price after the fact. The leather situation did not give me warm fuzzies… but in this same order he really scammed me. I dropped off 10 dry cleaning items …when I came to pick them up I was informed that I needed to sign off on waiver on the blouse because of some beading at the front although it was already under plastic as if it had been cleaned.
THis shirt was nothing intricate (Lucky brand) but I signed it and he said now he would need to clean it I could pick the others but he would need to clean that blouse Three days later I picked it up and came to find chemical burned holes on the arms (not a place with any beads, just regular fabric) and because of this waiver signature will have no responsibility. He takes only cash or checks and is pretty evasive. There are many other dry cleaners skip this one!

Here the cleaning service very much trusted place. Always my clothes come back well done and neatly. Better place better service better clothes come all the time from that of their service.
If asked how much of goodness-​just the answer great.

Only good things to say about this place… fast, reliable, good work. I have had several items dry cleaned. but what I am most happy about is the dress I had altered here, it looked professionally done at a fair price. I highly recommend them for any alterations and simple dry cleaning.

I came here after borrowing a dress from a friend for a wedding and I wanted to get it dry cleaned. I chose this place based on price and other Unilocal reviews. I was really happy with the results! The dress came out smelling and looking great and you can tell they care about the garments they receive. Also, the dry cleaning service they provided was a great price! The woman at the front desk was super nice and friendly too, which always helps.
The parking lot is really small but both times I’ve been I’ve managed to find parking. Also, it’s cash only.

Their cleaning services are good, the real reason to go here is for their tailor. I’ve been taking my clothes to him for years and he’s an expert. I’ve trusted him with some very special articles of clothing, vintage dresses, a dress from Africa that my sister got for me. He takes amazing care to get the tailoring perfect. His prices are reasonable. I can’t say enough good things about him.

Amazing!!! I hardly write reviews but the tailor definitely deserves recognition. I am more of a high end shopper so it’s hard for me to trust just anyone. From shirts to jackets everything has been done impeccably and just as if it was made to measure. Recently moved to north county but will make the drive down.

I came to this place in 2008 to get a bridesmaid dress altered. (He was highly recommended by a co-​worker in La Jolla.) I was so pleased with Alex’s workmanship and attention to detail, that I ended up bringing two more bridesmaid dresses for 2009 and 2010! (Yeah, I know.) The end results were exceptionally near perfection. With my petite size, I have to get almost everything altered. Today I dropped off three suits, leaving him with only 6 days to work on them — and he did not disappoint me. I trust his expertise and ability to bring forth high quality results. I live in North County, but will go to Hillcrest anytime I need any alterations done. I agree with other reviews, he is not cheap, but his work speaks a price I am willing to pay.

Cash only!
Always good service. Never lost or ruined anything.
And Alex the tailor is awesome. I’ve been to several around town and he’s my favorite. At 4’11″, I always have to get my pants shortened. He’s quick and they look great.

I don’t even understand why there are negative reviews for this place. They do a fine job and the onsite tailor twerks it out whenever we need something fixed or hemmed.
Perhaps people are put off by the language barrier and/​or cultural nuances, but deng, welcome to 2010 California.
Werk it out, people… oh and bring cash/​check because you are supposed to pay upfront.

I was referred to Hillcrest Cleaners by a friend who uses them often for tailoring. The owner is professional and precise and very friendly. When I took my first few pairs of pants in for tailoring, I had a pair with a ripped seam on the bottom… between trying on the pants for him to mark, he had taken the busted seam pair and mended them while I was there.
He handed them to me as I was leaving and I asked him how much, he said ‘gratis,’ thanks for coming in. The rest of my clothes were ready in days and fit beautifully. Excellent work!