Great staff doesn't make up for a weak business property
The Sheraton Suites San Diegojust doesn't measure up to the expectations of a regular business traveler. The hotel is a 10 to 15 minute ride from the ariport and upon arrival you will take an elevator to the 12th floor lobby. I was staying at this property with some colleagues for a trade show at the convention center. One of my colleagues, who had a confirmed reservation, arrived at the hotel in the evening and he, along with approx. nine others ended up being tranported to a property in La Jolla 45 minutes away and thus missed a breakfast meeting in the morning. The "Club Lounge" was the poorest excuse for a elite traveler lounge that I have experienced among those properties with a lounge within any of the Starwood, Marriott or Hilton hotels. It consists of a small room off of the restaurant on the main (12th) floor of the hotel. The accomodation for breakfast is coffee and juice. If you want any breakfast you will be required to have restaurant service and you might be offered a discount of up to 30% plus tip. Amenities in the lounge include a flat screen TV and a 1.5 cubic foot "dorm type" refrigerator. The refrigerator held several small bottles of water, two 6oz bottles of Perrier and a few cans of soda. For a snack in the evening there was generally a selection of 2 fried and dried appetizers along with a few cut up veggies (broccoli flourets and red peppers) with ranch dressing some cut up cheese and a few grapes. This is not at all what I have come to expect from a major city properties club lounge facility. No alcoholic beverages, honor bar or otherwise. If you want a cocktail you must go out of the louinge to the hotel bar for service.
The rooms were reasonably sized and clean though the carpeting was "tired" as was the wallpaper in the bathroom. There was a sitting area with a very comfortable couch and chair, a flat screen TV, a desk with am office type chair, a small dry bar area with a coffe maker and microwave and a mini-bar. The bedroom held a large bed, 2 nightstands, a CRT TV and a clock radio. The bedroom was separated from the sitting area by "french doors". The clock radio was analog, cheap and difficult to tune. The bathroom contained a nice dressing area with full length mirror, a decent size shower stall and a separate bath tub as well as a toilet. The toilet paper roll holder was falling out of the wall and one of the main lights in the shower area was burned out.
The front desk staff was extremely friendly and were very helpful with everything from recommendations to trying to assist my colleague with his rooming issues. It was not their fault that the hotel was over booked. The concierge gave us a great recommendation for dinner and got us reservations that we would have been unable to get on our own.
This hotel is a little over a .6 mile from the from the "Gaslamp District" which is the main dining and entertainment area. If one were to walk back to the hotel late at night I might have some safety concerns though there appeared to be a good police presence. The property is also approx 1.1 miles from the convention center so for the most part you will want to cab or use a convention center coach bus if it is offered.
Their airport shuttle is for "aircrew only" so you must cab to and from the airport. There is no cab stand at the hotel and I had wait for almost 10 minutes for a cab.
Overall, if given the opportunity I would probably choose a different property for a stay in San Diego.