The Dana on Mission Bay, San Diego

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.

The only thing about this place that was appealing is that it is on the bay, other than that save your money because they are deceiving and misleading. Their pictures on the web are false to the core. The prices listed are only for the room charge, not included are parking fees $12 per day, and also 2 additional tourism taxes per day added to your bill. No notification was given prior to reservation of these fees. Sure alot of people don't care because it's a Resort right on the bay, but for my money I'd rather spend it elsewhere!!!! Also they put a additonal $50 per day hold on top of the room rate to make sure you have the funds to pay on your credit card, 10 day holds for debit cards. The rooms are very small and very muggy, humid. Heard neighbors thru walls and from up above. Again, take my word for it save your money and look elsewhere, or if not find out for yourself.

This is an beautiful location and so convenient if you plan on spending most of your time at SeaWorld. However, know ahead of time that certain buildings are better than others. Our first night there was in building 700 which fronted the main boulevard. I felt like we were sleeping on the street itself because the traffic was so loud all night. I checked twice to make sure that the windows were closed and indeed they were. Installing double-pane windows would make a big difference I suspect! We then requested to be moved and we ended up in building 200 which was a big improvement. There was a kids' pool and jacuzzi area just next to building 200 and my kids had a great time there.

I was a little disappointed when we arrived because we were in the old section, but we had my 80 year old in laws with us. We had the BEST time! Everything was right there. Great restaurant that really took care of all our needs. Quiet, quaint, a little dated, but I have the rest of the year to stay in 4 & 5 star hotels. This place was wonderful!!!

WE ALL ENJOYED OUR FIVE DAYS STAY AT DANA INN, THE WEATHER PATHWAY WALK, THE BLUE PEARL REST,THE FREINDLY SERVICES,AND MISSION BAY.I NOTICE THE OUTLETS DIDN'T HAVE ANY SAFETY PLUGS FOR THE CHILDREN.

We were in the older section, but decided to go for it to save $800 and spend it elsewhere on our vacation. The room STUNK really bad. It was the drains. I ended up keeping the plug down to keep the room relatively good smelling. Pillows were like a bag of cotton balls. I complained and they brought me new pillows and tried to fix the stink...but it still stunk. I would not go back.

I JUST RETURNED FROM A TRIP WE STAYED AT THE DANA, FOR 4 NIGHTS, I WOULD NOTO GO BACK, IT WAS THE FOR NOISE THE WORST, COULD NOT SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT PEOPLE IN THE POOL AND 1:30, 2 AM, THE WALLS ARE VERY THIN, COULD HERE THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR ALL NIGHT TALKING, TV BLASTING, THE ROOMS WERE NOT LIKE THE WEB SIGHT SHOWED, I WILL CHOSE ANOTHER HOTEL, WHEN I GO BACK TO SAN DIEGO. THE SPA THEY USE DID NOT BOOK WHAT THEY WERE SUSPOSED TO COST US AN EXTRA 300.00

When I made the reservations to your hotel, I asked for a quiet room for my wife and I. When we signed in the afternoon at your hotel, the room and the ambience appeared to be quite nice. HOWEVER, when we came back to our room after midnight, there were 8 people drinking, smoking, and using profanity to the left and right of our room, and in the parking lot. When we asked the neighbors next to us very politely to tone down the party atmosphere so we could sleep, they totally ignored us. We then called up the front, and the receptionist said that 'we weren't the only ones complaining', yet there was nothing the receptionist said they could do. After calling up the front office 20 minutes later that the party atmosphere outside our suite was getting WORSE, and my wife and I were tired of the swearing and loud noice, I politely asked the neighbors to please tone it down. We were again ignored. We called up the front office one final time that we were leaving, as we couldn't sleep, and my wife and I had headaches from the loud noise, slamming doors, etc. We asked for a full refund. The receptionist in front said that we would indeed receive the refund, (and hopefully we will verify that when I check my credit card invoice in 2 weeks). In my 30 years of staying at nice hotels throughout the country, its a true and unfortunate first that we found outselves having to leave a hotel from what we thought would have been a culmination to a beautiful day at a wedding, only to be forced to leave at 1:30 AM in the morning due to the hotels apparent lack of enforcement of profanity, noise disturbance, and unprofessional responses to these problems. We unfortunately left from what we thought was a reputable hotel, to search for a quiet, decent place in the San Diego area to get a good nights sleep.

Had a great time, stayed 4 nights here, the staff were very nice and helpful,also the resturants were very clean and the food was good. Was easy to get in and out of and close to attractions, the free shuttle to seaworld had some problems the vans were small and had to wait for the same one to go over and back, we got in on its 3rd trip, the driver had told us the other shuttle was stuck in traffic. The views of the bay are great. Great place for kids it just feels safe and comfortable.

My family just stayed at The Dana for 5 days and had a great time. We stayed in on the bay side and had a beautiful view. Even though we were on the second floor, it was nice and quiet. We never heard any noise from any of our neighbors. There were also several weddings going on over the weekend, but we were never bothered by them either. The location was very convenient to several popular venues including Sea World (of course!), San Diego Zoo, Natural History Museum, Mission Beach, Seaport Village, and other downtown sights. My only criticism were the times offered for the shuttle to Sea World. There are no return times in the afternoon, which makes for a very long day. Also, their last return time at night is 9:45, which is in the middle of one of the last shows and you miss the fireworks. But, there are taxis for about $5 if the kids are too tired to walk back, which is what we ended up doing. My husband and I had a little "date" at the Firefly and enjoyed the wine and cheese pairing they offered one night. I wasn't too impressed with their $30 Paella (the only main dish we tried), but found the food at the Blue Pearl to be fairly good at a reasonable price. Other than that, we can't wait to go back and are already making plans for our fall break!