I have stayed at the Golden West since 1980 whenever I traveled to San Diego. It definitely has its drawbacks, bedbugs are a very common feature in many SD hotels and certainly in the hostels, and scabies are there too, I might add. I have stayed at the Golden West for various lengths of time. It is located in the... more

The hotel has about 320 rooms. It is a single room occupancy hotel. In San Diego, this means it serves as one step above living on the sidewalk. Many residents of the Golden West are mental patients, ex-cons, other lost souls, who can't afford any place else. Most are on SSI, which covers their monthly RENT at the Golden West.--$500... more

I didn't actually stay at the Golden West. I visited a friend who lived there and brought him Thanksgiving dinner. The place is disgusting. The rooms are tiny, and there are cockroaches crawling on the walls. Good luck using the bathroom! It's communal. You have to share a shower with everyone who's on your floor. The manager requested my I.D.... more

Well, it was an experience I will not forget lightly. First off, the desk staff didn't seem to care that I even wanted to stay for several nights; almost as if they took it as a joke! After checking in, I noticed that the hotel must also be residential because they rent rooms at weekly and monthly rates. So, no... more

If you want to live among the homeless and the ones on welfare then you came to the right hotel. The customer service is just terrible and the manager will throw you out just so he can have a room to sell to the next person, and if he knows your from out of country, he will take your money... more

Prositutes, Cockroaches and crazy people. If you want a different variety of experience, go to the Golden West. Its cheap, but you get what you pay for. more