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Country Inns & Suites By Carlson: Traveler Reviews


Country Inns & Suites By Carlson
5975 Lusk Blvd, (Formerly Prime Hotel and Suites), San Diego, CA 92121-2781
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Traveler Reviews

80% Recommend
4.0 of 5 stars 49 reviews
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Country Inns & Suites By Carlson

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5 of 5 stars
bilter1 1 contribution
az
Mar 24, 2007 | Trip type: Business, Couples

My husband and I were on a business trip to San Diego March 23, 2007. Our hotel choices were Holiday Inn and Country Inn and Suites. Holiday Inn was $149/night and CIS was $139 plus breakfast. We decided on CIS since breakfast was included. We were very skeptic to order room service due to the lack of food we have received in previous hotels. To our amazement, the quality and amount of food we received for our dinner was fabulous. The prices were comparable to that of any restaurant...$9.25 for a 1/2 lb burger & onion rings. We also ordered a chicken quesadilla for $10 and boy was it filled with lots of chicken. No skimping on the room service food in this hotel. The free breakfast buffet included scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, muffins, fruit, bagels, waffle irons to make waffles with different syrups and fruits to top with. Orange and cranberry juice available along with cereals and milk. There is something and more than enough food for everyone. The rooms were immaculate and the service was great. AAA+++ will go again!! Beds were great & comfy..everything was sooo clean!!

  • Liked — cleanliness
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
  • Date of stay March 2007
  • Visit was for Business
  • Traveled with Spouse / significant other
  • Age group 35-49
  • Member since March 11, 2007
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for Tourists
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Business meeting / Event
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Average price*: $205 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
Good enough for us!

Country Inns & Suites By Carlson

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4 of 5 stars
amydkufan 7 contributions
Kansas City
Mar 24, 2007 | Trip type: Family
1/1 found this review helpful

We stayed here this past week for our family's spring break vacation. We traveled with two small children (ages 6 & 2) so we booked a two-room suite. While the rooms themselves weren't huge, it was perfect for our little family. We had a king bed in one room and a couch with a pull-out bed, perfect for the kiddos. The room was clean and the staff was polite and helpful. We booked through the hotel website with our AAA discount, so we got a pretty good rate. We also chose this location because we wanted some "quiet" and we got it! Mostly business travelers in this hotel, so by the time we got up and around, they were mostly gone from the property. Parking was free (yay!) and the hotel was easy to find (just off the 805 on Mira Mesa Blvd). We didn't have to drive far at all for any of the attractions we visited (Legoland, Sea World, the Zoo, Coronado Island, etc.) and actually enjoyed our little bit of "sight-seeing" as we traveled to each location. The traffic was no worse than we were used to in KC, but we purposely avoided the major brunt of rush hour by design of our schedule.

The best part of this hotel was the free breakfast. If you're into gourmet, home-cooked meals, then you shouldn't book here just for the breakfast. However, we're a "cereal and toast" family, so there was just the right amount of variety for everyone in our gang. Coffee, juice, milk and hot tea for drinks. Three cereals, bagels, bread/toast, make-your-own waffles, yogurt, fresh fruit and make-your-own oatmeal were staples. There were also three hot buffet-style offerings each day that we noticed were scrambled eggs (every day), a rotation of sausage links and bacon, and a third dish that rotated each day (we enjoyed pancakes, breakfast burritos, and cheese blintz).

The pool was decent sized, but we only dipped into it one night (way too cold during our visit!). It also had a hot tub just right for about 4 people. Plenty of deck chairs and adequate towels were other highlights.

The high-speed wi/fi throughout the hotel was great, too. We took our laptop with us so we could do on-the-fly research. Never had trouble connecting or with slow speeds.

We noticed the air conditioning unit was unusually loud, too, but we switched the fan to "on" instead of "auto" on the thermostat so the kick on/off wasn't so noticeable. We sleep with our exhaust fan on at home, so the white noise was welcome!

Down the road to the east about 2-3 miles were typical shopping areas with plenty of restaurants (Target, Mervyn's, Best Buy, Cold Stone Creamery, Souplantation, Buca di Beppo, Rubio's, On the Border, Red Lobster, to name a few). We ventured down there a few times for food and assorted sundries at the stores.

On the whole, we had a great time here. Clean, comfortable, and in a quiet location. Just right for our little family!

  • Liked — Great breakfast! Quiet location...
  • Disliked — Smallish rooms within two-room suite, but perfect size for our family!
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
    • 4 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
  • Date of stay March 2007
  • Visit was for Quality time with family
  • Traveled with Family with young children
  • Age group 25-34
  • Member since July 07, 2005
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for People with disabilities, Older travelers, Families with young children, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, Great pool scene
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Beach / Sun, Theme / Amusement park, Shopping
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Average price*: $205 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
excellent hotel overall

Country Inns & Suites By Carlson

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5 of 5 stars
5115 32 contributions
north vancouver, bc
Mar 17, 2007 | Trip type: Family

We just got back from a week at the Country Inn and found it to be an excellent hotel overall. They upgraded us to a suite (at no extra cost) which-although not huge-was quiet and pleasant. The king size bed was comfortable and the bathroom was large . We also got good use out of the included fridge and microwave in the suite. The breakfast was very good and offered a large selection ; everything from bacon and eggs to oatmeal and (freshly made) waffles. The fitness room is small but well-equipped and the pool was open when were there, and quite nice. (and we used the laundry room, which was a bit $$ but which was convenient)
Yes, our AC/fan unit was also quite loud but I wore ear plugs at nite (and thus rendered it into a white noise BG) The staff was helpful and nice (and the fresh cookies offered each evening a nice touch) And free (plentiful) parking is a perk, esp. in San Diego.
The hotel IS far from the "main drag" so if you want to be right where the action is, this might not be the place for you. We however, had a rental car (crucial if you stay here) and the drive didn't bother us (about 15-20 mins. into town)
A few tips: Skip Seaport Village unless you are into $$ kitsch (altho they do have a Crazy Shirt outlet which is great-and their cookie shop is excellent too) Beware the Mexican food there-it is overpriced and dreadful. Ditto the Acapulco Restaurant in Old Town and the restaurant across the street from the hotel . And if you see a "Living Room" bistro(they are all over the city) . stop in. Good food(esp the chocolate cake!) and coffees.

  • Liked — quiet location/good value for price
  • Disliked — loud AC/fans in bedrooms
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
    • 4 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
  • Date of stay March 2007
  • Visit was for Quality time with family
  • Traveled with Family with teenagers
  • Age group 35-49
  • Member since March 08, 2005
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
  • I recommend this hotel for People with disabilities, Older travelers, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Beach / Sun, Museums / Cultural / Historical sites, Other
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Check Rates
Average price*: $205 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
did not like it

Country Inns & Suites By Carlson

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1 of 5 stars
svince99 7 contributions
Ontario
Jan 5, 2007 | Trip type: Family
0/1 found this review helpful

We actually stayed there in Jan. 2007. We didn't like it so much that we checked out after one night and booked our last two nights at a Holiday Inn Express in San Diego Old Town.
I had booked the room online and it wasn't clear that there were no suites with 2 queen/double beds. We were given a very small suite (a separate bedroom with one King size bed and no room for anything else) and a pullout sofa in the sitting area. There were 2 adults and 2 kids. The other option we had was a single room with two queen beds, but we wanted a separate area for after the kids went to bed. As soon as we walked into our room the noise struck us from the heating/air conditioning unit. There's no way we could sit/sleep in the room with that on. I asked the front desk clerk if every unit was that noisy and she said yes, but let me check another room and it was the same. The ceiling vent was quite large (about 2 x 3') and the grate was covered in thick dust. It was disgusting. We turned the unit off and the front desk clerk sent up extra blankets for us (It was low 40s outside). Both of the drinking glasses put out in the room had large cracks in them (ready for the garbage, not for drinking). The wallpaper in the bathroom was pealing and there was a spot where the paint was pealing off the bathroom ceiling. Also a cobweb on the bathroomm ceiling. The common areas of the hotel were freezing! The pool was closed for renovations! When I told the clerk that we booked the hotel because they had a pool, she said that it was on their website that it would be closed (but I had booked months in advance and was never contacted to tell me this). I later looked on their web site and it was mentioned - not on the main page though - I had to go to the overview page to find it - also, it said the renovation would be from Dec. 13 - 22/06. We checked in Jan. 3/07. In the morning we were awakened by other showers running and then heard the t.v. in the room next to us. We stayed in 4 other hotels before this one on this trip and didn't hear either showers or t.v.s from any rooms. They did have complimentary internet access in the rooms and a very nice breakfast, and someone kind of evening reception, but these weren't enough to keep us there. We checked out after one night.

  • Liked — right off the highway, away from busy downtown streets
  • Disliked — cleanliness and closed pool and very small room
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 2 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 1 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 2 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
    • 4 of 5 stars Business service (e.g., internet access)
  • Date of stay December 2006
  • Visit was for Quality time with family
  • Traveled with Family with young children
  • Age group 35-49
  • Member since January 10, 2004
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? No
  • I recommend this hotel for People with disabilities, Older travelers, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
  • I do not recommend this hotel for Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, Older travelers, Great pool scene, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
  • I selected this hotel as a top choice for Theme / Amusement park
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Check Rates
Average price*: $205 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
Ok, but definitely over rated.

Country Inns & Suites By Carlson

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3 of 5 stars
old_motters 21 contributions
West Sussex, Great Britain
Jan 1, 2007 | Trip type: Couples
1/1 found this review helpful

I'm going to go against the grain with my review of this hotel. Having seen the tripadvisor reviews and ratings on this hotel I had high expectations of what to expect although that might have been the problem.

Our initial impressions of the hotel were favourable, the lobby area, breakfast room and bar area are all immaculate and well appointed. Check in was fast and smooth and the desk staff were very friendly. We got to our room and found that the pool area was being refurbished right under our window. They were due to stop that day for christmas but since we were booked for 10 days we changed rooms.

The rooms themselves are a good size and the decor is tolerable. What is not tolerable was the small jet engine in the corners of both rooms we entered, that was the air conditioning unit. It was enough to wake me regularly through the night even though I was wearning ear plugs. The bed was comfortable enough however.

The bathroom looked fine and for the most part was. The main problem was the shower, the water was tepid and the flow was very poor indeed. For me this is a fundamental point in a hotel bathroom is to provide a decent shower, which this did not. We mentioned the issue to the front desk, again very helpful and friendly, who said they would look into the issue. Apparently it was dealt with but not to a level my wife or I were satisfied with.

In the hotels favour the breakfast items offered are decent though. A couple of hot items are replenished regularly and there are waffle irons as well as some pastries and cereals.

Overall, the hotel does have some things in its favour; the very friendly hotel staff, the decent breakfast on offer, the free parking and the quiet location, free wireless and free cookies throught the day. However, the aircon unit and the poor shower were enough to mean we would cut our stay short and rebook at another hotel, it simply was too much for us to overlook.

  • Liked — The breakfast
  • Disliked — The shower and the aircon.
  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 1 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Check in / front desk
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
  • Date of stay December 2006
  • Visit was for Quality time with friends
  • Traveled with Spouse / significant other
  • Age group 25-34
  • Member since November 24, 2005
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? No
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Check Rates
Average price*: $205 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
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Country Inns & Suites By Carlson Also Known As

Address: 5975 Lusk Blvd, (Formerly Prime Hotel and Suites), San Diego, CA 92121-2781