Park Manor Suites, San Diego

This is a beautiful old building. The staff is friendly & helpful. The beds are heavenly. I like the convenient kitchenette. The rooftop breakfast is lovely. Restaurant & bar: good food & fun company! I really appreciate the environmentally friendly touch. Great location, right next to the park, easy to get to public transit.

This is a 1926 residential hotel. Everything works perfectly, but it's still 1926. Really enjoyed what it was once the initial shock wore off. Clean, large rooms. Having a suite was wonderful. Couldn't be better located. Would recommend to anybody, anytime. Try it.

Charming, historic hotel. I selected the hotel and room for the size and location, both a good price compared to the competition. Got a 1100 sq ft two bedroom suite with a kitchen. Furnishings were wonderful, bed and bedding comfortable, however, drapes were stained and old, walls and molding old and dirty, bathroom small and in need of modern appliances throughout, so much more could be done in these rooms with a little updating. There's only one small elevator and way too much traffic - needs more. Hallways had a foul odor. Could be so much more with a little work.

We have stayed at the Park Manor Suite five times now and will return again in August of 2007. Being so close to downtown, Hillcrest and many other attractions makes it a great location. Its gay friendly style makes my visits to San Diego even more enjoyable.

The Park Manor is a delightful hotel with fantastic proximity to Balboa Park and the Zoo. On my short visit, I was treated well and felt safe, as I was travelling alone. The rooms are clean, though some of the furniture is old. The staff was uniformly friendly and helpful. A particularly wonderful surprise is the Piano Bar in the basement. As well as the menu in the restaurant. I look forward to returning with family on the next visit.

The Park Manor Suites is a lovely old hotel with lots of 20's and 30's character and charm. For those who stayed and then complained there was no air conditioning, you must not travel much to Southern California, because there are lots of hotels that are very good that do not have air conditioning, especially in San Diego. I can't hold this against the Park Manor Suites because I knew before it booked it that it was built in pre airconditioing times and would not have air. Nevertheless, it was a delightful experience. The parking was adaquate and even though the lot is small, I never had a problem finding a space. The breakfast is wonderful with plenty of cereal, fruit, coffee, tea, milk, and juice, along with pastries, bagles and english muffins. I'll bet somebody will complain that it doesn't serve cavier and wine for breakfast too. The view from the rooftop is stunning and that in itself is a plus for the hotel. The bed was hard but not uncomfortable and the bathroom could use some upgrading, but for what they had to work with, it was adaquate and functional. The bar and the restaurant are small but good and I never met nicer people anywhere than in San Diego and the Park Manor. The living room is large and spacious and the kitchen and dining room are smaller but work well with the layout. This is "diamond in the rough" and for those who appreciate character and old style, this will be treat not easily forgotton.

We visited/interviewed nearly every venue in San Diego when selecting the perfect location for my daughter's wedding. Frustration level was maximum until she saw Park Manor, and she knew immediately that she had found her perfect location. We didn't want a cookie cutter hotel or wedding reception, and Park Manor has the wonderful architectural bones with European influence which we love ..from the warm brick facade to the high ceilings, spacious rooms, tall windows, French doors. We loved the elegant lobby and felt wedding guests would feel the same effect. The reception area on the rooftop accommodated approximately 125 people nicely. A wedding ceremony at sunset and then the reception by candlelight and beautiful dimly-lit crystal chandeliers provided the most intimate, elegant, old world charm which is exactly what we wanted. Park Manor is so fortunate to have Jim Harmon as wedding/catering director. A wedding consultant wasn't needed because we relied on Jim's savy wedding knowledge, sense of style and outstanding work ethic. He was always there for us, and we never had to compete for his attention. That said I'd like to mention the excellent staff was friendly, efficient and accommodated our every wish. The rooms were clean and comfortable; wedding guests who stayed at the hotel were pleased with their rooms. Cuisine is excellent as is the brunch offered each morning. There are outstanding views from the rooftop, and we loved the idea of each suite having a kitchen.

The hotel is located half a block from Balboa Park and about 8 minutes from the zoo and 12 minutes from downtown. It is quiet and actually quite intesting because of the old style. It is easy to access the city from here and it is a nice place to stay for the price. No families or too touristy. We actually wondered if other people stayed there, but at breakfast we found them.

First of all, the pictures on the internet were deceiving!! The rooms looks more moderate and kept up on the internet!! Our room did not have air conditioning and it got hot during the day; the little cheap fan they had barely did the job. Also, the view of our window was not very appealing (do to the constructing, oh and the nose woke us up early). Finally, the bath tub was extremely old and tattered. If you are looking for a hotel with a very old feel then, maybe this is the hotel for you!!

My negative review is based largely on two problems we encountered. First, the Park Manor Suites has NO AIR CONDITIONING Normally this is not a problem in San Diego, but the days we spent there were hot and humid. The room had two cheap box fans and lots of windows, but noise from the traffic outside meant we couldn’t keep the windows open at night. Management was unapologetic, occasionally rude, and unwilling to offer any solution. Second, service was a disappointment. We moved our own bags using one of their (rickety) carts. One day, housekeeping had not been to our room by 3:45, by which time we had returned to change for dinner. We had them leave us fresh towels and skip the cleaning. We chose the Park Manor Suites for the two-bedroom apartment-style suites (there are also one-bedroom and studio units). The location across from Balboa Park is convenient. Parking is free. Some of the furniture could be called antique, some just plain old. The bathroom was functional, but the grout looked bad and bathtub was stained with age and wear. The included breakfast is adequate, offering bagels, breads, fruit, cereal, yogurt, juice, and coffee. The highlight of breakfast is the penthouse room it is served in, offering nice views of the city and some tables outdoors on the roof deck. Despite the historic charm of the building and the spacious room, the Park Manor Suites has too many flaws.