Lafayette Hotel San Diego

nice place

friendly service quiet

good enough

good enough

Loving the Lafayette!

I have stayed at this hotel at least four times in the last year. It is a great hotel and the prices are always reasonable. The staff is very friendly. The breakfast that is included for all guests is a very nice bonus! They have waffle machines, bagels, toast, fresh juices, coffee, cereals and milk. This historic hotel is a wonderful place to visit and close to many San Diego attractions. I like the zoo, which is about ten minutes away.

The zoo, always a fun day!

Good experience

I am a small business owner and stay mostly in 4 star places however things are slower now and I needed to be in San Diego at 8am therefore I wanted a reasonably priced local Hotel which was within 3-4 miles of downtown. After seeing the mixed reviews I thought I would give it a chance and I am glad i did . The front desk staff was very friendly on both check in and check out . I was upgraded without asking to a Spa Suite which had two bathrooms . I went into the very friendly bar and chatted with the locals who were also very friendly. There is a good feel about this place ideal for couples or families to hang out by the pool for a day or so.

No Hot Water :(

Hotel Review: Maybe I am spoiled but not having hot water on the 2nd night was a nightmare. We also found only 1 light working in the whole room and the bathtub would fill up ankle high. We were so busy with our activities that we did not bother demanding a different room. Instead I am letting you know to check the room before accepting it.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

Please walk Balboa park and go to downtown for Dinner. San Diego is so beautiful. Enjoy!

Old Colonial

It is a very old hotel and could use a paint job and a spruce up job, but was worth what was paid. The rooms are comfortable and include a refrigerator and microwave. (although there was a rotten smell coming from the inside of the refrigerator). I might stay there again, but only for a night, not an extended stay.

What a shame....

Based on the description and photo, this looked like a great classic hotel.Upon driving up we were dissappointed.It looked run down,and in a sketchy part of town.The faucet in the bathtub in our initial room was running-not leaking-running,and couldn’t be turn off.The grout around the tub and sink was moldy and gross,and the paint was chipped and patched everywhere.So we asked to change rooms, and he gave us a choice between 2 suites.The first had a balcony that looked like a tar roof top,and the bathroom sink looked as though it had been ripped off the wall and pathed back with some paint slapped on.The 2nd room was slightly cleaner so we chose it.This room:2 lamps didn’t work,2 didn’t even have bulbs in them. 2 tv’s but no remote.The remote we finally received didn’t have a cover to protect the batteries.There were chunks of tile missing and mold and calcium deposites on the jaccuzzi.Stains and cigarette burns on the sofa and chunks of wood missing from the window sill from termites.The iron worked great though, and the pool area looks cool.Please refurbish this place to its original 1940’s glory!Bring back that glamour of the ’40s.That’s why the pool area with the french doors surrounding it is still impressive.Thank goodness for at least that.We would have left and gone to another hotel if we had the time.But this was just a weekend trip,and we didn’t want to spend it running around looking for a decent hotel.

Great Place!

Am very happy I stumbled across this place. The price was very reasonable, and the location is a bit weird (not a bad neighborhood though), so I was a bit worried on the way there. But was very pleasantly surprised on arrival. Big old historical hotel, giant lobby with huge pool, and outside bar. The room was actually a suite, with two bathrooms. It was really two regular hotel rooms glued together with no door inbetween. Very clean and the staff was great. I plan on staying there on my future trips to SD.

incidentals fee

Hotel was fine for my purposes, i just wanted a hotel room to crash in with my gf. It was cheap and free internet and breakfast was a plus. Not a place to "hang out" at but hanging out at the hotel wasnt what i wanted anywayz. Real close to everything San Diego. Hated the fact that i was told i would be charged a certain amount for "incidentals" so i said fine but was then charged almost three times that amount. It was just a hold not a charge but still, considering the money is released by the hotel immediately after check out but takes days for it to clear and appear on a bank statement. Due to them holding more than they said they would and it being the weekend i overdrew from my checking account without knowing it. when i asked the hotel about it they said they only charged what i was quoted, my bank statement says differently. my bank was nice enough to see i had enough in my savings account to cover the charges and, i’m in good standing with them so after 15min on the phone with the fraud department they withdrew the overdraft fees imposed on me and flagged the transaction incase further investigation was needed. the hotel still mantains they only charged what they said they would hold. Other than that whole cluster, it was an ok place to sleep. crappy breakfast i thought it would have been better based on other reviews i saw. good enough to get the day going and maybe hold ya over till lunch.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

zoo

Nice and simple hotel

The staff was very friendly and helpful. The pool was great. Our room was clean. We asked for more towels and received them right away. When we go back to San Diego we will consider staying here again.

maintaining

they were having trouble with elevator,ice machine and the hot tub did not have jet but was close to zoo ball park and the staff were very friendly loved the garage parking and the breakfast, and the pool would stay there again

Average

Hotel is nice, but the room gave me the impression that I was staying at a motel.

Very OLD !! Lafayette Hotel San Diego

I was very disappointed at the condition of the hotel. It is a very old hotel which I thought was converted from an old apartment. The shower, toilets and doors all need to be changed or upgraded. Although the complementary breakfast was really good and the price is inexpensive, I was very dissatisfy with the condition of the room and hotel overall. If they don’t offer the breakfast with good hotel prices, I don’t think they would get any business. The pictures of the hotel preview looks good but the room is very old and different from the pictures.

Has all the charm with out the Luxury

If you like the charm of the 40-50 then this is your place, it’s a little run down and ceiling was leaking in the bath room from the room above, Has a real nice Pool from the original Tarzan and there are celeb name plates all over the hotel. Not the nicest place, little over priced for what they offer, breakfast is a crowd at 08:00. The maids will throw anything out that you do not put away and the hotel will not try to locate the items. I lost my whole trips reciepts...

Traveler's tip on local attractions

Not far from the Zoo or Sea World.

This could be a great place if you have little kids.

This was our 1st visit to San Diegio. We had booked the std room which was not good. The room had no walking space and we would bump out knees to teh furniture in the room. Make sure you do not get a std room. We were moved to a room by the poolside which is awesome. There was a lot of space to move around and the patio door opened to the pool. The front desk was very helpful. Also the breakfast service was very good. The room service was ok, you would have to request for extra towels. It felt like the sheets and the blankets needed some dry-cleaning. These did not smell fresh. The room at soem kind of odor but in all great for the price.

Traveler's tip on dining

Car is a must. You have a Denny’s and McDonald at walking distance from the resturant. Also, if you down towards Texa street towards the Mall, there are plenty of eating places and will not break your budget.

Very nice and in the middle of all attractions.

Nice hotel and centrally located.

Lafayette Hotel

I was there for 4 days. No one ever came to check my room let alone clean it.

Family Zoo Visit

Good area, loved the history of thr Hotel. Kids, ranging 10 - 17, also enjoyed the post Zoo visit stay at this Hotel. Great top-end restraunt attached. Other places to eat within walking distance (~ 2 blocks). Different than Hotel Row. Cater more to mature visitor, or kids with mature view. Locals walk in to use pool and bar.

It’s a good place to stay for the price.

It’s a good place to stay for the price and it had a lot of charm from the 40’s and 50’s era. The staff was also very friendly and professional. We loved the waffle makers for the continental breakfast. The rooms were smaller than I expected and the hotel wasn’t as close to the things I wanted to see as I thought. However, public transportation was nearby and easy to use and there is a great Vietnamese coffee house around the corner that was a great neighborhood find.

What we thought of Lafayette Hotel

The minute we walked into the lobby, to check in, there must have been 200 20’s and 30 year olds, spilling out of the lounge into the pool and lobby. It was a total shock. The rooms were not serviced much. Only one set of towels for two people. When asked for another set, it took two hours and a reminder call to get more. The halls were dark. The area around the hotel was kind of scary at night, but we know the hotel can’t do much about that. We had been traveling for 10 days and this was the worst we came upon. Therefore we checked out the next morning, instead of staying two more nights. The hotel was gracious enough to refund us our money.

best vacation spot outside of the city

I’m so glad I didn’t spend a lot of money on just anoter everyday hotel. No this place isn’t a new swanky highrise, or a beachfront, or in a hotspot, but what it lacks for the typical tourist it makes up the charm. The style is old hollywood, the pool and bar are enough to keep you there all day long, and the locals who come to hang are friendly and full of good tips. It’s no wonder they choose to spend their free time here eventhough they know every "it" place in San Diego, the price is right for a perfect get-away no matter how much time you have.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

Just make sure you have a car and time to get around because like I said it’s def. not in a hot spot and it’s a good 45min walk to anything other than mcdonalds

Overrated

No good, the pictures are not right

They take a deposit from your card & don’t tell you!!! 3 weeks & still waiting for my deposit back!!

Hotel was great but they take a $100 deposit without telling you! The General Manager checked me in without telling me which makes it worse! I checked out 3 weeks ago and am still waiting for my deposit back! I have called 3 times with NO results!

Party Atmosphere

This is a fine choice as long as you don’t mind loud music late into the evening. It’s definitely more of a party atmosphere, which is not what my wife and I were looking for. We wanted a place where we could sleep peacefully after a long day at Sea World and this place didn’t fit that need. We stayed on a weekend; maybe things are different during the weekdays.

Decent Place to Stay

I’ve stayed here before with my son on a previous trip to San Diego. My family and I got a free upgrade to a pool-view room, but we were a little disappointed with the lack of amenities in the room. There was no TV guide listings, no pen and paper, no hair dryer... Our room was fairly clean, however. The free breakfast is great, and includes make-it-yourself waffles, cereal, toast, etc. Fruit selection is minimal, however. It is very close to the zoo and Balboa Park, and downtown (like Seaport Village), and about 15 minutes from Sea World and the beaches. The pool is nice, and there were lots of guests in their lounge chairs relaxing by it. Overall, I was satisfied with the quality of the hotel, and would stay here again.

This hotel has free Wi-Fi and free parking close to the rooms.