I recently spent two nights at the Andaz San Diego for a business meeting, and I found the hotel to be a fun escape from the typical business hotel.

Arrival was relatively painless with the valets promptly greeting me and taking my car (note: my meeting had negotiated a lower valet rate; the normal rate is absurd). Check-in was prompt, but I was a little irritated that the staff couldn't seem to locate a rather large demonstration kit I had shipped to the hotel in advance. After waiting in the lobby for about 15 minutes, they offered to deliver it to my room. After an hour, security called to tell me they were still looking for it (not sure how it could go missing - it was huge!).

The hallways are bright, yet a bit narrow. One great plus is there are no ice machines, but rather freezers with pre-dispensed baggies of ice - no noise in the halls! The room itself is modern and tastefully decorated, although pretty small. My room had an interior view, so I basically looked right into the room on the other side of the building; so, I had to keep the shades drawn the whole time. The queen bed was comfortable, and the flat-screen above the desk was nice considering it got a relatively expanded amount of stations compared to most hotels. The bathroom had a nice walk-in shower and glass-topped vanity. Best perk - complimentary soft drinks, juices, waters, and three snacks per day.

The rooftop is gorgeous. Our group had dinner poolside the first evening, and the view is incredible. After our dinner, we stayed for drinks on what turned out to be one of the quieter nights at the rooftop. Service was fine, and the drinks were pricey as expected. When we returned on a Thursday night to the rooftop, we were told we had to go back to the front desk for an armband - even though we were staying in the hotel. The lobby was packed and noisy, but the hotel does provide quicker service to the rooftop for hotel guests.

Net, don't expect to stay here to relax or do business - it's primarily here for the rooftop bar, which is great. While I would return, it would probably be for a different kind of trip rather than a business meeting.