Palihotel San Diego

Our stay at Palihotel was absolutely wonderful! The staff was incredibly friendly, making us feel welcome from the moment we arrived. The rooms were spotless, smelled amazing, and provided a cozy, relaxing atmosphere. The lobby was beautifully designed, and the upstairs terrace was absolutely gorgeous—we loved it! As San Diego locals, we’re thrilled to have found this gem right in the heart of downtown. The location is super convenient, close to everything, and we’ll be highly recommending Palihotel to all our family and friends visiting from out of town. We can’t wait to come back!

a month ago

The reviews were polarizing, but I'm glad we stayed here anyway. This hotel was built in 1913 and retains many original features. If the idea of a trip back in time to 110 years ago excites you, this is the hotel for you. If you dread the loss of modern convenience, pick somewhere else. The walls are thinner, the rooms are smaller, and the elevators are slow, but in order to bring any of those things up to contemporary standards the building would have to be gutted and stripped of all its charm. The location is fantastic, the decor is superb, the rooms are comfortable, and the rooftop is amazing. The staff was super friendly and accommodating, and the price point was very reasonable for a hotel with these amenities and character. If you're a super light sleeper or have mobility issues you may look for a place with a modern elevator, but otherwise the quirks are no big deal.

a month ago

Marketing made hotel look great- reality was a bit different!! Paid for a “grand king”…this is a larger room (which makes me wonder about the other rooms because we were tripping over each other!) it is on the interior of the hotel with 2 small, shuttered windows overlooking a small courtyard. No sun reaches this area!!! We felt like we were in a cave. The wardrobe- taken over by the mini bar, coffee and snack offerings- had 4 hangers and that’s it for clothes storage- no drawers, no hooks- just 4 hangers!! AC unit was extremely noisy. Loud and raucous activity in hall multiple times at night. Restaurant was mediocre- adequate breakfast for $20. Parking a whopping $65/night! Front desk attendant was kind, apologetic and helpful when I explained we would be canceling remainder of nights and finding another place to stay.

3 weeks ago

The vibes were cute. I did love the character of the hotel, however they only had one elevator working and it's a super old one from the early 1900s. We were on the 10th floor and it would sometimes take 10+ minutes for us to get down. You also have to really put your all into opening the elevator door. The staff was honestly very sweet and did their best. The room was tiny. Again, the aesthetic was cute but it was very small. I did love the tile walk in shower. The location was very rowdy on the weekends. So be cautious if you have a difficult time sleeping. 5th street was fun because there is a lot of action/bars, just a lot of homeless people to watch out for. I personally don't think I would stay here again but I am very happy I got to experience it.

a month ago

Would definitely come back again . Location is great, close to everything it might be a little bit noisy during the night because of the busy street but luckily we got a room in the 9th floor so it was tolerable. The terrace is AMAZING during sunset. Room was decent size and cute, modern but vintage decoration. We did not have a problem with the old elevator, we though it was interesting and something different which we appreciate. Overall good experience here and would recommend.

2 months ago

One of the perks of a travel advisor is that you can experience first-hand some of the properties we are promoting to our clients. I want to thank Taylor S. For the opportunity to tour this beautiful property. Lunch at the Saint James French Dinner Restaurant was awesome and delicious. Thank you to all of the staff as well for their amazing hospitality! ☺️🙏💖

a month ago

I wish I would have read the reviews before staying here, but I have had wonderful experiences at the LA location so I didn’t think twice. Unfortunately, the is hotel is lackluster and while the pricing is sexy, I would spend more money so you can actually be comfortable and get some sleep. The elevators are stunning but the floor I was on had the hardest elevator to open/shut, to the point I struggled to get out of them, especially with luggage, and I have bruises and marks on my arms and legs from the gate retracting and hitting me. The rooms leave a lot to be desired. They are small, stuffy — literally, they are is humid and the AC wall unit does not properly cool the room down, it just circulates warm air and blows some cool air from time to time. I opted for a king bed but I regret it given you can barely walk to the bathroom, as it’s too large for the room. There were fruit flies and a horrid smell in my room. I did not have time to call the front desk to get it changed. I would best describe it at “musty.” I’m not sure if this is the case for other rooms but the biggest reason I would not stay here again is how you can hear every single thing happening on the street, especially on weekends. There’s bass that’s so loud it rattles the shutters. People screaming, horns honking. You’re getting what you pay for in that regard. If you want to get a peaceful night’s sleep, this is not the hotel. Pros: they have a great food & drink happy hour at the restaurant next door. If you’d like to drink, they give you one free drink ticket to use. The rooms are aesthetically pleasing as is the lobby, but this hotel is in need of some standard upgrades to compete with other hotels in the area.

4 months ago

Honestly I was not at all impressed with this hotel. Every staff member I talked to told me different information, there was no consistency and many of them weren’t friendly. The valet parking system is very misleading, inconvenient and extremely expensive - they originally charged us for our entire stay before we showed them receipts for parking ourselves in the lot nearby. Our room was extremely small with no natural lightning, poor ventilation, a very small bathroom, and the pull-out day bed couldn’t even be fully assembled without hitting the normal bed. Perhaps worst of all, when trying to move around the daybed to unfold it, we found dirty underwear underneath it. Overall, I would definitely not stay here again and would recommend others not stay here either

2 months ago