Residence Inn by Marriott San Diego Downtown/Bayfront in San Diego

Pros:
The location is excellent—just steps from the Embarcadero, Little Italy, and the Amtrak station. The surrounding area feels clean, safe, and modern, with lots of new buildings nearby. The staff members I interacted with were friendly and courteous throughout my stay.

Cons:
Unfortunately, a series of policies and operational issues made the stay feel disorganized and less smooth than expected. The hotel requires a physical credit card at check-in, even if the same card is already stored in Apple Pay and was used as the guarantee on the reservation. This policy wasn’t stated anywhere during booking or in the pre-arrival confirmation email, and because of it, I missed out on earning Marriott Bonvoy points—something that could easily be avoided with clearer communication. For a hotel that promotes mobile key access in the app, it is also puzzling that you still need to use the physical key card to access your floor, which undermines the whole “mobile” experience.

The room itself had several basic quality-control issues that added to the sense of disorganization. Fixtures were literally crooked: the toilet paper holder slanted at about 45 degrees, the kitchen sink unit twisted to one side, and one of the bedroom lights was cracked and tilted. The body soap dispenser was completely empty, and while I didn’t request a refill, that was partly because my earlier request at check-in (reiterating the same request made during booking) for extra towels took over 2.5 hours to be fulfilled—and only after I called to follow up with the front desk.

Finally, parking was another small but telling hassle. Although I clearly confirmed during check-in that I’d be self-parking, I wasn’t given a parking permit. Later that evening, I noticed other cars had permits and had to return to the front desk to ask about it—then walk back to the car at 10 p.m. to place the permit on the windshield.

Overall, while the location and friendly staff make this Residence Inn worth considering, the repeated breakdowns in communication, inconsistent service, and lack of attention to basic room details made the property feel poorly coordinated. Our confidence in and willingness to return to this specific location would dramatically improve if they clearly disclosed key policies upfront, ensured mobile and on-property processes actually work together, and tightened quality control in the rooms.

A booking and stay with very poor value for money. I booked a one-bedroom room, which was very small, without a kettle, no slippers, and the air conditioner was a single-horsepower indoor unit. The bath products in the bathroom were of poor quality, the bottom was moldy, the shower floor drain was blocked, and the water flow was very, very slow. Because it was already 11 o'clock in the evening when I took a shower, and I had changed into pajamas, I didn't want to find someone to fix it, so I just wiped it carelessly. The most unexpected thing was the breakfast included in the room rate, which was the worst breakfast I had ever experienced: chaotic, noisy, like the lobby of a train station in China in the 1980s. The food was very simple, with very few varieties. Each variety was divided into two large jars, and there were only 8 large jars, all pre-made, rough and bland, and could only fill the stomach. It was impossible to eat, so I went out to buy food myself. And for a hotel of this quality, Ctrip actually charged each room 7,500 yuan per night, and it cost more than 14,000 yuan for two nights. I was very disappointed with Ctrip, and I would never dare to book a foreign hotel on Ctrip again, and I often stepped on the pit.