What was supposed to be a nice relaxing getaway to San Diego for the night turned into a disaster and every single thing that went wrong was due to the W. This was by far one of the worst hotel experiences I have ever had. As a frequent traveler, I take hotel stays very seriously and I have high expectations, especially for 4 and 5 star hotels which charge over $300/night. We should have known what we were in for when we arrived at the valet and there was nobody there. Finally after driving in circles around the property we spotted someone and flagged him down. Once inside the hotel, we thought it was decent, your typical hipster hotel ala the Standard or Viceroy hotels in LA. Since I have stayed at the W before in other cities I assumed we would have a pleasant stay. Wow was I wrong. We were told the rooms were not ready and we should sit in the "living room" and have a drink (it was after 3 oclock - check in time). We complied and waited for almost an hour. I finally had to go say something to the girl at the desk. She could care less as she just said "well sorry" and giggled. I was appalled. They didn't even TRY to offer us a cocktail or something to appease us. Finally a very rude man came up and handed us a key without an apology for the wait. Not even a word spoken other than "here." He didn't even have the decency to show us to the elevator. When we got in our room it reeked of smoke and the bedding was severly stained. We had a lovely view of a bum haven and noticed that the valet parks the cars in an uncovered, unsecured lot across the street.....for $26! The cocktail waitress told us that the in-house restaurant Rice and the rooftop bar Beach were the hot spots in the city and we should make plans to spend the evening in the hotel, so we did. We made reservations for 8:15 at Rice and set out for a walk around town (the only time during this trip without complaints....we were far away from the W). We came back to the hotel in hopes of getting ready for the evening. The shower was freezing cold. No hot water. We got ready and went to Rice. We were promptly seated though we had already order drinks in the lounge. We informed the hostess that we had ordered drinks so that she could alert the cocktail waitress. She never did and it took the poor waitress 20 minutes to locate us. We waited about 40 minutes from the time we were seated and never were approached by a waiter. I finally had to flag one down to REQUEST service. He was very apologetic and passed the blame onto the hostess. The food was so-so. Certainly nothing to rave about and most definitely nothing worth waiting 45 minutes for a waiter to serve us. After dinner we went up to the Beach bar. It was definitely NOT a hot scene. More remniscent of a high school kegger. We decided to call it a night. The next morning our bill was slipped under the door. Somehow on the bill was both our dinner charge and another charge for $133 from Rice. We had to call and haggle it out with the concierge. What a wake up call! We decided at that point to call our trip short and get out of there as soon as possible. Of course the valet took forever to retrieve our car...and we drove away from the W as fast as possible. I can say wholeheartedly that I will never stay at this hotel again and would never recommend it to friends. You'd probably have better luck at the Motel 6. I am so disappointed, I'd probably boycott the entire chain of W hotels.

I stayed in this hotel for a conference. I very much liked the hip, quirky decor and the bars were awesome, especially the outdoor bar that had sand over most of its area. It is definitely a hotel for the young and savvy. The staff was very nice and helpful. The lobby on the weekends definitely becomes party central, so be prepared!

I stayed at the W San Diego this week for a conference. I booked the conference late and was unable to get a hotel closer to the convention center, and had a choice of the W, the U.S.Grant, or the Wyndham Emerald Plaza (now Westin SD). Since I had Starwood rewards, I chose the W for its sophistication and trendiness. I was very pleased with the whole experience. The doorstaff were helpful with directions or hailing a cab. The front desk was cheerful when checking me in - even though I was an hour early, I was able to get into my room without any hassle or wait. The Whatever/Whenever concierge was great for dinner suggestions, even if it was just getting us a pizza delivered from the nearby Little Italy neighborhood. When the bar didn't have my partner's brand of cigarettes, they sent a doorman three blocks to the 7-11 to get them for her. Our room was clean and well-supplied every day. I would have liked to have a comfy chair, but there was a huge window seat that worked OK. Bed was luxurious, desk was huge, and there were plenty of hangers in the closet (one of my usual pet peeves). There was a chalkboard to leave messages or just draw on - it said Welcome to San Diego my first day, then changed to have a nice day, and have a great weekend - a nice touch.

One safety caveat - downtown San Diego seemed very safe for the most part, especially in the Gaslamp District and near the stadium. The immediate area around the W was also safe, but about two to three blocks east on B and C Street is the city jail/courthouse, with 24 hour bail bondsmen offices and some unsavory characters hanging around, including some homeless sleeping on the sidewalk. While we were not approached by anyone, we did step pretty quickly for the last couple blocks back from the Gaslamp Quarter. When I mentioned it to the doorman, he gave us a safer walking route to the Gaslamp area for the next night.

The hotel was perfect for a conference visit. Only a 10 minute walk to the Manchester Hyatt, Gaslamp district, maritime museum & harbor village.

The good...
The room was spotless and well appointed. I especially enjoyed the Bliss products provided.
- The hotel has many lounge areas, including a beach inspired outdoor bar/lounge. A pool area and great gym.
- The music was soothing and not the raging electro/techno some other W establishments pound on the speakers.

The not so good...
- The view was not great, I was facing south into a parking lot. - The concierge gave us an extra piece of luggage we discovered while at the airport!