We would never return.
My boyfriend wanted to treat me to a beautiful weekend away in San Diego, so he booked a 'marina view' room at The Dana for Saturday night and Sunday night. What we got was a room with a better view of the parking lot than the marina that smelled very strongly of mildew, with stains on the carpet, a loud wall a/c unit, and very old furnishings and bed linens. We were also told only upon check-in that we would be in a room specially equipped for the handicapped, which wasn't so much of an inconvenience (to us, but would've been to the disadvantage of a handicapped individual who may have needed the room) as a surprise, as we weren't told we'd be given this room beforehand. When we went back to the front desk to complain about all of these things, we were given no alternatives or 'extras' for our discomfort--only a suggestion to come back the next day and ask about switching rooms. We were never notified that this hotel was mostly old but had a newer section, and only found out when it occurred to my boyfriend to ask about a newer section explicitly. So after being reluctant to enjoy the hotel's amenities due to an immature post-wedding crowd smoking and having splash fights in the hot tubs and pools, we decided to retire early in the mildewed room, only to be woken up every half hour by other guests making noise outside until 3:30am.
The next day, we again explained our disappointment in our experience at The Dana, including our surprise at being given a room equipped for the handicapped, and were offered a 'bay view' upgrade to one of the newer rooms at a discounted rate of an extra $25--normally $50 for the upgrade. It didn't have the king-sized bed we had in the first room, but two queens, which we were told this new room had, would've been fine. We took it and when we got to our room, lo and behold, another room equipped for the handicapped! Its beds were full-sized, not queens. Regardless, we were more pleased with this second room, which was significantly newer and had a beautiful view and a sliding glass door onto a patio overlooking the bay, but still do not feel it is worth the money The Dana gets for any of their rooms. The next morning before checking out, I found a card in our room notifying guests that if the hotel-supplied bathrobes were not in the room upon check-out, the hotel would assume that we intended to buy them and would charge us. I called the front desk to inform them that we hadn't received any bathrobes to wear during our stay, and was transferred back-and-forth to "someone else who could help me" 3 times, without reaching anyone, before giving up and bringing the card in person to check out. We mentioned these things, and the $12/night parking fee (and they have a nerve charging for parking anyway) was waived for us.
Its only saving graces are the view, the large hot tub and infinity pool and surrounding seating area/main entrance, and a very friendly concierge who pointed us to a great breakfast spot in the Gaslamp Quarter. Not worth that much cash, though.