Residence Inn by Marriott San Diego Mission Valley, San Diego

I looked at the reviews for this and several other hotels (including the downtown Embassy Suites) on this and several other review sites. Each hotel received such varying reviews - everything from 1 to 5 stars - that I did not know how to choose. So, I chose this hotel (The Residence Inn on Hotel Circle in Mission Valley) because it was the least expensive of the hotels I reviewed. Here is what I found Pros: The toilet, sinks, shower, and counter tops were clean. The dishwasher, toaster oven, microwave and fridge were clean. The pool is beautiful. There is a hot tub. Breakfast (which ends at 9:00 AM) is included in the price. It includes eggs, pancakes, sausage, bacon, cereal, milk, juice, bagels, muffins, coffee, etc. It was very good for a buffet style meal. The kids suite has 3 rooms. Each room has a large T.V. and a very large window. Even though our windows overlooked the pool, it was very quiet when they were closed. Our room was right next to the elevator, but we didn't hear a thing (good sound-proofing). the kids suite had 2 beds in the kids room, a pull-out bed sofa and a bed in the master bedroom. Cons: The lower cupboards in both the kitchen and bathroom were filthy. There drips of various substances running down the doors. The bathroom was connected to the master suite so if the kids had to use it in the middle of the night, they woke us up. The fridge and freezer smelled horrible! I didn't even want to put any food in them. The bed in the maste rbedroom was uncomfortable and the mattress tilted to one side. No matter how many times I rolled to one side, I'd end up rolling the other way in my sleep. There were 2 metal bars sticking out at least 3" behind the bedskirt of the bed in the master bedroom on the far/window side of the room. I rammed my leg into one and developed a HUGE bruise. The lighting in the master bedroom is insufficient for reading in bed at night. It is very dim.

This hotel would have received a much better review from us if it were not for the bugs. We kept finding small bugs (roaches?) in the bathroom area. They seemed to really try to solve it and appeared generally concerned. The last morning I must have killed a half a dozen so we rushed out without breakfast. Good location for restaurants, old town and Balboa park. If I knew they had that solved, I'd stay again. We met guests who had stayed over long periods or were repeat visitors.

Rooms are big and we felt just like in home. The attention is very good and breakfast is fab. In our next trip we are staying there.

We stayed 2 nights here, and stayed in the "Kid's 2-Bedroom Suite"... conveniences were nice with a room with full kitchen, nice living room, and fun kid's bedroom. Staff was very helpful with providing pack'n play for our 9-month old and bringing up 2 high chairs so we could eat in our room. Full buffet breakfast each morning was great - make your own waffles, eggs, cereal, juices, & coffee Be careful == The rooms are a bit smaller than the pictures show; It's not overly clear, but there's only 1 Bath in the unit; The "convenience store" that I had read about is basically 1 large fridge with beverages and 1 large freezer with some ice cream and some microwave burritos. There's also some pharmaceutical needs, and chips, but that's about it.

On 1/26/05, my wife and I booked a room for three nights, 2/1/05 to 2/4/05, with a credit card and received a �guaranteed� room reservation, confirmation number 81468099, at the Residence Inn San Diego Carlsbad. When we arrived, we were informed that they were overbooked. They �walked� us to their sister motel, Fairfield Inn at Carlsbad, several miles away. That motel is situated right up against a very busy section of Interstate 5, with no soundproofing. In discussing matters with motel employees, we were informed that overbooking didn�t often happen in the off-season, but occurred frequently at this hotel in the summer. We attempted to bring this matter to Marriott�s attention via the contact information at their website, but we have not gotten even the courtesy of a reply.