Grand Hotel Tijuana — Attraction in Baja California

I had good expectations because of some of these reviews. Please read my experience:||Check-In|checking in for a medical procedure stay (TJ hair clinic) was awkward. You can’t check in at the front desk and you have to go to the 11th floor to another desk there. Although it was around 5, we gave the desk person info and were asked to sit while they finished the details. It didn’t take too long but I’ve never had to wait for a room at 5 before.||The lobby |Lobby was cute, albeit small, with lots of workers milling around. Not sure what they do. Lots of seating. 4 elevators which usually were fairly fast and working well, and only a few times too full for my comfort. The “lobby” for the 11th floor medical check in is small and awkward with the desk essential in the hallway.||The room|We were on the 25th floor, facing over the pool and golf course. The view was superb. The room was an odd shape but nice. However, the floor was not level and I was definitely walking “up” the floor like ramp towards the window which is concerning. The wifi didn’t work AT ALL. At all!! I even asked another lady staying on our floor on the other side and she said she didn’t have reliable wifi either. I also did not have phone signal with T-Mobile so that was horrific. Especially after a procedure and you just want to rest in your room and watch something on your Netflix. Couldn’t mirror my phone on the tv either. The absolute worst thing was no hot water in the shower. I shower twice a day. And that night we checked in we went to shower and it was cold. We had to call three times before someone showed up. The worker didn’t speak English so we weren’t sure why we didn’t have hot water or what he did to fix it (looked like turning knobs on the bathroom sink?) anyway. Hot water! Yay! We vowed not to touch the sink knobs and wash our hands with the purified water so we’d have hot water next morning. NO HOT water AGAIN. And again had to call three times before someone showed up. They also didn’t speak English but I thought to pull up google translate. He again moved the faucets on the bathroom sink to make the water hot in the shower (wtf). I used google translate if it would happen again and he replied “I hope not but I’ll check something down the hall.” We took our hot showers and went on our day, and passed him with gushing water in a maintenance room. I have no idea what the problem was. Anyway couldn’t get the water hot hot again glint messing with the faucets we got it lukewarm and just did that.||Awful. ||The food|I think the food was really good. We ordered room service and it took 30 minutes. No problems ordering. Food tasted good and was inexpensive. Beside room service we also did the breakfast buffet. It was ok, the employees were super nice and I liked their coffee.||Amenities |It was convenient to have a hair procedure done and walk through the attached buildings. I also sat at the cabana by the pool. The pool looked nice but it was too cold to swim. I sat in the cabana (free and first come first served). It was pleasant and a worker was sitting there (lifeguard? Idk). I wish they had food service or a way to hold the cabana as I went out at noon to sit there and I got hungry and had to use the bathroom so I left around 2.||A downside to the amenities is it seems they did away with their tennis court and instead let people rent out the space next to the pool. They were setting up for a “private” event you could buy tickets to for a boxing match. I left before it happened but they tested the speakers and it was LOUD. I could hear it on my 25th floor hotel room. I was happy I was leaving before that could occur because that is no conducive to rest and relaxation after a procedure.||If you are offered this place as part of the package, ask if you can have a cheaper package and stay elsewhere. I eyeballed the Hyatt hotel a few blocks down the street and almost reserved it and left due to the lack of hot...

Depending on which room you reserve, you will have different perspectives of this hotel. I went for 4 day business to Tijuana (company paid for the hotel+breakfast buffet every day) and experience was as follows:

1. Arrival/Check in: Very attentive. Did not find the paying instructions and prepaid voucher by my company, however after a while they did find the "master account" (we were 4+ rooms) and gave me keys and breakfast coupons for Thursday, Fri & Sat. I was assigned a Standard room at floor 19: Clean but outdated. first impression was it needed to be remodeled, no sofa, and cheap shower head and amenities (the photos you see at the Hotel web page are not accurate. Rooms do not have a sofa, nor a reading light at the sofa). AC worked fine. No fridge. Had a good sleep. Note: photos at tripadvisor and other portals are NOT of the standard room but the premium price rooms.
2. Great breakfast, very good service at the cafeteria. We returned to the room at 18:00 pm and my room was not done (somebody hung some other´s room "do not disturb" sign on my door. My room sign was inside my room. We asked the reception staff to correct this situation, and went for dinner. We came back and by 22:00 pm, the room was still not done, so the reception staff, kindly changed us to another room on 18 floor (same location, one floor below, i believe same standard room class). Room at floor 18: Not as clean as the first one, did not comply with the same standard as we had no luggage rack, different curtains, smaller TV. I am not sure if it is because this hotel is used by post surgery patients that the beds seem to smell to alcohol or not really clean, in my opinion.
3. Great breakfast and service. same room, no changes.
4. Our nice breakfast was ruined by a staff member of the cafeteria (not a waiter, but a cashier or administrative role guy), when arguing my breakfast coupons were not valid ("my room had instructions for 1 person and not 2", and for the records, I did have 2 coupons per day, as instructed and paid by my company). I told him it was a mistake, and that we needed to kindly solve this misunderstanding. I had stayed for 3 nights and had breakfast for 2, without any problem. He even made a rude answer "insinuating I shall pay breakfast from all past days, even if the hotel had printed all of them". I went to the reception desk and the problem was solved very easily and fast by a nice gentleman. This people at the restaurant need to be retrained in customer service processes and routines.
5. I actually had a second reservation for Saturday night (upgrade room at 25 floor), so decided to change rooms. I appreciated very much that i changed rooms after my morning checkout of the 18 floor room in less than 5 minutes. New room at 25th floor was totally different. Remodeled room. very clean. Even towels were new and really white. and the reception also gave TWO breakfast coupons for Sunday. Had a great rest at this room.
6. Last breakfast, great service (Sunday Brunch), easy checkout.

Conclusions: If you stay at the standard room, you can expect an outdated room (with differences and variation in the room furniture and amenities). and maybe get better cleanliness at nearby chain and international brands hotels. Expect rudeness from some staff members who need customer oriented training and perspective. If you pay the upgraded rooms, you will have a nice experience at this hotel.

Will use this hotel, just when no other comparable option is available at Tijuana. Breakfast is a great option even if not staying...

We recently stayed at this hotel and wanted to share an honest review to help future travelers—especially those visiting Tijuana for the first time. While there were some notable positives, unfortunately, there were also several disappointing aspects that impacted our overall experience.

Pros: Great Location: The hotel is in a very tourist-friendly area. Within a short 3–4 minute walk, you’ll find familiar establishments like Burger King, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, and Smart & Final. The area felt safe, and we never experienced any discomfort or negative attention from locals. Convenient for Drivers: We drove into Tijuana, and the hotel is about a 10-minute drive from the border (though traffic made it closer to 20 minutes). The route is straightforward, which made navigating easy. Fast Check-In: Check-in was efficient. Do note that all guests staying in the room must be present with valid ID. A $100 deposit is also required—credit cards are preferred, as using a debit card incurs higher charges. Secure Parking: The underground parking garage felt safe and well-guarded. It also has an elevator that takes you directly to the lobby. The cost is just $1, regardless of the length of stay. Cons: Inconvenient Parking Payment: While parking was affordable and secure, exiting was frustrating. The machine only accepted cash, and since we didn’t have any, we had to use the hotel ATM—which charged a $10 fee. Card payments were not accepted, which felt unnecessarily inconvenient. Room Disappointments: We booked a Grand Room, which was advertised as including access to a special brunch area. However, this was never explained or mentioned at check-in, and we couldn’t find any information about where to go. The air conditioning in our room barely worked. Although we reported the issue right away, it took over six hours and two follow-up calls before a technician arrived. Even after the repair, the temperature only dropped slightly, and the room remained uncomfortably warm. We resorted to keeping the window open for the remainder of our stay. Additionally, the tub in the bathroom wasn’t draining properly, which forced us to take quick showers to avoid water overflow. These maintenance issues left us feeling like we were given a subpar room, despite paying for an upgraded option. Food & Amenities: The buffet café was inconsistent. About 75% of the dishes were either empty or not restocked, leaving mostly unappealing options. Pricing for food and drinks was comparable to what you'd expect in the U.S., which was surprising for Mexico. I also was supposed to receive a food and beverage discount through my Expedia VIP status, but the front desk had no idea about it and didn't honor it. As for the casino, it was quite small and mostly empty, which made it underwhelming. Final Thoughts: While the hotel has a good location and some convenient features, the issues we experienced—especially with room quality, maintenance, and service—left us unimpressed. If you find a significantly lower price compared to other hotels, it may be worth considering. Otherwise, we recommend exploring other accommodations in Tijuana. We will definitely be staying elsewhere on...