stayed late october 2005 as part of family tour (2adults, 2 children) of southern california - booked via best western but paid highest room rates ($140/night if you add the PARKING charge) of our tour for smallest rooms!
rooms are too small as family rooms with little storage for more than weekend luggage for a family and tiny bathroom with only shower facility.
also breakfast seating area very limited.

The location is fine - only a few easily walkable blocks from the center of the Gaslamp area. The breakfast was good (contrary to what I've previously read here)-eggs, bacon, homefries, muffins - and if it's nice, you can sit outside. The bathroom was nicely redone recently it seemed. The weather when we were there was heavenly. The staff was very courteous.

A few negatives - our room while not large was very comfortable, but the carpet needed some serious cleaning. I resented the fact that the hotel jacked the room rates up for the time I was there for a big conference (and at those rates, not a good value). I also resented paying the parking fee when the lot was mostly empty (most of the time we were there.) The hotel is near a busy intersection, but in all fairness, as a former New Yorker, I found all of downtown San Diego very noisy, lots of construction everywhere and trucks, etc. Also, SD has a substantial homeless population and lots of flop-house hotels scattered around. The traffic in the city is not bad, but outside the roads are constantly congested.

We spent 3 days here beginning of November. I'm afraid I was a bit disappointed. The website gives you the impression it is a "luxury inn", but it's really just a nice little motel. You could hear the people talking in the next room, which always disappoints me. The furnishings were very ordinary - the pictures on the website aren't really indicative of what you get. But as long as you don't expect too much, just want a place to spend the night, it's fine. I wouldn't stay there again though. It was our first trip to San Diego, but I realize now that there would have been better locations to be at. The gardens and gazebo provided a nice view of San Diego. I paid $83 per night - but I wouldn't pay more for what I got there.

The positives: good price. Decent location: it's a slightly long walk to the retail area of San Diego, but not bad (uphill on the way back though). If you're infirm, it'd be too long a walk but if you're in shape it's no problem. The motel is practically across the street from where the San Diego Symphony plays, if you want to go hear them.

My room was decent sized and reasonably quiet.

The quality of the help at the desk was excellent.

The breakfasts were your basic small buffet but with some hot food; I was satisfied. Nothing great but enough to start the day.


The negatives: parking is not really quite adequate. If you're the last person to check in you might not get a parking space ... actually I did get a space, but only because the front desk person let me park in the handicapped parking space (because no one was using it). Even then the parking lot is a tight squeeze -- if you've got a large vehicle, you'll need to gingerly edge in and out. There is street parking nearby (but with parking meters which become active during the daytime) and commercial parking lots a block or two away, but that'd be a real hassle and extra expense.

Bonus: the Garden Inn lives up to its name. Walk up the stairs to the roof, and there's a sort of balcony and gazebo there, with potted plants all around. The view is mainly of the somewhat gritty immediate neighborhood but it's still quite relaxing to enjoy a cool San Diego evening up there. And you can see a little of the ocean from there.