The Lafayette Hotel, Swim Club & Bungalows

Very vibey, cool, party hotel! Very laid back staff, super busy bars and pool. We got early check in but no late check out. Woke up early to claim a chair by the pool. Didn’t have a kettle or coffee in my room. Food was great! Drinks so expensive but delish!

Property is beautiful. An old vintage, old money fashion with that touch of French you would expect with a name like “Lafayette”. Staff is super friendly and informative. You get a concierge line you can text for anything you may need during your stay. There is only vallet parking. But they are excellent with taking care of your vehicle. They don’t offer any shuttles services though but it’s about 20 mins ride from the San Diego international airport. The pool is fabulous and well kept. I stayed over the weekend and it doubles as a public space for people to come enjoy the bowling alley, restaurants (2) attached to it. There’s 4 bars in the hotel so that brings a lot of people too. It can get crowded because of that. However if you show your room key when returning from your day out, you’ll skip any line there might be of people trying to get it for the bars. Bathrooms come with a hair dryer, hand soap, lotion, shampoo, conditioner and body wash. There is a steamer you get in your room to use for your clothes. They work with you if you need to do a later checkout and will even hold your bags before you check in and after you check out, if you need to kill some time before your flight or to check in. They do offer a gym with free weights, row machine and treadmills/bikes. Highly recommend staying here.

Believe the hype! Such a great and eclectic place. Lived in San Diego 7 years over 3 different times and never heard of it. Came for work trip this most recent time and found it by chance based on reviews and affordability based on per diem rate. Staff were great too. Amenities top notch. Location near everything. Only reason for 4 instead of 5 stars was elevator was out and had to hike it up to 3rd floor all 4 days and water was out 1st morning due to city work outside and couldn’t take shower - not their fault but still…

i had previously been to the pool bar at the lafayette and since then have wanted to stay here. and i could not have made a better choice! we had a blast, went to Lou Lous, bowling, chilled at the pool, and never really had to leave the hotel. While on the pricer side, the charm and detail in each corner of this hotel makes it a truly magical and unique place. Will definitely stay here again, recommend 10/10.

The property is definitely worth a visit. It’s cool and funky, fun and energetic. I would caution that it’s not necessarily family friendly in that the pool is like that of the casino where a lot of people that are not staying there come to party loudly. The pool is very crowded. It’s a very hot spot to visit, which was not good for family. It wouldn’t be appropriate to have children Out there, especially on the weekends.

The hotel is super nice and pretty the only downsides are the fact that you can only access the front desk through text and the fact that the hotel gives soooo many day passes for the pool that the people staying at the hotel can never actually get a chair and it’s super crowded. We would come down for breakfast at 10:30 and the pool would be packed

Beautiful renovation and attention to detail. Very crowded on the weekends and not enough pool chairs for guests. Go during the week if you want a more relaxing time.

Honestly the coolest hotel I have been to. Gorgeous vintage and artistic aesthetic everywhere. Spectacular bar and pool area. Great food at the Quixote restaurant and diner on property. Really cool gym as well as a single bowling lane and pool tables in a separate bar. Art deco elegance in the Lou Lou nightclub.

Great, trendy hotel. The staff is very nice and attentive, however no daily housekeeping till your 3rd full day. They do have a Concierge that you can text and they will bring you fresh towels, ice, or take out the trash. The rooms and restaurants are beautifully decorated. This is however not a quiet place, its busy and full of excitement. If you are looking for a quiet place, definitely not the place, but if you want night life and fun this is your place. I personally liked it and loved the decor and the restaurant options located right on the property. The only drawback is the fight for space at the pool. I was a guest and had to get up quite early to secure my lounger, mind you i had a pool access room. The hotel also sells day passes to the pool, so the pool at times can get very crowded. They do their best to keep up with the demand and they do have pool side service, if not you are always welcomed to walk up to the poolside bar. The hotel has fantastic dining options, Beginners diner, Quixote, Lou lou's bar( for drinks), and the Gutter for some fun and entertainment. Great place overall, only drawback is the pool chaos.

It is very frustrating that paying guests aren’t able to use the pool due to all the day pass customers. Pool was always filled by 8:30 am

They don’t have a cleaning service for your room. They don’t make your beds however they will send you towels and take your trash. I found this inconvenient.

Service was horrible, no shower curtain water everywhere in the bathroom, no maid service Worst place we have ever stayed

The staff is doing the bare minimum, looks unprofessional, and the bathroom in the room smells like pee. When I asked the staff if they could clean it, they said they only refresh the room when you leave, so you will not have clean towels or sheets anytime soon. Super noisy. You can hear the jazz band playing in your room, and hear every conversation with your plug in your ears, courtesy of the hotel. The lame AC sounds too. Only you can sleep there while drunk. To check in or out is an adventure. The staff do not know or have ever seen what white glove treatment is; they do not believe in it, and they are too jealous to care. I went for the interior design, and that will never disappoint you. Another cool thing is the speakers in the room. No phone in the room. You need to use your phone to call or text them. They overcharge you in advance. You have to say WTH is this? Like I say, the staff have zero education of any type.

There is a lot to like about this hotel. The unique design and architecture, the attention to detail, multiple bars and restaurants, including an old-school diner and a bowling alley at one of the bars. The staff was great and I appreciated that they communicate through text. The front desk doubles as a small cafe with pretty good espresso drinks and fresh pastries. There’s a glass carafe in each room that they refill upon request (no plastic bottles!). The downside are the rooms. Our room, a petite king which faces the back road, had a very unpleasant musty smell that wouldn’t go away even after running both fans nonstop and having the window and door open whenever possible. The bed was quite uncomfortable with depressions on both sides. The windows are very old, sticky, barely functional. While all the unique design features are cool, it feels like the room only got a facelift, with mold hiding somewhere behind the pretty wallpaper or the carpet. The bathroom had been completely remodeled, but the shower has no door and the showerhead is not adjustable, which means water spraying out and the bathmat getting soaked after every shower and there’s nowhere to hang it to dry. The access to the room is awkward, going through narrow passages with planters in the way and water puddles that make it an obstacle course. It feels like going through a staff area, where guests are supposed to be. Overall a fun and cool hotel, but the rooms leave much to be desired.

The room smelled so fresh and clean when we opened the door.

Cool place but needs maintenance. Room was not vacuumed. Chipped paint all over the place. With a little improved management it can be iconic.

We had an excellent time at this hotel. So much to see and do without leaving. The only issue we had was that there wasn't hot water. The pool was not heated as well

Overall, quite a disappointment for numerous reasons... check in not super friendly nor welcoming. I always find this to be the first impression and therefore an opportunity to set expectations. Every encounter with front desk staff was a bit miserable unfortunately. Most encounters with all of the restaurant and bar staff were great. Rooms are simply wow! Hands down one of the most impressive concepts I've exoerienced anywhere in the world. For this reason, we decided to stay another night. We asked The front desk if there was a room available for the following evening and they said no. We then went online and found one. A bit disappointing. Fortunately, though the digital concierge was able to allow us to stay in the same room, which was nice. Their rooms are definitely form over function. The attention to detail is impressive, but there are drawbacks such as not having any electrical outlets and also the bar at the end of the bed. Being 6 foot 7, it didn't make for a very good night sleep. Space in the room is very very tight but full of fun features and furnishings. Windows must be single pane, because you can hear even the leaves fluttering outside. I guess that's why they put complementary earplugs on the nightstand. 🙂‍↕️ We were also disappointed to come back to our room after being gone for six hours on the second day and nothing having been made up. We went to the front desk and were shocked when they told us they don't do housekeeping! I've never been to a

This is an amazing hotel where I very much enjoyed my stay. The only blemish was the lack of hot water in the rooms. Our first room never had hot water, the choice was between cold and very cold. They moved us to another room which had nice hot water during the evening, and luke warm water in the morning. They did a fantastic job on the renovation but this issue needs to be fixed. On the good side, everything else. Service was great and not "corporate friendly". The rooms were small but really cool, each had a full bar with top shelf alcohol. If you enjoy a cocktail this is the place for you.. there are six bars on the property and the drinks are made perfectly. There are two restaurants on site, one being a retro style diner where the food was fine, the pie excellent and they had real milkshakes. The other restaurant was Quixote, where you go for the ambience and not so much for the food. The interior was an experience but the food just so so. The majority of menu selections were "small plates" with only the entre and no sides. There were only three full dinner options, all very pricey. I would not eat here again as there are too many great options within walking distance. They have a games lounge called the Gutter with pool, bowling, and may other games, all free except the bowling. I will return to the hotel, it is priced right and enjoyable.

Rooms are a lot smaller than you think showers were dirty

The two queen bed room was very small. Our room was by the courtyard next to the gutter room. Very loud and noisy at night. They provided ear plugs which were needed every night. The bathroom didn’t have a place to put your things while getting ready. Outlets were limited for charging phones, etc. They allow anyone to have access to the pool, so get down there early if you want to hang out by the pool. The bar area turns into a night club every night. The food was great. The service was amazing and the hotel was very clean.

absolutely gorgeous hotel with great food & bar options. art everywhere you look and really friendly staff. heard the hotel was renovated a few years back; unfortunately still left much to be desired as far as plumbing, hot water, noise insulation.

We love the hotel. It's beautiful, charming, and relaxed. Our room was eclectic, which we liked, but pretty cramped. The bathroom door creaked loudly, and the bathroom window was out of its channel and could not be reset, though it couldn't be forced open.

The hotel is beautiful, but staying the night feels like a motel. We got a room on the back side of the hotel, we had to pass through the crowd of people, and pool area to get to our room. We could hear the people above us all night and day. Plus we had a rude awakening in the morning when we realized the rooms don’t have black out curtains. The beds have very comfy bedding on it, but mattress is hard as a rock. They have great amenities, the bars, bowling, diner 24/7 , sauna etc. I would definitely come back maybe in the summer with girlfriends instead. Me and my fiancé didn’t get to enjoy much of the hotel. Wish they would reserve the amenities mostly for guest. There’s so many people that visit, took us a while to valet, get checked in/out, get our car. It was too busy that as guest we didn’t get good service or enjoy the hotel. I would recommend getting their upgraded bedrooms by the pool maybe it’s a better stay.

This is the most amazing hotel in so many ways! The lobby and bar are gorgeous and interesting. The 24-hour diner is so fun. The pool is beautiful and the rooms around it are so cool. It looks like New Orleans. Also, the staff could not be nicer. But the show-stopper is the mini bar inside the rooms. They are too incredible to perfectly describe but they include full bottles of every type of alcohol, vintage recipe cards, all the tools for making a perfect cocktail, all on an ornate cart with gold snakes as drawer handles. The rooms also have retro kettles and gorgeous glassware. It's so unique! One note - some of the rooms are so close to the club that the noise is deafening. Don't stay in these or you will be up all night!

The place was beautiful and very well thought out as far as the vibes go. However, many details Or left out. There was no trashcan in the room and the open concept bathroom made it seem very jailhouse. The entire bathroom floor was soaking so you couldn’t take a shower and then get ready. There is no mirror other than the one above the sink. Not very practical.

Overall, quite a disappointment for numerous reasons... check in not super friendly nor welcoming. I always find this to be the first impression and therefore an opportunity to set expectations. Every encounter with front desk staff was a bit miserable unfortunately. Most encounters with all of the restaurant and bar staff were great. Rooms are simply wow! Hands down one of the most impressive concepts I've exoerienced anywhere in the world. For this reason, we decided to stay another night. We asked The front desk if there was a room available for the following evening and they said no. We then went online and found one. A bit disappointing. Fortunately, though the digital concierge was able to allow us to stay in the same room, which was nice. Their rooms are definitely form over function. The attention to detail is impressive, but there are drawbacks such as not having any electrical outlets and also the bar at the end of the bed. Being 6 foot 7, it didn't make for a very good night sleep. Space in the room is very very tight but full of fun features and furnishings. Windows must be single pane, because you can hear even the leaves fluttering outside. I guess that's why they put complementary earplugs on the nightstand. 🙂‍↕️ We were also disappointed to come back to our room after being gone for six hours on the second day and nothing having been made up. We went to the front desk and were shocked when they told us they don't do housekeeping! I've never been to a

Very cool design and they were helpful when I asked to change rooms. But be prepared for a party hotel, probably my fault for not realizing that. Even after moving rooms the noise was really loud late into the night but at least we didn't hear the bowling. My main issue was the amenities, they are

We were put in a room where the live music playing in literally shook the walls on two nights & we were only there for 3 nights. They knew at check-in we had a 7 year old with us. Also, the room was much too small to have 2 beds, a HUGE minibar, and a desk. We had to maneuver around each other to move around the room. We will never stay there again.

Room was thankfully very quiet and pretty comfortable. Staff was very friendly. Location is excellent. Room could use a few more amenities: full-length mirror, coffee pot or pot to boil water, luggage rack, box of tissues. Diner is fun and central bar is pretty and lively. Pretty much a big party, but again, was happy to have gotten a quiet room.

Excellent property. They were a bit under staffed and the concierge never returned my call.

The service by restaurant/pool bar waitstaff was terrible. One server flat out said what did he care if someone didn't like his lack of service? He could care less. That was a recurring theme. Once they brought you a drink or food, you didn't see anyone for more than an hour unless you flagged them down. We only had one really nice, attentive waitress in the big inside bar. The food was hit or miss. Also, the place was teeming with incredibly obnoxious "influencers". It was hard to avoid their bright flash photography blinding you everywhere. The hotel itself was beautiful. I loved the decor. If you want a cool looking hotel/pool and you don't plan on eating or drinking there or if you don't care if you get super crappy service, then you might enjoy it. I would actually go again, but I would go somewhere else for every meal.

The hotel was unique and festive with a great Christmas vibe which attracted lots of people. That wasn’t the problem, the place was completely understaffed and as a result, bartender was overwhelmed. Drinks took over 30 minutes, host at diner was RUDE. They definitely had a problem addressing the needs of guests. Perhaps they were woefully underprepared but I heard this complaint from most of the guests.

Amazing stay, beautiful property and so many amenities available. Concierge available quickly through text, very enjoyable experience!

Valet was the only problem!!! Just to busy for the workers. Amazing stay

My sister and I loved everything and everyone at this place during our 3 day spring getaway. Thank you all for making our trip memorable. We will definitely be back. Shout out to Vinny, Dean, and Keivon. The concierge with the bright smile and tall frame was also a delight. See ya soon! 💫

Overall, quite a disappointment for numerous reasons... check in not super friendly nor welcoming. I always find this to be the first impression and therefore an opportunity to set expectations. Every encounter with front desk staff was a bit miserable unfortunately. Most encounters with all of the restaurant and bar staff were great. Rooms are simply wow! Hands down one of the most impressive concepts I've exoerienced anywhere in the world. For this reason, we decided to stay another night. We asked The front desk if there was a room available for the following evening and they said no. We then went online and found one. A bit disappointing. Fortunately, though the digital concierge was able to allow us to stay in the same room, which was nice. Their rooms are definitely form over function. The attention to detail is impressive, but there are drawbacks such as not having any electrical outlets and also the bar at the end of the bed. Being 6 foot 7, it didn't make for a very good night sleep. Space in the room is very very tight but full of fun features and furnishings. Windows must be single pane, because you can hear even the leaves fluttering outside. I guess that's why they put complementary earplugs on the nightstand. 🙂‍↕️ We were also disappointed to come back to our room after being gone for six hours on the second day and nothing having been made up. We went to the front desk and were shocked when they told us they don't do housekeeping! I've never been to a

I wanted to love this hotel...BADLY. It's beautiful, vibey, elegant - all of the things. Where it breaks down is service: - They allow outsiders to purchase pool passes without offering paying guests the option of booking a lounger. Needless to say, it was frustration to get a lounger despite being a paying guest. - The quite possibly had the worst service I've ever had at a hotel of that standing. Servers, restaurant and wait staff were rude, unresponsive and scarce. We had the Diner manager point at a table and motioned us to head over on our own, he then walked over and quite literally threw a menu on our table and then came back and dropped a second menu. - Housekeeping is non-existent even upon request. They only take out the trash and replace towels. Even so - I had one day where new towels were dropped on the chair at the entrance of my room and all the used towels collected on the floor in the bathroom. The service put a damper on the entire stay and clouded the experience, ambiance and beauty of the hotel. If you can get past the above challenges, you'll have a great time.

Staff is pretentious and act like if they were doing a favor. That attitude was with the employees at the lobby and also servers at the pool area

One of the best hotel experiences of my life! You can tell by the photos, this place is lovely. Every element is thoughtful. Admittedly, I was worried that it was going to be all talk and no walk, but service was EXCELLENT. Worth every penny. Will be going again and recommending to friends.

Property is beautiful. An old vintage, old money fashion with that touch of French you would expect with a name like “Lafayette”. Staff is super friendly and informative. You get a concierge line you can text for anything you may need during your stay. There is only vallet parking. But they are excellent with taking care of your vehicle. They don’t offer any shuttles services though but it’s about 20 mins ride from the San Diego international airport. The pool is fabulous and well kept. I stayed over the weekend and it doubles as a public space for people to come enjoy the bowling alley, restaurants (2) attached to it. There’s 4 bars in the hotel so that brings a lot of people too. It can get crowded because of that. However if you show your room key when returning from your day out, you’ll skip any line there might be of people trying to get it for the bars. Bathrooms come with a hair dryer, hand soap, lotion, shampoo, conditioner and body wash. There is a steamer you get in your room to use for your clothes. They work with you if you need to do a later checkout and will even hold your bags before you check in and after you check out, if you need to kill some time before your flight or to check in. They do offer a gym with free weights, row machine and treadmills/bikes. Highly recommend staying here.

Our stay was excellent! It was only a one night stay-cation (we live in San Diego). Loved the decor in the hotel and room, really fun! Staff was very friendly and helpful. Great location, close to Balboa Park and the Zoo and right across the street from the Red Fox Room and Steakhouse. The Lafayette, and the Red Fox are a part of San Diego history, especially for us born and raised here, having heard the stories from our parents and grandparents. We really enjoyed getting to finally experience both places. Thank you everyone at Lafayette!

Lovely hotel with kind employees. The food and drinks are amazing. You really don’t need to leave the hotel for anything. The only downside is the street parking which can be difficult in the evenings. They have valet but I’d rather not spend my money on that.

Friendly and competent staff, nicely decorated hotel. Street parking a challenge in densely populated neighborhood. Overpriced but centrally located to freeways and attractions. Wouldn't stay here again.

Believe the hype! Such a great and eclectic place. Lived in San Diego 7 years over 3 different times and never heard of it. Came for work trip this most recent time and found it by chance based on reviews and affordability based on per diem rate. Staff were great too. Amenities top notch. Location near everything. Only reason for 4 instead of 5 stars was elevator was out and had to hike it up to 3rd floor all 4 days and water was out 1st morning due to city work outside and couldn’t take shower - not their fault but still…

Amazing location. Amenities were steps away from our hotel room.

Clean room, comfy bed, amazing atmosphere, walkable neighborhood.

The Lafayette hotel is a hip hotel that turns into a giant nightclub on the weekends. We had a lot of fun having a cocktail by the pool and enjoying the ecletic design of the rooms. I will say that the place is old and has its quirks, our room had this loud knocking sound against the wall from laundry equipment being used by hospital staff, but ultimately its a great experience. Also Parking around the hotel kind of sucks but there is 40$ per night valet.

Super fun hotel. The interior is over the top good with amazing fixtures and attention to detail. There’s also a cool diner, many bars with a great pool and bowling alley. The only downside is that the neighborhood doesn’t match the amazingness of the hotel but it is pretty centrally located.

Room was thankfully very quiet and pretty comfortable. Staff was very friendly. Location is excellent. Room could use a few more amenities: full-length mirror, coffee pot or pot to boil water, luggage rack, box of tissues. Diner is fun and central bar is pretty and lively. Pretty much a big party, but again, was happy to have gotten a quiet room.

Very vibey, cool, party hotel! Very laid back staff, super busy bars and pool. We got early check in but no late check out. Woke up early to claim a chair by the pool. Didn’t have a kettle or coffee in my room. Food was great! Drinks so expensive but delish!

This hotel is geared to guests who want to party and not to tourists who want a quieter time. I knew the hotel had a ‘pool scene’ but I probably should have done my research to find out that tickets are sold to non guests to access the pool from 10am. At the weekend it’s rammed. This means if you check in on a Saturday you won’t get to your room till 4pm and there is no space by the pool. The partying goes on till around midnight on Saturday (they do provide ear plugs). As other reviews say the decor of the hotel is fabulous and the beds are comfy, the food is good and the service at the diner excellent. However they do not service the room and even when we asked they just replaced towels but not the water or the used coffee cups. Not a big deal except we’d paid over $500 pn. We requested a late check out for our last day so we could enjoy the pool as it was quieter on Monday morning, and even though their website says they will give these, we had to push hard to an extra hour. If you are staying Mon-Thurs the pool is lovely and the hotel scene is not overwhelming. But do not stay here at the weekend unless you are there to party. Expedia should make this clear in the description.

This is such a swanky and chic property. From the time you enter the lobby you are taken back with the old world decor. It has such an eclectic vibe and nostalgic feel. The decor is stunning and there is so much history here. It’s a must stay and play hotel. The rooms take you back in time but are very well kept and comfortable. The pool has an adult day party vibe with great music and attentive servers. There are plenty of bars, a 24 hr diner plus a separate yet onsite bowling alley with pool tables, basketball games and another bar. The lobby bar is a must with bar tenders that can make you any kind of drink you want! It’s a great place to sit, drink and people watch. We had a great time and will be back soon!

The Lafayette Hotel in San Diego is an absolute gem! From the moment we arrived, we were blown away by the beautiful amenities and attention to detail. Everything you could possibly want is right on site—an amazing bar, a gorgeous pool with its own pool bar, a fantastic restaurant, a fun arcade, a well-equipped gym, and even a 24-hour diner. The 24-hour coffee was a lifesaver (and delicious!). Every corner of this hotel is thoughtfully designed and simply stunning. My best friend and I had such a beautiful trip here. It was truly an unforgettable experience that will stay with us forever. We can’t wait to come back!

So charming and elegant. Quixote is one of the best restaurants in SoCal!

The hotel and staff were all wonderful. We ate 2 meals in the diner, both times the meals for each person were delivered up to 30 minutes apart. The restaurant was completely out of seriously basic items (potatoes, onion rings…) and getting water to the table took 15 minutes. The condiment bottles on the table were empty. Both times. Ex servers notice these things. But we’ll return and hope they have better organization.

Such a cool place and the Oxacan restaurant is delicious!

I wanted to love this hotel...BADLY. It's beautiful, vibey, elegant - all of the things. Where it breaks down is service: - They allow outsiders to purchase pool passes without offering paying guests the option of booking a lounger. Needless to say, it was frustration to get a lounger despite being a paying guest. - The quite possibly had the worst service I've ever had at a hotel of that standing. Servers, restaurant and wait staff were rude, unresponsive and scarce. We had the Diner manager point at a table and motioned us to head over on our own, he then walked over and quite literally threw a menu on our table and then came back and dropped a second menu. - Housekeeping is non-existent even upon request. They only take out the trash and replace towels. Even so - I had one day where new towels were dropped on the chair at the entrance of my room and all the used towels collected on the floor in the bathroom. The service put a damper on the entire stay and clouded the experience, ambiance and beauty of the hotel. If you can get past the above challenges, you'll have a great time.

Great, trendy hotel. The staff is very nice and attentive, however no daily housekeeping till your 3rd full day. They do have a Concierge that you can text and they will bring you fresh towels, ice, or take out the trash. The rooms and restaurants are beautifully decorated. This is however not a quiet place, its busy and full of excitement. If you are looking for a quiet place, definitely not the place, but if you want night life and fun this is your place. I personally liked it and loved the decor and the restaurant options located right on the property. The only drawback is the fight for space at the pool. I was a guest and had to get up quite early to secure my lounger, mind you i had a pool access room. The hotel also sells day passes to the pool, so the pool at times can get very crowded. They do their best to keep up with the demand and they do have pool side service, if not you are always welcomed to walk up to the poolside bar. The hotel has fantastic dining options, Beginners diner, Quixote, Lou lou's bar( for drinks), and the Gutter for some fun and entertainment. Great place overall, only drawback is the pool chaos.

Came for girlfriend's birthday and was one of the best stays we have ever had. Room was beautiful and clean, property was gorgeous, staff was very kind and helpful, and the dining options on-site were amazing snd surprisingly affordable. My personal favorite aspect was easily Beginner's diner's banana pudding French toast. As a diner and French toast fan, it was exactly what I was looking for. Make sure to get to the pool early to get a chair if thats your plan for the day. Check-in and check-out was incredibly easy and stress-free. Highly recommend for any occasion or just a simple overnight stay!