Comfort Inn Encinitas Near Legoland — Hotel in Encinitas

After staying at the Comfort Inn, Encinitas for two disappointing nights, my wife and I checked out yesterday morning (Sunday, July 28, 2024). We were booked to stay at least another night. We had come to southern California for the birth of our granddaughter on maybe the most “occupied” weekend of the year in the San Diego area. Babies don’t know that. While I understand the economics of supply and demand, I also understand expectations of service in the hospitality industry. July is high season for out-of-town visitation in the San Diego area, and we were forced into finding lodging at the last minute. We booked our stay at the Comfort Inn, Encinitas and cringed at having to pay nearly $300 per night at an older ‘motel’ but options were limited. Being familiar with brand standards and levels of guest expectation, I felt that the owner, the franchise company and the leader of Choice Hotels should be made aware of our experiences at this property. I could write an in-depth review but will limit my comments to those that I would imagine are in violation of a franchise agreement designed to protect the brand’s reputation. I preface these comments with the fact that when four- or five-star daily rates are charged, the guest’s expectations also rise.
s This limited-service property is obviously old, and by definition would be classified as a motel with no interior corridors. The property has significant wear and functional obsolescence, some of which I assume would trigger a Property Improvement Program after an inspection or transfer of ownership. s The 3-story hotel’s only elevator was “out of service.” This is a significant problem for guests in the grandparent age group. If not a violation of brand standards, the lack of an elevator when paying $300 for a night’s stay is certainly disrespectful to the guest. s When we returned to our room late Friday night, we discovered that the TV did not work. Being too late to deal with it, I reported it the next morning and was told that they were having some troubles with these ‘new’ TV sets. I was told that they would have maintenance look at the problem. We had the same problem Saturday evening, again too late to report it. Suffice it to say that our non-functioning TV problem had no resolution. s Housekeeping Service. After being gone from the hotel all day on Saturday we were very disappointed to see that there had been NO maid service in our room. I walked back down the stairs (no elevator) to the lobby to inquire about the lack of housekeeping service and was told that guests had to ‘request’ housekeeping services. I responded, “How was I to know that? There is no sign informing a guest that no housekeeping would be provided.” For $292 I would EXPECT my room to be cleaned. If you are going to charge 5-star rates, then you better be prepared to provide 5-star service. Let me opine here; we were provided two bath towels that were thread-bare (worn out) and about as small a bath towel as I have ever seen – certainly not even a 2-star quality. In southern California towels do not dry quickly after a shower. A logical guest expectation would be that either more towels are provided in the room, or that the linens are changed each day. At the front desk I requested more towels be brought to the room. I was told they would be to our room within 10 minutes. Two hours later they had not arrived, so I went back down the stairs to the housekeeping area and requested 4 towels – after a debate about the quantity, I was provided with 2 old thread-bare towels. Housekeeping and the front desk failed this guest’s Expectations. s Parking. At check-in I was provided with a “parking credential” that supposedly allowed me to park in the limited parking area of the hotel. I was instructed to place the piece of paper on my dashboard. Upon returning to the hotel Friday night (7/26) we found the parking lot totally overtaken by Black Mercedes Sprinter Vans and Black Cadillac Escalades – they were shiny & new and gave the appearance of a Presidential escort. There must have been 20 of each. The parking lot is made up of primarily “Compact Vehicle” spots and these vehicles were NOT that. These extra-large vehicles dominated the lot; too wide to fit in parking spaces provided, parking in fire lanes and driveways. I was forced to wedge my vehicle in between two large vehicles and could barely exit my car. This experience was repeated on Saturday night. I am confident that I was not the only guest that could not find parking – even though I had a parking credential. Parking Expectations failed. s We decided on Saturday night that we could not endure another day or night at this property; no parking, no elevator, no TV, no guest services – no hospitality. s I asked at the front desk, who operated this property – typically that information is posted prominently in the lobby – I was told that it was a single owner who just purchased the hotel. I asked for a name and contact information, but the front desk person did not have that information. I would think that from a franchise perspective that would be unacceptable. Thus, I am directing this correspondence to those first listed.
We were charged $598.84 for two uncomfortable nights at this sub-standard motel. To us this was bordering on criminal. Considering the age, wear and design of this property, it might earn a single star, but even if we were charged an acceptable rate this property would have earned a failing grade. I thought you should know how the Comfort Inn, Encinitas, is perceived by a paying guest. Extremely Disappointed in this Comfort Inn. This property gives Choice Hotels...

Find somewhere else to stay, anywhere else. After visiting Legoland with my two young children we went to check in. There was a man in front of me who the lady at the desk was treating him very nice and friendly and he got a first floor room. When I went to the desk the lady who turned out to be the manager completely changed her attitude towards me. I asked if there were any first floor rooms because their elevator was out of order…. She said no and I explained I had two little kids afraid of heights and then continued to say very rudely would you like to cancel? I looked at her and said no of course not…. Got the rooms keys, took all of our stuff and two scared kids up 3 flights of stairs. Get to the room and start unpacking getting the kids comfortable and I notice the safety bolt is broken… I call the front desk and tell her so I do not incur any charges for damages and the phone barely works all. She is very rude again and when I ask to move rooms she says she has a few open on the same floor and when I agree she asks if we have touched anything and I say yes and then she says we cannot move rooms because then she would be out a room…. She says she will take note of it and I will not be charged damages and said when I check out to speak with someone who’s there and she will discount the room. I stayed two nights. I look around the room and it is filthy. The floor hasn’t been vacuumed, there are stains on the sheets, holes in the walls, stains on the walls, smear marks on the microwave and fridge. AND BUGS. Not sure what kind of bugs but there should not be any bugs. Overall very dirty. The bathroom was very dark and the drain sucked. Also there was not enough towels or blankets. The 2nd day we asked for more blankets and towels and were given a couple more towels but said they did not have any more blankets and to call at 10:30 pm which we did not do because we were sleeping at that time. The pool was gross looking and also closed. Breakfast was disgusting. Powdered eggs and horrible sausages. Waffles you had to make yourself. 3 types of cereals, cheerios, Reese’s and lucky charms. Some old apples and oranges. Orange juice out of order. Apple juice was nasty my kids did not drink it. Coffee also nasty. They had bagels as well I did not try. And that is it for breakfast. Very small room they had the breakfast in too. Only a few chairs and tables. If I would have known the elevator and pool were out of order I would have not booked this hotel. Not sure who is rating this hotel 9-10 stars but they are lying. When I checked out I asked the man at the desk if the manager left a note on our room about the broken lock and discount. He said she did not and I was like well she needs to give me a call or I am calling corporate. He said he would make a note and I showed him a picture of the lock as well and he was also rude and just dismissed me and did not get my number or name or say anything really. Customer service is lacking here hard. Not worth the money. Only good thing is that it is close to Legoland. I will be speaking to my bank as well. Avoid at all costs. They can take it up with my bank. I need a refund...

PLEASE AVOID THIS PLACE! Let me start with when my husband went to the front desk to let them know about our issues they said well you can go somewhere else at 8pm at night when our kids are sleeping and didn't care that their hotel was trash. Then he said well that's not my job my manager will be in at 10pm call and talk to her. Saying our room was filthy is an absolute understatement when we got there white substance (maybe cleaner solution even though nothing was clean) all over the phone left there for my kids to touch and possibly ingest. Counter tops were sticky and poorly cleaned if at all. The sink and room itself had ants everywhere and when I told the lady at check out she had no concerns about it what so ever. I got a room with 2 "queen beds" which were doubles of course. The bed I was doing to out my son it had multiple curly black hairs in it that honestly looked like pubes so I know the sheets were not cleaned or changed.. when my husband went down to the counter to tell them about it the man handed him "new" sheets still stained and said he could do it himself. The beds were 2 sheets and a thin blanket (with a huge burn hole" in between creating a "comforter$ which they don't have The TV was stuck at 18 volume and would not go down any lower. There were brown stains on the ceiling and water leaking through. No towels were provided we had to go get those ourselves also. My husband spend the whole night the first night getting everything we needed for a clean room that should have been provided and remaking the beds which we shouldn't have had to do. The bathroom door did not shut and the tub plug was broken so I couldn't even bathe my children properly. They have all electrical panels fully accessible and open with no lock creating a huge safety hazard for children. The elevator did not work at all apparently has been out for MONTHS and they don't seem to want to fix it. Our ice bucket had used beer bottle caps in it that were not ours what so ever they just threw an ice bag over it and called it "clean". All the furniture beds and stools had stains of some kind and were gross. The carpets had weird white stains and this was not "remodeled at all". They had mold in their ice machine when my husband went out to get ice. I took pictures before and after my stay just Incase they try to charge me a BS cleaning fee that I did not leave what so ever. If I could give this place negative stars and report it to the BBB I...