Booked through hotel's site directly and signed up to be " friends" of the Sofia" to receive announcements of offers, etc. At that time I read all of the reviews so I knew what to expect. Almost every review grades lower because of small room size, so this was not a surprise. I selected the smallest,least expensive room for 5 nights. When I checked in (4hrs early) I requested a room with a lot of natural light. Mary Ann was very friendly and she found me a front facing corner room so I had windows on two walls and was upgraded from a double bed room to a queen for bit less than I would have paid for the double. The room was clean. Yes water sprays out of the shower but it isn't much of a problem if you use your bathmat. The shower was roomy and had good spray. The bed and bedding were very comfortable. Closet was adequate. Large flat screened tv. The lobby was very comfortable and tastefully decorated. I had no trouble printing my boarding passes in the business center near the lobby. I peaked into the yoga place and people were using it. I received great directions and advice from desk staff and concierge. The mini fridge was great to keep the complimentary water bottles cold and i ended up heating up some delicious leftovers in the little microwave. I am a woman who stayed alone while attending a conference at the San Diego convention center. It was a pretty easy 15-20 min walk each way. Even as a single woman after dArk I felt safe walking the downtown and gas lamp areas because there were so many people around and many businesses still open. Some other reviewers said there were a lot of homeless--yes you'll see some, but my last conference was in San Francisco, and there are a lot more there--and sf's homeless approach you a lot more. Good shopping and eating very close by. The hotels own restaurant, Currant, (see separate review) definitely deserves your visit--ate here three times during my stay which is not something I usually do. The only very minor complaint was that after the first night, my in-room coffee was replaced as all decaf coffee. When I saw a maid later and asked for some regular, I was told the entire hotel was out of regular--and this remained true for the rest of my stay. A lovely coffee shop is just a few steps out of the lobby, but as someone who normally drinks a lot of coffee, it would have been nice to have some type of coupon or voucher for those of us who counted on in-room coffee as an amenity. However, I loved the cozy room (might have been less comfy if traveling with another person). Loved the lobby, the historical features of the building, the bed, location, and pretty much everything! Would definitely stay again. PS: I heard several people complaining about the cost to valet your car. There are cheaper public lots around for self valet. Also, I think it would have been a hassle to drive in the city. The city is very walkable and there are busses and cabs everywhere.

The renovated hotel is nice, but located very near the JAIL, bail bondsmen, etc. Extra costs: $30/day valet (plus tip) - cheapest choice for parking. Also mandatory $8 at checkout for amenities fee (2 bottles of water). Not coming back.

We bought a groupon for this hotel and used it to go to the Halloween party in the Gaslamp. We had a queen bed suite. It had a sitting room. It was a little small but big enough for our needs. The bathtub was not a full soak tub and our bedroom windows looked out onto brick. The sitting room windows were nice and large though and looked out onto the street. I read some reviews about the hotel being noisy, but it was completely quiet for us. The tv's were tiny (and not flatscreen) compared to what we have got in other hotels, but we didn't come to the room to watch tv. All in all I enjoyed our stay and thought we got a good deal. We also ate in the bar/restaurant and their buffalo burger was fabulous!

An excellent hotel if one is downtown San Diego, wants to be near the Gaslight district and the trolley line, and wants something other than the cookie cutter chain operations. Our room was small but had a large bathroom. Excellent bed, soaps, linen, towels were provided. However, the best attribute was the staff. Front desk and concierge was friendly and extremely helpful. Made recommendations for places to go, how to get there and generally acted like they wanted us to have a good time and enjoy their city.

Next time in San Diego, we're staying there.