Palihotel San Diego

The hotel is well-situated and within walking distance of the beach, which is a plus. The staff was amiable and nice and the room was clean. It has a nice old-time atmosphere. The room (a Queen room) was rather small (they have larger rooms) with a sink inside the room, no place to sit except a small, hard chair, and no desk which for someone who likes to work on a computer for few hours in the morning, is not the best. However, the room had a good-sized fridge and the bed was large and nice. What was irritating was that one of two elevators (from 1913) did not work at all and had not worked for some time. The other one worked just as well as the elevator from 1913 does, very slowly. In a hotel with 11 floors. This is not acceptable even though it is fun to look at and even try once. Other people traveling with me had booked a more expensive room and that room was quite nice and large. The rooftop bar (bar closed but plenty of seats) was amazing with a good view over the city. Also the small restaurant which is almost inside the hotel. Well worth a visit.

I landed in San Diego for a work conference after an 8 hour delay from my airline, and a lost suitcase. As I arrived at Palihotel on a Sunday night, my check in was incredibly smooth. I wandered over to the restaurant/bar to grab a nightcap & snack. The bar manager, Nikki, was immediately friendly offering insights to the menu, drinks, and providing me with all the options for both. This interaction made the choice easy-I didn't need to go off site for any meals. I had dinner, for the next 3 nights, at St James and a breakfast before I checked out. Nikki is an outstanding asset to this operation. I was able to find the GM, Chris, to let him know what a tremendous team he has; the concierge fielded several deliveries for me, including that of my luggage, and the housekeeping staff is beyond helpful. He was equally fantastic, indicating that good leadership starts at the top. I was incredibly appreciative to have found Pali and am looking forward to returning, not just to the San Diego location, but to the other sites as well. Lifelong fan, love your work! Some notes: -Rooms are small-this is normal for bigger cities...They are comfortable. Room Service is tricky in a regular room (& there also isn't much room if you have bigger suitcase). Be resourceful with you space. -I would've loved some trash cans on each floor to throw away larger & food items. -No ice machines, but the bar and/or concierge will bring you a bucket of ice if you request it. -Provided in-room ammenities (mini bar offerings, shampoo, soap, etc) were lovely. -The famous elevators! I am a history junkie, and still can acknowledge these babies are form over function. I would make sure to request a room far from them if you're noise sensitive. The elevators are much easier to operate with two people. However, they offer a nice pace for a mindful moment ;)

Okay, but this room hits different. The bed? Cozy AF. All the little design details? Chef’s kiss—super tasteful but not doing too much. The mood lighting was literally on point, made the vibe immaculate. Yeah, the room’s on the smaller side, but it’s giving ‘perfectly functional,’ not cramped. 10/10 would totally stay again. ✨

The only real draw of this hotel is the design. It is really beautiful and unique. The hotel itself is very old and the redesign did not include any construction renovation meaning it is very old and a loud building. You can hear door slamming all house of the day. It also features original elevators which are very slow. So we ended up only taking the stairs. They weren’t steep at all and we were on the 4th floor so it was fine. But if we were higher it would have been more annoying. The front desk staff mostly seemed annoyed when having to deal with guests. The diner attached to the hotel was also very well designed and the staff was friendly, especially the bartender. However the menu was very small. Overall, it was fine but I wouldn’t stay here again.

Full disclosure I booked this hotel through Hotwire. I was on a business trip and wanted to stay near the convention center. I paid over $260 a night which isn’t necessarily that expensive for downtown San Diego. The walk to the convention center was not bad at all 8 to 10 minutes at most. Where the hotel is located is not in the best area. There was actually a hustler store down the street. The room itself was fairly nice but very small. I expected that with a boutique hotel. The restaurant attached the hotel was decent. My overall experience was not great. The air conditioner did not work. The TV did not work. The room was extremely loud. They actually included two sets of earplugs because of the noise. Street noise I can deal with however there is a rooftop bar on the hotel and they play music all night long that you can hear if you’re staying in the 10th floor. The last night I stayed there they had a party with a DJ and it was extremely loud. Pay the extra cash and stay in a hotel closer to the convention center.

I went to the Pali in San Diego for work. Great customer service. Susana did an amazing job on our room and keeping it very tidy and clean. The room was quaint, boutique and clean. Lots of good places within walking distance. I highly recommend!