I hate to criticize a budget hotel where the staff does try. Some things going well for this hotel:
a) convenient in/off the highway
b) friendly night staff
c) Holiday Inn cares about overall appearance.

But I wouldn't stay here again. I was there on business looking for a good deal convenient to the border. IF I came again, I think for just a few dollar more you can find much better places closer to downtown, which is only another ten minutes north. Maybe a boutique hotel or a comfort inn. This place is a bit sketchy. Some things you need to realize about this place:

a) not the best neighborhood. Street noise (sirens, catcalls) kept me up all night the first night. Second night I turned on the AC (which sounded like a freight train) - the noise helped drown out the
streetnoise so I could get some sleep.
b) latch was broken on the door, made me worry about security (but I had no incidents).
c) TV had terrible distortion which made it impossible to watch.
d) there's no place to eat in the neighborhood excpet a jack-in-the-box or the hotel restaurant (or a pizza place that delivers till 10). No real late-night room service.
e) no vending machines except for coke machine. So it was coca-cola for dinner.

The only saving grace is that the staff really is nice and friendly, and in my book that goes a long way - but this hotel just can't overcome its location.

Agree with the previous reviewer. Our family of 4 stayed here for 2 nights early April. We chose this hotel due to the reasonable rate and because it is part of the Holiday Inn chain (we have had consistently good experiences at Holiday Inns). The neighbourhood of National City is not great, it is definitely not a tourist destination, but the hotel is located within 10 mins walk to the convenient trolley car and there is a decent sized supermarket 3-5 mins walk from the hotel. There is also a Jack-in-the box fast food outlet at the back of the hotel. There is a small exercise room and an outdoor pool, as well as guest laundry facilities on two of the floors. Guest parking is provided free of charge, but it is not secure parking (open air out the back of the hotel). The service we received was fantastic. The staff were courteous, knowledgeable and they provided free warm cookies at the reception desk in the evening. We had the best hot chocolates in the hotel restaurant late in the evening one night and the staff even provided our two boys with a box of free popcorn as a treat. If we were to go back to San Diego in the future , I would try and book one of the other Holiday Inns situated in San Diego city by the water just to be closer to the attractions, but would be happy to stay here again.

The staff was very friendly. The parking was free and easy. The room was kept very clean and had a microwave and refrigerator. High speed wired internet access was free.
The location was incredibly convenient to I-5 and the trolley.
The hotel has all outdoor hallways, which gets pretty breezy on the upper floors.
The hotel has 10 floors which makes it one of the tallest buidings in National City. This makes it easy to find if you don't know your way around. You can see it from the highway easily. You can even pick it out from the Point Loma Light house across the bay because it stands out. It also affords a view of the bay from the upper floors.
The main problem with the place is that it is in National City. If you don't know San Diego, National City is immediately south of San Diego. It is not a tourist location. It is a poorer neighborhood, not pretty, not a place to stroll and find neat restaurants and shops.
If you need a clean room at a decent price and are not looking for a vacation-resort type of place, this works.

I've travelled to the San Diego area in September of the last two years and stayed here both times.

When i did my research, i had a hard time finding somewhere economical AND convenient in San Diego. Most hotels charged for parking, which was an added expense i didnt want. In addition, i planned on travelling a little bit (road trip to LA, local beaches, etc), so i wanted easy access to my car.

This hotel was PERFECT for me. I wasnt looking for luxury...i was looking for a home-base.

There was tons of safe, free parking. The on-ramp to I-5 was 300 ft away. The trolley, which took me to EVERYTHING downtown is about a 7 minute walk straight up the road. Once on the trolley, it was only a 10 minute trolley ride to the baseball park, gaslamp district, etc. The trolley goes all the way from mexico to qualcomm stadium (which was about a 45 minute trolley ride).

The room itself was clean and comfortable. The hotel restaurant served a decent breakfast too.

If you dont need luxury, but want a nice clean convenient place to stay, this is your hotel.