Balboa Park Hotel

No elevator, no breakfast, no parking. I paid $175 for night, I wish it was just $100. Restroom size can be compared to an airplane restroom.

I arrived at 6:15 pm. All the signs had a different name. The desk had a sign saying they were closed for the evening. One “employee ” was there but she couldn’t access the reservation/key system. She was surprised that I had not reserved through Air BnB. Since the desk was closed, I asked how I could get back in later in the evening . She said “they’ll send you a code”. After waiting a little while, I asked where their parking lot was. She said we don’t have parking. I walked out angrily and made a reservation at a normal, competent motel. I reserved and paid months in advance for a room in a normal hotel with parking. I deserve a full refund.

I liked that the rooms were simple and functional. Inside was really nice. The neighborhood was a little questionable and there is only on street parking available. Close to the airport

Parking in a nearby lot costs $40 per day. CVS, a Mexican food joint, and a coffee shop are within walking distance. Gaslamp area is also within walking distance.

The room was very small. No parking for customers. It was scary to leaymy car on the main street since we saw homeless people around the streets.

Very close to Balboa park made for a few quick trips, easy to drive to other popular areas nearby. Had a secure gate outside

We did NOT stay. They put us on the second floor. I told them my traveling companion was handicapped. There was NO ELEVATOR. We needed two separate beds. None available. The staff was very nice but they could not accommodate us.

Easy check in once we have the code. Nice and cozy room with very clean washroom. Parking outside is tricky but spots are easy to find.

Nice remodel and rooms setup. No chair in rooms. Street or public parking tough, but available. No on-site parking. Staff very helpful.

Overall it was a pretty good stay. The room and bathroom were clean. Not too many people on staff but the ones that were on are pretty helpful. The price is reasonable. The only con(s) for me is that there is no parking lot. Only street parking and most of it, you have to pay for. There are some free spots but they get taken quick or can be a bit of a walk to get to. And the neighborhood doesn't feel the safest. I feel it's good for a night, maybe 2 but not for anything longer and if you're on a budget. It was decent and there was more good than bad. Enough to appreciate

Hotel is located near Balboa park, staff was very kind and helpful. Bed was not super clean, the room was clean. The major downside is the noise, room walls are paper thin and you can hear everything and everyone.

I took pictures but there was gum smooshed on the side of the light fixture when we walked into our room. The bathroom body wash and shampoo was half used. There were bugs smooshed on the side of the wall in between the bed. It just did not look cleaned prior to coming in at all

Our room was not clean. I do not recommend this place. The bathroom was newly remodeled but other then that I would stay anywhere else.

This is a good budget-friendly hotel ONLY if you experience absolutely zero issues with the property your entire stay (unlikely). There is no on-site staff and the phone number provided to you doesn't actually work, so if there is an issue, you will never be able to get ahold of anyone. The first night we stayed here we came back from a night out around 1am and the batteries for the keypad that opened our room door apparently died. We were exhausted, buzzed, and locked out of our room and could not get ahold of anyone for an hour to let us in. The room our entire stay also REAKED of mold or sewage or something and our toilet seat has been melted on the top by what looked to be a curling iron or match. Ridiculous to have over 40 rooms in a "hotel" and not be able to pay someone minimum wage to man the front desk all day. This hotel is not worth the price. I would maybe pay $50 a night to stay here, but almost $200 is insane.

There’s no front desk to help with anything and the area around has a lot of homeless. At 3am I woke up to a massive fight outside my room that lasted a couple hours and wasn’t able to sleep. Also the shared bathrooms aren’t very clean.

Perfect stay! Contactless check in and out. Super clean, comfy bed, big shower. Very conveniently located, great price!

Great property really clean

The sound insulation is terrible, you can hear people literally walking around as you are trying to sleep. Although the room overall was okay cleanliness-wise, there was a huge yellow stain in my bed. Not the best feeling to be sleeping on a yellow stain.

Great property really clean

There was a smell in the room and it would not go away with anything. The lady came to check it out but the smell did not go away.

Booked this last minute for my weekend in San Diego. Cool historic building with a funky vibe close to Balboa Park. Hotel and room was very clean with modern amenities. Check in was kind of weird as there are no front desk staff on property and the hotel is locked and no one answers the phone so you have to wait for a code to get sent to you to get in the front door and room door. My room was pretty quiet but I could hear a lot of noise coming from rooms by the lobby. My biggest complaint is that there is no assigned parking. It’s all street parking which can be hard to find. Also there are a lot of homeless people littering the streets all around it so as a female traveling solo I stayed in my room after dark. My room was super cold and there were no extra blankets or bedding. Despite not having any staff on premises, I was able to communicate with them via Expedia and they quickly addressed my concerns and had someone bring me a space heater and blanket since there was no thermostat to adjust temperature in the room. Overall it was a decent value but I don’t tho k I’d stay there again due to the parking and unsafe space around the motel.

My room was wonderful! Little kitchenette, clean and modern. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Super easy to walk to Balboa Park and Little Italy. (About one mile for each). Only downfall was that water temp was not hot: lukewarm shower.

This review is specific to room 224. Keep in mind this is a boutique hotel and all the rooms are slightly different. I was traveling with my daughter and we had a queen and full bed in our room, along with a kitchenette and full bathroom. PROS - [ ] Location - close to really cool stuff - [ ] Room has cool amenities like a kitchenette with washable plates, a sink with a garbage disposal, tons of drawer space in the bathroom - [ ] Smart tv - [ ] Pretty room - [ ] No maid service until after the end of your stay (I prefer this) - [ ] Cost CONS - [ ] Location - in a neighborhood without designated parking; airport and working vehicle/street noise comes through the windows. Mostly neighborhood people here with a lot of sketchers walking around. - [ ] Rooms are small, no sitting area or side tables - [ ] Average water pressure (I’m spoiled) - [ ] No controllable AC. You get whatever temp the building is on and can only control an individual fan - [ ] Only 2 stories, but no elevator with an awkward (but cool looking) staircase. Our luggage was HEAVY so that sucked - [ ] Hard floors - easy to clean but wish there was a rug by the bed. Dirty feet in the bed is a no no. Bring slippers. - [ ] Uncomfortable beds - metal bed frames make a bit of noise and the memory foam is FIRM - [ ] Front desk is only there during working hours ADVICE - [ ] Bring slippers, your own pillows and a face mask and ear plugs - [ ] Being extra toilet paper unless you want to ask the front desk

The hotel is very central, 5 minutes from the San Diego Airport, and walking distance to Little Italy and downtown. This property doesn’t offer parking; however, there is plenty of street parking and paid parking in the area. Our room was small, but very clean and updated. Small functional bathroom, kitchenette with fridge, microwave, and sink. The ceiling fan came very handy for our June stay. Overall, a very good experience for the price.

Room was really small. You can hear planes landing nearly continuously.

This historic building has been updated and is really beautifully decorated. We strongly recommend reading the posting thoroughly as not all rooms have their own bathroom nor showering facilities, but rather, share with other guests. Fellow guests were respectful, the bed was very comfortable, and the check-in/check-out process was easy. The property is not staffed at all times but we did not have any issues with this. Great quick, easy overnight!

Room very small

A little sketch on the outside but our room was nice, modern, spacious studio style. The bed was not very comfortable, flat, hard but somewhere to sleep. Around the corner at night was a lot of homeless but they seemed to stick to their area. There is no a/c in the rooms but you do have a ceiling fan. We opened the windows to have more cool air come through at night. Overall it was a decent stay, staff was nice and felt safe.

My stay at Balboa Park was great! The only inconvenient thing is the walls are not sound proof and can easily hear other people from your room! Other than this my stay was great!

I booked a Deluxe Queen room for my wife and after checking in, found out it had a bunk bed instead of the Queen. Made it work, but wasn’t as romantic of a night as it could have been. Also, the room was hot; I couldn’t sleep with my wife on the bottom bunk, so I slept on top (closer to the fan).

Very clean and quiet. Efficient, well appointed rooms. Happy, kind, and helpful staff! We will return!

I stayed there less than three hours. The check in experience was absolutely terrible.I waited forty five minutes outside before anybody even responded to a text message. Follow up from customer service was even that much more problematic. I had booked a 5 day stay and I left in three hours.

I made multiple attempts to contact the property before my stay as I had questions about early check in and storing my bags before check in. The phone number did not work with multiple tries on multiple days. No answers to my emails. I called Expedia to cancel as I was not comfortable that anyone even existed. They will not refund my money. They send me an email asking how I was enjoying my stay even though I never checked in. Please do not waste your time and money.

Disorganized Check-In Process Ruined My First Night I arrived at the hotel past 11 PM, only to find that I had not received any check-in instructions for the virtual check-in process. I tried contacting the after-hours support line—no one answered. With no way to access the property, I had to rely on Expedia's chat support, which turned out to be equally unhelpful. I was passed between multiple agents for over an hour, standing outside the hotel late at night, with no resolution. The only "solution" offered was to book a different, significantly more expensive place for the night. Thankfully, I had rented a car and was able to find somewhere else to stay—parking in that area at night is a nightmare. The next day, I came back and was finally able to check in for the rest of my stay. I had to provide proof of my attempts to contact support (call logs, etc.) just to get the first night refunded—something that was initially denied. The rest of the stay was fine, but the first night’s ordeal was completely avoidable and extremely stressful. Having a real support person available after hours would have made a huge difference. Very disappointed in how poorly this was handled.

You need to really pay atention to the fact that you need to do a digital check-in before arriving, because if you don't when you arrive you will not be abke to check in. The front desk is only staffed for a limited time and the phone number for after hours doesn't work. If you are expecting a true hotel this is not where you want to be. I would say this is closer to an AirBnB of a room with and ensuite than a hotel based on the fact that there is basically no staff on site. The room is tiny, the bed is okay and if you end up like one of the other people we met in the lobby who locked herself out of her room with her phone in it, you are going to have to wait until 12:30pm to get help. On that note, as long as you know what you are getting into it is a place to sleep at a really low rate for San Diego.

The outside door code did not work and there was no staff at the desk. I could not get into the hotel for two nights straight. Other guests and I had to constantly call someone to allow us to enter the hotel.

Good location walkable distance to park or downtown but you will see some homeless throughout. Not so great service or clean. Expedia stated that check-in was at 3 PM, but I was only allowed to enter at 4 PM sharp. The first entry code didn’t work, so I had to wait. Some of the towels had makeup stains, and during my five-day stay, there was no cleaning service until checkout. There were no hotel-level services. The bed felt like a bunk bed with a plastic cover, and the sheets weren’t very clean. The paper towels in the attached kitchen were almost used up, but I gave up on asking for a new roll.

I was disappointed after having read reviews which, in my opinion, were misleading. While I understood that linens would not be changed daily, I expected the claim of “housekeeping provided” meant the bed would be made and the garbage emptied—neither was the case. I was asked (by email) for permission to enter the room to attend to a problem, but no one ever came. When the manager returned at the start of the week, she was extremely helpful and apologetic; she arranged to move us to a different room with usable (not threadbare) linens and less noise. If my review were only of the second room, it would be much higher. The hotel’s website should be updated to reflect what is and what is not available in the surrounding area.

There is literally no service. Check in was online, I never spoke to anyone. And upon arrival there was NO staff in the building. I could not contact anyone. The number listed for the hotel was a personal cell that “was not accepting calls” at the time. It sounds ridiculous, but I couldn’t find my room and there was no one I could reach out to ask for help. I went through the building several times and never found it. And again, there was NO staff on site to assist. I ended up giving up on finding the room, leaving and getting a room where I usually stay instead.

The hours listed online are confusing, but the place is staffed normal hours daily & the staff are very professional & so helpful. I called and the listed number, the facility called me back as I was still leaving a voicemail. So helpful, they offered to carry any luggage, provided directions to any needs. Polite & cheerful & an amazing place to stay for the option.

Good location

Bad area of town. Very small room with sink apart from bathroom. Limited staff time in lobby. Housekeeping rarely available. No amenities. Wifi unpredictable. Jets fly over day and night. Few things in close walking distance. Still changing over from Occidental Hotel. Very disappointing.

The hotel is very central, 5 minutes from the San Diego Airport, and walking distance to Little Italy and downtown. This property doesn’t offer parking; however, there is plenty of street parking and paid parking in the area. Our room was small, but very clean and updated. Small functional bathroom, kitchenette with fridge, microwave, and sink. The ceiling fan came very handy for our June stay. Overall, a very good experience for the price.

The room was Cramped,no sink in the bathroom,no stopper for the Kitchen sink you had to wash in.No table or drawers had to store clothes on the floor.Had mugs & a coffee maker but no coffee provided.The Hotel is next door to a homeless shelter & the area is seedy,its also on the flight path into the Airport with planes every 7mins.Handy for the Buses,the park and the Zoo and the staff were excellent. 3 stars No way!

The room is decent and clean, if tiny. Only saw staff once, the walls are paper thin, you can hear everything the other guests are doing or saying, and even the people outside. It has no dedicated parking and the area is riddled with clearly drugged homeless people.

The room was very clean and looked just like the pictures. Staff was very helpful and friendly. Fair amount of unhoused people in the area. Didn't have a car, so chose to not go out after dark. The hotel is in a great location for exploring Balboa Park, the zoo, Little Italy, Gaslamp District, and many other areas.

Parking in a nearby lot costs $40 per day. CVS, a Mexican food joint, and a coffee shop are within walking distance. Gaslamp area is also within walking distance.

Great location near Balboa. Street noise may be annoying to some.

Convenient to Little Italy

Great check in experience. Front staff was friendly and made the process easy. The room is exactly what you’d want for a quick night. Room and bathroom was clean. Area around property has many homeless folk so keep a vigilant eye.

No elevator, no breakfast, no parking. I paid $175 for night, I wish it was just $100. Restroom size can be compared to an airplane restroom.

This was a luxury hostel. Room was extremely small basically a bed. Not a hotel. No lobby no dining. The place seemed very clean and the housekeeper very friendly.