I was booked into this hotel as one of my staff was participating in a graduation on the USS Midway museum. It was only 1/2 mile from the Midway, thus within walking distance to the event.

The room was very good with a comfortable king bed & jacuzzi tub/shower.

The problem with this hotel, and all hotels on Pacific Hwy in downtown are the trains. We stayed in room 230 which is a corner room that faces the roadway. Even in this room which is as far as one could be from the tracks which are on the east side of the hotel, the train horns were very distrubing. It is a shame as the hotel is well taken care of and convenient-just noisy (all night long). Take ear plugs.

The parking garage is cramped for full sized vehicles. Take care in parking.

We stayed 6 nights in March to attend a convention. This was my 1st stay at a Hampton Inn and I did not know what to expect; some reviews from other people were not really good but I chose it anyway because of the very low price (hotels are very expensive downtown San Diego) and for those Hilton Honor's points.

I don't know if it's because we booked many nights (instead of a single pre-cruise night) or if it is because of our "Hilton Honours Silver status" or because we booked directly through their website months ahead, or simply because I asked for a quiet room ... but anyways we got what I think is one of their best rooms (402) with a pool / bay view!! (There are approx. only 12 of them I think so it’s normal that they keep them for their best customers). The 6 storey hotel is serviced by 3 elevators and includes a multi-level indoor garage ($10 / day). It is way more “civilized” than other budget hotel chains in my opinion.

What about the train?
Yes there are 2 tracks for the SD Trolley and 2 tracks for Amtrak / freight passing through the downtown area (not just behind this hotel!) Even expensive condos are located right beside those tracks and yes it may be very noisy especially if you end up with a room in the back of this hotel. Trolleys are frequent, short and not really noisy; freight trains / Amtrak are not frequent but much more noticeable and long. From our room we could hear them sometimes but it did not bother us. The hotel’s shape is like an “H” so you’d want to be in the half closer to the street.

Location?
Location is not a big factor since the Hampton Inn provides its guests with complimentary shuttle service anywhere downtown with a 24h notice or upon availability. A walk to the convention center would take approx. 25min. (8 min by car) Seaport village: 20 min walk; Cruise terminal & Maritime museum are almost across the street and Little Italy is right behind the hotel (nice restaurants).

Staff?
Very professional and they do go out of their way to please. I asked for a bottle of water for breakfast, I was given 3! I asked for a breakfast to go during the weekend ... and they found me one! Check-in and check-out were efficient, professional and staff was very pleasant. Every single employee is very nice and courteous: that’s Hilton’s signature right there!

Rooms?
I learned after a few days that one can ask for a mini fridge/microwave (I think it’s complimentary) but I did not really need them. The beds are very comfortable but the 4 pillows are small; I prefer big ones... Wired Internet connection is a true 100Mbps which is cool. Very nice room for a “budget” hotel and very clean. The black & white tiles in the bathrooms may not be eveyone’s taste however. I appreciated the desk and "pizza size" coffee table ;-) Talking about food, the free breakfast is pretty standard but I liked it.

Overall I was very happy with choosing this hotel over other ones in the same category. It’s very clean and we liked the décor. Can we say a “superior budget hotel”? I think this is truly the best value in this price category in downtown San Diego. I would not book through a discount website and risk ending up in the very back of the hotel though. I found this hotel, the staff and the price just perfect!

We picked this hotel because it was centrally located near the USMC Recruit Depot, Seaport Village and Balboa Park. Our 6th floor (top floor) room was on the north side of the hotel with a view of the train tracks. Our room was very clean and comfortable. The only problem was the close proximity to the train station. The trains sounded their horms as they arrived throughout the night, which kept waking us up. There was also a lot of airplane noise, as the hotel is close to San Diego airport.
If we visited this area of San Diegp again, we would probably stay at the Holiday Inn on the Bay, which is a couple of blocks closer to the bay and farther from the train station.

The Hampton Downtown is a great place to stay, not only for the value but the service is excellent. We are always skeptical when we read reviews and so that is why I decided that I needed to provide input on this hotel because we had a very positive experience. First of all, the hotel is a price value considering it is within walking distance to the cruise ships, restaurants, the ocean, etc etc. The rooms are very nice and well maintained. The staff is excellent. Their shuttle service is VERY accommodating and the breakfast buffet is "yummie". Not only did the staff go out of their way for us during our stay but they allowed us to store our luggage on our return from the cruise week. Our flight didn't leave San Diego until 6PM. We got off the cruise ship around 9:30 am and the hotel picked us up, stored our luggage while we toured San Diego for the day, and then drove us to the airport. We were very impressed and will DEFINITELY stay there again when we return to San Diego. P.S. Yes the train does come through the area but it really isn't as bad as some have reported in the reviews. We were on vacation and a little noise from a train wasn't going to bother us. The positive to this is that you can go all over San Diego from the train shuttle.