Quartz Hotel & SPA — Hotel in Baja California

My wife and I returned to Quartz Hotel in an attempt to recreate a magical birthday experience we had for her two years ago. Check-in is at three, however, we remembered last time the receptionist was very kind and once he saw it was my wife's birthday... he gave us an upgraded room on the 4th floor, facing the pool with a private patio. He also gave us early check-in for no charge. We had such an amazing time at the pool and all of the staff were kind.

This is why we chose to return, but.....

Remembering this, my wife entered the hotel while I waited in front with my vehicle to see if we could possibly store our bags. When she came out she had a very confused look on her face and told me the receptionist was rude and said we can leave our bags there for $46, since it was roughly 1:00 pm, that seemed a little steep.

We parked in the private parking garage and I paid a couple of nice guys to detail my Jeep while we walked around for 2 hours waiting for check-in.

Earlier in the day I attempted to call and ask for early check-in and potentially pay to upgrade the room. I waited on the phone for 25 minutes before hanging up.

I figured going inside and apologizing that I didn't call in advance about the check-in and trying to level with the receptionist would allow us to at least leave our bags and sit by the pool.

The receptionist was cold and not nice at all, when I mentioned I tried to call for my wife's birthday, she fake smiled and said ,"Congratulations.". It was also awkward every time we would exit and enter because she sits right by the door and would give us dirty glances and whisper every time. In the notes we requested a fourth floor room, she didn't even address it and put us on the 9th floor in the furthest corner away from the pool possible.

Everyone else was nice, helpful, and the hotel has a lot of good features. The gym is nice, the parking isn't expensive and the restaurants on the terrace are very good.

Another bad instance:

When we asked for music by the pool, along with over 20 other people we heard ask; we finally were told the manager says it's not a beach party it's a hotel and denied our request. Many people started to bring their own music and were asked to turn it down. It's ok for screaming children to jump and splash everyone and scream at the top of their lungs, but music isn't an option?

The drinks: we heard multiple people ask if there was even liquor in them? I started ordering doubles and finally could taste the alcohol, it could also be that they use a good amount of triple sec to mask the taste?

Overall: Bad- Horribly rude receptionist -based of our experience with her alone we probably will find another hotel next time. Mini fridge is nice but no freezer for ice and no ice machines on the floors.

Elevator system is horrible, stops at every floor and there are 2 tiny elevators, takes forever to get anywhere.

Good- Great architecture, comfortable rooms and amenities, good gym, location is ideal, parking simple. Smells good with aromas, outdoor restaurants and food service very good. Breakfast is included and is very delicious, service is good. Room service is...

SCAM Visitors/tourists/families beware!! This hotel concierge woman was absolutely rude and disgusting towards me when I addressed that they charged me for breakfast that only had three options to choose from; one being orange juice, bread or coffee, ridiculous. I tried to cancel the breakfast portion of my reservation and she lied saying that breakfast was complimentary and included in the total price I paid in advance on their website, for six nights. LIES. I chose the breakfast option because at all US resorts and hotels I’ve stayed at, they’ve always offered a full breakfast and not just three very minimal options. Therefore, I selected to pay more for each night, so it was NOT included in my overall price! I tried explaining this over and over and over and they instead were going to charge me MORE than I initially paid, to cancel the reservation and create a “new one” and suddenly ‘without’ the breakfast option?! I spent so much time disputing this on different occasions, and it took time away from being w my family, before I finally decided to call my bank in the US, and report what is happening. One waitress tried asking her manager if they’d include the breakfast we wanted w the free breakfast voucher, and he said “no because it was more ingredients”. On top of that they opened a tab in the amount of $300USD on my card for spa services that I did not request!!

The pillows were absolutely uncomfortable and hard as another reviewer stated. The food was expensive in the area for being Mexico; we ended up getting recommendations from some other staff to eat elsewhere and only paid a few dollars for Uber, and ate really great food! Much better than the hotel’s expensive Americanized food, (not Mexican, if you’re looking to experience that).

The pool and jacuzzi close at 9pm, my family and I and other American guests thought that was way too early, and the bar closes at 8pm. We had to ask for towels because they barely had any in the bathroom of our room upon arrival, there’s no microwave, the walls are paper thin and you can hear kids and adults literally screaming up and down the halls, the spa prices are expensive and outrageous!

Overall, this is by far my worst experience at any hotel at its price. Customer service was the worst I’ve ever experienced for my high dollar! Never again. I agree w other reviewers, find someplace else to stay. Once they’ve got your US money they treat you like dirt.

Update That is a lie, no manager nor the long list of staff they replied to my review, ever spoke to me, not once! Only the rude concierge lady and one woman at the front desk when we were going to fix the overall cost of our stay, but she was going to charge me more than I initially paid. And yes there was a breakfast price and a price for no breakfast—another lie. Also lied that “they tried explaining this over and over again”, I’m not stupid, I know what I booked and how can I show you something on your website that I booked several weeks before when clearly your rates change from day to day?? Ridiculous. Don't be fooled by what the hotel...

Spacious rooms with a gorgeous view.

The pool is phenomenal (except for the broken railing on the otherwise wonderful hot tub). It has coloured lights that change, for an extra-delightful experience. The pool itself is salted and so relaxing. The pool Lounge area is huge with lots of furniture and umbrellas, and although we don't drink, there is a bar there with drink delivery to the hot tub during the daytime. Near the pool area is a huge garden filled with cactus, succulents, and other plants native to all over Mexico. There is a " living wall" of succulent plants that extends from the 4th floor roof deck all the way down to the second floor restaurant level, and it looks like a flowing waterfall of plants. Beautifully designed.

We have yet to use the spa or the gym, but we have had a look at the gym , and it is very well stocked with the latest equipment and it is open 24 hours. The list of spa treatments is extensive, even includes sound bath therapy with singing bowls.

The staff are so nice. They go above and beyond to help. For example, we asked for a coffee pot to make tea, and they gladly replaced the Keurig espresso maker.

The shower is beautiful and spacious. and the shower door swings inward and outward.

There is a refrigerator and a safe (although it would be nice to have a microwave).

The complimentary breakfast is delicious. The chilaquiles are recommended. Also, healthy options such as an egg white omelet, regular scrambled eggs, or homemade oatmeal are very tasty. The complimentary "green drink" is very healthy and refreshing. The coffee is perfect. Green tea is available as well.

The servers in the restaurant are superlative, very friendly and happy to chat and answer questions.

The room service menu is excellent, and even includes dishes from nearby restaurants. The soups are awesome, and the Caldo Tlalpeño in particular is the best soup I have ever had. We are trying to keep our costs down, so the soup and salad options are welcome. The avena, at 114 pesos, is the most delicious oatmeal we've ever had. One would think we couldn't get excited over oatmeal, but the flavours within are divine.

We are here for medical reasons, and we hit a snafu with the bank machine (the taxis here only accept cash), and the hotel made sure we got to our appointment across town on time.

The front desk concierges are friendly, efficient, and when we needed to extend our stay they made the process very easy. We speak a little bit of Spanish, but they also speak very good English so communication was easy as well.

The hotel is located in the Zona Rio area of Tijuana, which is popular for medical tourists due to close proximity of all the Specialists and medical services, and is considered to be a safe...