Holiday Inn Mission Bay Hotel

, San Diego, United States
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Holiday Inn Mission Bay Hotel

, San Diego
3 star

Rooms: 316

3737 Sports Arena Boulevard - San Diego - California - 92110 - United States Hotel Website | | 619 881 6100
107 Traveller

Reviews - Holiday Inn Mission Bay Hotel

Historical Traveller Reviews of Holiday Inn Mission Bay Hotel

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from A TripAdvisor Member
We stayed here for a family vacation. It looked good on the outside. The room was small and had a terrible smell. I got out of the shower and found a huge cockroach. We had to change hotels. I have never such bad food as they have at their resturant. I am so glad we changed to another hotel. I would never stay here again. Find another hotel besides this one.

Better than we expected

from Dalep
After we had booked our room, we read some of the reviews and were concerned about the room condition. We were pleased to find upon arrival that the room was very clean, the staff was very helpful and quick to meet our requests (more pillows, directions to restaurants, etc.) The pool was great (very warm - the kids enjoyed it even when it was cool outside). Maintenance needs some improvement- AC heater fan vibrated & fan between rooms ticked when on low speed.

Eh...not great

from D_M_and_A
We had no problems with the cleanliness of the room as in other reviews - it was a clean, decent room. We stayed in the kid suite with the bunkbed, so my daughter loved it. We stayed here because of the close proximity of the Sports Arena, so we could walk to the ice hockey game and not have to pay to park there, so this location served our purpose for that. The hotel sits between two very busy streets, so you cannot escape the traffic noise. There was some type of building alarm that kept sounding at odd hours of the night that the front desk obviously couldn't control. The front reception area had a peculiar unidentified smell and the staff were lethargic. The water pressure in the shower sucked. Probably, no definitely wouldn't stay here again. The parking spaces are ridiculous and would barely accommodate an economy size car, let alone the plethora of larger SUV's that were parked there - we got a serious door ding, despite trying to park farther away in an end spot. If I saw the reviews on this site before booking here, I would have looked for another hotel to stay at.

Stay Away!!

from A TripAdvisor Member
There aren't enough words to describe how disgusting this place is. Dirty floors, dirty sheets, small rooms, nasty smell, & cramped parking are just the beginning. I would NEVER recommend this Holiday Inn to anyone! If we hadn't have already paid for our stay in full (& been told there were no refunds) we would have left immediately!!! BEWARE!

Yucky :O(

from IrisKisses
Just want everyone to know that they need to have something covering their feet at all times! VERY filthy floor. I had my 3 year old stay on the sofa or beds to play.
My family stayed in the (very cramped) suite. Only one of the french doors opened for access because the sofa sleeper sits in front of it.
Clearly any upgades they do, go directly into the lobby because it is nice. The rooms however are just plain yucky.
We always stay at the Holiday Inns. This one however needs some serious help!

We requested a crib!

from A TripAdvisor Member
Although our stay was not horrendous, I would not stay there again, nor would I recommend it. On the same block as the hotels were a large strip club and an adult book/video store. We found it difficult to find parking for our large truck (the parking spaces are plentiful, but are crammed together and designed for compact cars). The interior of our room appeared o.k., but we noticed as we settled down for the night that the soles of our feet were black (the carpets need to be cleaned!). Our biggest complaint was service-related. We made reservations over a month in advance, and we requested a crib for our 1 year old. We were assured that one would be in our room upon our arrival. Well, there wasn't a crib, so we called the front desk and were told a crib would be sent right over. We went out sightseeing and came back late that night and.... NO CRIB. When we called the office, they said they were sorry, but all the cribs were being used. Neither my wife or I slept much that night with a wiggly, used-to-a-crib one year old tossing and turning between us. When we checked out the following morning, we brought a copy of the hotels "hospitality promise" which they prominently display in each room (it states, to paraphrase, that they will correct any problem a guest might have, or if they are unable to correct it, that they will not charge the guest for the stay). Their courtesy to us was to discount our stay 30 dollars. As I said, we'll never stay their again.

Great Location!!!

from KKIMMEL523
Stayed here with our family of teenagers. Great location to Mission and Ocean Beaches. Just a jump to La Jolla, (which is a must see!!) and Coronado Island. We had a suite for 6 of us and we had enough room if two are willing to sleep on the sofa sleeper. Staff was very helpful and provided us promptly with extra pillow, towels etc. Our room was very clean and comfortable. Each night you can see the fireworks display at Sea World just above the motel pool. Pool was clean and had lots of kid activity. Just a note of caution.... Don't purchase food for delivery from the people who put their menus on your motel door!!!!! We now understand that these are fly by night operations and they are working from garages. The food doesn't even look edible. The FDA shuts them down for a while and then they are back under a different name, number and location. The hotel is aware and does post a warning regarding this at their front desk (but I'll bet most of us don't even notice it, we didn't) Stick to Pizza Hut and Papa Johns which are in the neighborhood, or if you are looking for a combined menu, just ask at the desk. They not only can recommend but can sometimes offer coupons. We loved San Diego and will return again.

motel

from A TripAdvisor Member
my wife and I came with the kids for 5 days to visit amusement parks and such. consider this property if you will only be there at night to sleep. don't come for the atmosphere, views, nice gardens or courtyard (none), pool, luxurious surroundings. Do come for a lower cost, clean, hotel that is next to seaworld. The hotel is layed out like a large motel with several buildings and parking in between the them (not the most aesthetic layout). the exterior walkways and parking lot could use a good cleaning. The rooms were clean and looked well maintained. The linens appeared to be clean. The onsite restaurant had terrible service, but plenty of other places are close by. my biggest problem was the location. being next to a home depot, tire shop, and mini-malls didn't make you feel like you were getting away from it all. if you want to relax outside there is only the walled in pool, which although heated and resonably clean, is somewhat smallish and surrounded by cement. No matter where your room is you have to go across a parking lot to get to the pool. Not convenient with small children. again this is really only a place to sleep at and then hit the sights.....

decent location, decent price, decent room.... decent hotel

from A TripAdvisor Member
I was prepared for the worst after reading some of the reviews here. As a matter of fact, I was trying to change hotels last minute. But due to the fact that I made plans to visit San Diego the last minute along with it being the weekend of July 4th, I didnt have time to review every hotel in the area.

Decent location:
This hotel is located in a pretty good spot. It is just minutes away from all the main attractions. It is also easy to get to all the freeways. The surrounding area may be questionable, but I wouldn't say it is ghetto as mentioned in other reviews. You are basically right on the other side of the freeway from Mission Bay.

Decent Price:
If you use the promotions from their web site, like I did, you get a good deal for the area and time of year. From what I was able to research, everything else was $30-50 on up per night. Free parking, and they provided discount tickets for several places. Kids eat free at onsite restaurant but no complimentary breakfeast.

Decent Room:
We went with the 2 room suite with 2 double beds. Neat idea with the 2 seperate rooms but if your not going to hang out in the hotel all day, you really won't use it much. There is a wall seperating the rooms, that does make each feel a bit small.
towels and linens were clean. The floor and furniture seemed questionable and didnt look clean, a bit worn out. Stay in Building B, it is off the main roads, and parking is not too bad.

...Decent Hotel
My wife will probably not choose to stay there again, but if we need a cheap place to stay last minute we will keep it as an option. I say that everything is decent because it is just that. Nothing really bad, but nothing to WOW you.

Clean, friendly and good value for money

from A TripAdvisor Member
We stayed at the Holiday Inn for 5 days and I honestly don't know what all the fuss from the previous bad reviews is all about.
Our room was nice and clean, the service excellent and the staff very friendly and helpful.
The hotel was fully booked when we stayed there and the fact that you can park your car right on the property was appreciated by the guests as far as I can tell, especially by families with children.
The hotel area is full of shops and restaurants and you can easily get a bus or the trolley to the beach or into Old Town if you haven't got a car.
I'd definitely stay at the Holiday Inn again - don't be put off by the bad reviews and see for yourself.

Top Local Tips for San Diego

Don't stay at this hotel, we have been charged when we weren't there. The holiday inn at mission bay is the worst hotel we've ever stayed at. This has been a total nightmare, we've been charged for staying at this hotel when we didn't. Then the first time we stayed in Feb. 2007 they charged us twice and it took forever to get straightend out. It's also in a bad part of town.

Get a car! Get a car if you're a tourist in San Diego - You won't regret it! SD is such a spraeling city, that the extra bucks you'll spend in renting a car will save you many and many hassles! And then, prices aren't high at all!

Our toddlers had fun at: They loved the tour we took at Sea World; fed the dolphins, rays and sea turtles; worth the extra $$. Our 6 yr old loved Shipwreck Rapids and all three enjoyed the Children's Play Area, Shamu show and Pet's Rule Show. End the day with a visit to the Shamu's tank below the Dine with Shamu area....it was such a calming way to end the day watching this 9000 lb creature swimming right in front of us. Oh, and, all restuarants in SeaWorld will heat jarred baby food for you! Super plus! We ate at Hospitality Cafe and Shipwreck Cafe...liked the food at the Shipwreck Cafe better; although... the adults can get beer samples at the Hospitality Center

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Other names for Holiday Inn Mission Bay Hotel

  • san diego holiday inn
  • mission plaza hotel
  • Address: 3737 Sports Arena Boulevard - San Diego - California - 92110 - United States
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