CA San Diego Holiday Inn Select Hotel Circle Mission Valley

[happysaver]

IMHO the main problem with this Holliday Inn Mission Valley (as with many other Holliday Inns) is that they try to be classy, but they are anything but. Other then that, it's an OK 3* property, and the price I've paid ($47 before taxes) seems fair.

Following advice of the other board members we made sure our room was on the quiet back side of the hotel. Well, it turned out to be an accessible room with enormous shower area and tiny living space. We didn't try to ask for another room, since we figured out we won't spend too much time in it anyway. We did regret it later when we realized that the bed was not even a queen, but a double. So you may watch out for this scenario, because the rules of Hotwire only guarantee you a room that sleeps two.

The soundproofing of the hotel is mediocre, we could occasionally hear people talking in the hallway, but it was not really a problem during our stay.

Hotel has a restaurant on the first floor. It's not bad but pricey. We went there for a breakfast and ended up paying almost $25 for two (including tax and tip).

There is also a full bar, that for some reason closes as early as 10:30. By the way, it's located in the lobby area right across from the entrance. I'm afraid that could make some parents feel uncomfortable.

Hotel charges $10/day for its wireless connection, but we had no problem picking up a free signal from the nearby Days Inn.

Parking is free, and it is much more convenient to park behind the hotel and use back entrance.

The whole Hotel Circle area is dull, as others pointed out. However Old Town with all its shops and restaurants is less then 5 minutes away, and you don't even need to use freeways to get there.

Final tip: if you plan to visit the Zoo or the Wild Animal Park, save money and time by purchasing tickets from Costco. You can get them online, but there is shipping charge +5% surcharge for non-members. Costco members can also get tickets from Costco Mission Valley, which is about 10min drive away from the hotel.

(Info for the lazy: Costco prices for Zoo/Park are $25/$22 compared to $32/$28 at the gate.)

[LoneStar]

Hotel now goes by the name Holiday Inn San Diego Zoo Area. A bad development is that they now charge for parking. I think it was $7, and you're pretty much stuck for it because there is no on-street parking on Hotel Circle. Bid with this in mind.

Hotel is all non-smoking, which I appreciated. In lieu of getting 2 doubles, I snagged a king with a double pullout, and the desk clerk comped us a free rollaway (the clerks apparently feel bad about the new parking fee, which is no doubt VERY unpopular with guests who rightfully feel like they're being ripped off). Room size is decent (I got the side wing, which seemed quieter), and furnishings/amenities properly place this hotel in the 2.5 star category.

No reason to eat at the hotel, unless you have kids, who are free pursuant to Holiday Inn policy. Breakfast buffet at $10 was a fair value (once the kids were free!) and is nothing special, but more than edible.

The bottomline is that I would generally avoid bidding in the Mission Valley zone because the odds are you're going to get a mediocre hotel on Hotel Circle like this one. That said, if none of the other San Diego zones produce a decent deal, a priceline deal on Hotel Circle isn't bad. It is pretty centrally located to most anything you'd do in San Diego, and there's great freeway access.