I usually stay at the Courtyard next door, but it was booked up so I tried the Holiday Inn Express. The hotel lobby was small, but the staff greeted me quickly and called me by my name. It went down hill from there. They put me on the third floor in the back (they said near the ocean, but you can't see or hear it from the hotel room) which seemed nice, but it caused some problems. First the hotel rooms are a little old. The bed was updated which was nice, but the carpet, couch and desk were all very worn. The wireless internet was very bad to the point where I had to try and use the free wireless from the city hall next door. I called down the front desk about this and they said there was nothing they could do. Very hard to VPN to the company servers when you have no access. I later determined that the Wi-Fi access point is far down the hallway so I must have been out of the range.

The hotel was quiet, but lots of kids running the halls at night was a problem until the front desk came up and told them to go to bed. A person at the breakfast bar in the morning said that she always has that problem here at this hotel. It seems to be more of a family hotel, than a business hotel (which isn't a problem per say, but it seems like things were a little out of hand).

I probably won't be staying here again if I can help it. The Courtyard next door is a better choice for business travelers.

The hotel does not enforce its non-smoking areas. Don't be surprised to find broken fixtures, air conditioners incapable of cooling the room, noise when you're trying to sleep, paper thin walls between the rooms (forget privacy), and housekeeping staff that is either incompetent or apathetic.

The management is, however, very good at apologizing. Apparently, it is a well honed skill.

Called several times as we had 3 adults and 2 children and we needed an extra bed or room which we were willing to pay for. Upon arrival they said they were sold out and could not do anything for us but managed to charge us extra for additional people in room. They found a rollaway that reeked of smoke and charged us an additional $10. Room had a view of a condemmed building. See photo. Staff was rude. Hotel did not appear to be sold out. Worth a few laughs.

This was a decent place to stay for the price, but if your looking for atmosphere and beachfront rooms, this is not the place. We have 5 in our family so its sometimes hard to find a place that you can sleep 5 in a room, so this place was good for that. The beach was about a 5 minute walk away and we went there often, but be warned, there is not much sand avaiable at high tide, but it was a pretty good surfing beach (no rocks and waves had decent shape).

It is about a half hour drive from downtown San Diego if there is only moderate traffic. We visited the zoo one day and Sea Port Village the next. I would avoid the freeways during rush hour however, or this time would double.

The room was big enough for the 5 of us and was clean (a must for my wife). The breakfast was ok (cereal, bagels, pastries, fruit, juices, eggs and potatoes, but the eggs went quick and you were often left waiting for the next batch. The pool and spa were adequate as well. The ice machine only worked on one level (out of 3). Staff was nice and helpful. Overall it was a good place to stay for our family and we would stay there again if it was the best price around.