The Beach Cottages - San Diego, California

Marie O.

Very nice place to stay. It's in the middle of everything. Staff is very friendly and helpful. The room was clean and nicely furnished. I had a partial view of the ocean. The walk to the beach is 1-2 minutes. My only complaint is the fan in the bathrooms is very loud. Luckily, no one left it on for a long time and not too late at night or too early in the morning. I would absolutely stay here again and I do recommend it.

Len W.

This is a tough review. There are a lot of positive points to address, yet there are a fair number of less than stellar points to discuss. First of all, I could have just as easily rated this a 4 based on the value we received. I believe we got a very good price deal. |The positive:|The location is fantastic if you want to be close to the action. The cottages (located right on the beach) are tucked in the middle of the nightlife and eateries near the pier. We stayed 4.5 days and did not need a car. We were there for the beach, fantastic walks, the sun, and people watching (and a drink or two). |The room was good. Nothing special. The Q bed was very comfortable and the combination of pillows met our picky needs. All utilities and appliances functioned well. Although there was no hot water early Sunday. |The staff was great and keep in constant communication offering a number of great dining options as well as what was available around the neighborhood. |Less positive: no breakfast, horrible coffee. |The room felt stale and old. The cottages probably needs an update. We did not spend much time in the room so it wasn’t too bad for us but if you are planning on spending time inside it may not meet your expectations. |The Not So Good:|The lock on our sliding deck door was broken and would not lock. We had to improvise and wedge a table to keep the place secure. |We happened to be on the north west side looking over a restraint and bar so it was load until 10-1am. The south side might be quieter. |That all being said we had an extraordinarily superb time in Pacific Beach and might stay at the Cottages again.

Cheryl K.

Location was great, service was good. Room was not very clean! Salt & Pepper shakers were gross and covered with gunk. We found long black hair which none of us have everywhere, dryer vent was full of lint. It's the attention to detail, housekeeping needs to do a better job.

Julie M.

Fantastic location and all the staff are friendly and accommodating. We had a 1 bed suite and it was perfect with a terrific view of the beach and ocean from the 3rd floor. Highly recommend. You can walk to everything including Ralph’s grocery store which is across the street and has great prices. We even took wine back to AZ because it was cheaper than Total Wine!!

Carolyn O.

Stayed for a week in the large two bedroom cabin. Perfect for a family of four. You can’t beat the location right on the beach. Parking was easy in their own lot. The furniture is dated and the kitchen is tight, but it is all very clean and the beds were comfortable. Will definitely return.

Brian B.

The Beach Cottages once again delivered a great experience. This was our 12th year of going there over Christmas/New Years. The entire staff is always pleasant and eager to please. Amenities are clean and perfect! Ping pong, shuffle board in a safe a friendly atmosphere and right on the beach too! San Diego Bay is within a short walk as well.|Great family destination within walking distance to grocery stores, shops and many restaurants.

Sheri M.

Old beach charm. Spotlessly clean and convenient to the beach and many restaurants. Bed and pillows were very comfortable. Staff responded quickly to a broken shower nozzle. Noisy until 12:30-1:00am in a room on the restaurant side. I would love to give 5 stars but our room was in need of remodeling.

Brandon M.

I have mixed feelings on the Beach Cottages.

Pros:
* The front desk staff is great. Their texting system made it easy to communicate during check in, etc.

* The location can't be beat - steps away from the boardwalk and beach.

Cons:
* The "West Wing" of the hotel is titled correctly - as it's chaotic, loud, not well-run and a confusingly mean, and if you stick around long enough, you'll see crazy stuff you never thought you'd see.

* Room 244 must be the Lincoln Bedroom of the West Wing - all the amenities. Not only is it positioned right above the outdoor maintenance workshop, the maids closet is literally right outside the door to 244 (like two feet). If the maids keep it open (and they do - all day), you'll likely be at least moderately challenged in getting in and out of this luxurious room. When we checked in Sunday, there was a maintenance guy in the room directly across from us grinding metal bathroom rails for most of the day - until at least 5pm. That was nice. Down below our balcony was the tranquil sounds of the outdoor maintenance workshop. Luckily, the sounds of the maids banging around right outside our door, and the thin ceilings always let us know the precise location of the guests in the room above us.

* After escaping our room as quickly as possible and spending Sunday at the beach (3/22), we came back to shower. We couldn't turn the shower on. I almost yanked the faucet out of the wall just to turn it on. So, we slept nice and sandy - always super comfy. The next morning I texted the front desk and they said to "pull harder." Really? So, I did, thinking I would rip the pipe out with the faucet, and it turned on. Luckily, I got the shower going, but I had to turn the shower on every time because even my 20 year old daughter didn't have the upper body strength to turn on the faucet.

* On Monday night (3/22) at about 12:30am, a major, loud domestic disturbance occurred in the Beach Cottages parking lot below our balcony (hotel property). A mid-twenties couple were screaming at each other. It caused most guests in that area to awaken and come outside to the balcony. The fight (seemingly fueled by drugs and/or alcohol) was so intense between the couple that I'm still surprised that no punches were thrown. It was INSANE. But, here's the kicker - this fight went on for at LEAST 10 minutes and the Beach Cottages Security guy, with his fancy "SECURITY" jacket on, just stood by his car and watched it all, just like the guests did. For 10 minutes straight. I made eye contact with him several times, so he knew the guests were disturbed. He literally did NOTHING. Absolutely nothing. Didn't even move - just watched like we did. The guy has ONE job, and he had no interest in doing it.

* On Tuesday morning (3/23), I couldn't wait to pack up and leave. At about 8:15ish, I begin to take my things out to my car. But, when I open my room door, there's the open maid closet, a maids cart, and a maid that gives me the dirtiest look that I actually had to look down to ensure that I was wearing pants. It was a real, serious look of disdain - this wasn't just "resting witch face." That caught me so off guard. OK, maybe she's having a bad morning. Plus, who wants to be stationed in the "West Wing" - so empathy was present. I put my stuff in the car and then return to my room. As I'm walking back this same maid from a distance gives me a another mean-spirited side-eye. OK, it's no longer my imagination - this maid has some sort of beef with me. Super strange. And, BTW, to ensure that the "innocent" maids aren't accused of this, the maid I'm referring to was an African American woman who was stationed on the 2nd floor of the West Wing at 8:15am on Tuesday.

Overall, a super weird visit. Strangely enough, based on my experience, I feel overcharged. I considered calling AMEX on my way home, as I paid for room + tax on my AMEX, but decided just to put this incident behind me.

The sad thing about this is the very people who were the best (the front office staff) are the same ones who are going to see this review.