CA San Diego Hyatt Regency Islandia

[bbrindeiro]

9/7-9/10 Last year paid $80 for san diego coastal and got Hyatt Regency Islandia-what a dump. The main part of the hotel is fairly nice, but they put us in a different building behind the hotel tower, and the nicest thing in the room was a marble counter in the bathroom! The bedroom looked like a quality inn; I've stayed at nicer Holiday Inns! I saw one of the rooms in the tower and it wasn't very nice for a 4 star either. This hotel is old and run down. Hotel is really close to Sea World, probably why the $$ is so high by PL standards.

[golfmom]

Just spent 3 nights here (7/12-15/2004) and the family consensus was "great :) place". On arrival no mention of Priceline, we were offered a king or two doubles with a garden view. Asked if we'd be able to get a rollaway (two large teenage sons with us) and was told they cannot put rollaways in most rooms now because of workman's comp claims from the housekeeping staff. The desk clerk then quickly offered to upgrade us to the Regency Club on the 17th (top) floor for an additional $40 a night + tax. We grabbed it because we were easily spending $40 every morning for breakfast feeding two teenage appetites.

It was SO worth the money.

Nice continental breakfast with fresh melons, strawberries, grapefruit etc., 3 kinds of cereal, strawberry yogurt, large tray of breakfast pastries, two kinds of bread for toast, english muffins, 3 kinds of bagels, whole fresh fruit, 3-4 juices, milk, coffee, mocha and hot chocolate -- and all available from 6:30 AM - 10:00AM. There are also snacks (freshly baked cookies, whole fruit and pretzel mix) and drinks available from 10:30 - 5:00. At 5:00 they put out veggie trays and dip, cheese plate, crackers and a hot hors d'oeuvre that changes daily. All non-alcohol drinks are free. Honor bar for beer and self-serve wine ($4.50). Also self-serve cocktails ($5.50 I think).

Room was clean though a little worn around the edges. Wonderful beds and feather pillows. View from this floor was to the west overlooking the bay and pool area-- beautiful all day, great sunsets. We had a car so being off the beaten track was actually a nice respite from the city. Self-parking is $10, and I think $14 for valet.

BTW I asked the next day about a rollaway and got the same story about worker comp claims from a different desk clerk. Sounded to me like it might also be a union issue.

I added my Hyatt GP number on arrival and was given credit for room upgrade and all other incidental charges.

[heinous]

Stayed one night at the Hyatt Islandia on 10/30. First off, this is definitely NOT a 4* hotel, and Priceline should really change its rating on this one if it wants to keep an honest reputation.

The hotel lobby is ok, but small and crowded. There's not much room around the front desk, so it crowds up quickly. The front desk staff were fine - there was no mention of Priceline. Actually, I called a few days ahead to make a room request, and they took the request without any mention of Priceline. They fulfilled my room request upon check-in, at no extra charge. So we got a Business Class room in the tower, with a balcony facing the harbor.

The hotel looks older - there aren't the nice touches to the buildings and landscaping that you might expect to see from Hyatt. Lots of yellow and dried up palm trees around.

The room is a decent size. The furnishings are strictly 3* stuff at best. The bathroom is fine - there's a tub with a shower and one sink. They provide soap, shampoo, and conditioner only. Since I had a business class room, I had a big work desk. The beds are fairly comfortable with nice pillows. The balcony is small, but quite private; you really have to lean over to see anyone else's balcony.

Problems: 1) The bathroom doorknob was broken - my friend got trapped inside for a little while until we figured out how to get it open from outside and in. If he had been alone in the hotel room, he might have been stuck for a long time. 2) I was lying on the bed when I noticed a black thread right next to my arm. I picked it up, and it had a needle attached to it. I guess someone had been sewing on the bed before? Anyway, I barely missed getting stuck with it - dangerous, especially for kids. 3) We couldn't get the A/C working for a while - it's confusing. Then we got it going, but it never got really cold. 4) Parking lot is pretty small - when the hotel is busy, it's very difficult to find parking. We got back from dinner around 9:30pm, and we got the last spot.

Overall: A decent place to stay if you want to be really close to Sea World. However, not a place to stay for a romantic or relaxing getaway. The overall feel of the place is a little bit run-down, and you get the feeling that the staff doesn't try that hard because they get all the Sea World traffic anyway.

[soccermacmom]

We had a wonderful experience at the Hyatt Islandia, so I thought I'd post a follow-up.

The hotel's posted check-in time is 4:00 pm; daughter's graduation was also at 4:00 pm, with a family/friend dinner afterwards (in the opposite direction). I called the hotel's customer service on Friday to see if there was a chance we could check in early. A very polite man told me that they would make every effort to help us, and to stop by the hotel early to see. We arrived at 11:15 and I asked the young woman at the desk if there was any way we could check in to at least one of the four rooms by 2:00. She worked for a while, and found four rooms for us that were fairly close to each other, in the tower (with elevator for the elderly grandmothers in our party). She did tell us that two of the rooms had balconies that were under repair so the glass doors were sealed. We accepted that gladly to get our rooms early. Upon arrival at our rooms, we discovered two of them were full suites, which we presented to the grandmothers. The other two were basic hotel rooms, but very roomy, well-furnished and comfortable. We were able to rest and relax before our celebration started. Rooms were clean, beds were very comfortable, every staff member we met was friendly and welcoming.

Overall, we were very happy with the hotel, our rooms and the service. San Diego is an expensive city, and there aren't many bargains in the Sea World/Coastal/Point Loma area. For full price, I would have wanted a working balcony, but for what we paid, it was a bargain.

As a fun bonus, the two grandmothers loved having suites, and will talk about it for a long time to come.

Also, we stayed across the street at the Dana on the Mission last month (not a Priceline bid), and I would not stay there again. We paid $120 per night for a tiny, badly designed room opening from the parking lot directly into our bathroom vanity/closet combination. There wasn't even a dresser or place to keep purse, keys, glasses etc. except a small table in the far corner. Yucky.