Empress Hotel La Jolla — Hotel in San Diego

We do not recommend this hotel. We were hugely disappointed in our stay over Labor Day weekend. Aside from the location, the hotel failed to meet our expectations based on the advertised amenities and previous reviews. We got a Superior King with the Pampered Pet package. We knew the weekend would be hot, so we brought board games with the intent of enjoying a vacation in the room during the mid-day heat.

When we arrived in our room, there were no items from the pampered pet package- no dog bowl, bed, or treats. Upon request to the front desk, a bed and bowl were delivered, but no treats were provided. Not a total loss, but disappointing for a "special." The bed was also far too small for our 40lb dog.

Our room overlooked a parking area and trash cans, so we left the blinds closed for the duration of our stay. Inside the room, there appeared to be water damage on the ceiling above the bathroom and in the closet.

On the first day, there was a continuous tapping for several hours above our room. It sounded like a construction site directly above our heads. We opened the windows and walked outside to see if it was nearby construction but we could only hear it from our room and the hallway directly outside. When we informed the front desk of the noise, they said it could just be the people above us and there was nothing they could do. This sound was present for the remainder of our stay.

The safe in our room was unusable; it did not turn on to lock or set a new code.

The "Gourmet coffee/tea maker" was a standard drip hotel coffee maker; luckily there are plenty of coffee shops that open early.

We searched for the "robes and slippers" advertised for the rooms, but they were nowhere to be found. We called the front desk and they said they had been discontinued.

We requested housekeeping on our second day. Due to COVID, they only provide housekeeping on request. Following the "housekeeping," we had fresh towels but the bed was not made and the tea was not replenished.

Also due to COVID, they do not offer breakfast. Though we did not see this on the site, it is worth noting that the amenity is not available as described in previous reviews.

We were excited about the complementary "Empress Hotel Beach Concierge." It ended up being heavily worn hotel beach towels that were available in the lobby.

We loved our time in San Diego but nearly left this hotel after the first night. It was a waste of money (~$300 per night) and fell far below our expectations. We've stayed in nicer chain hotels for far less. This was a disappointing "boutique" experience. Perhaps it was better before the pandemic, but I cannot recommend based on our...

We chose this place on a whim for a quick family get together - prices were just $200/night compared to the other surrounding hotels boasting at $500-700/night...Safe to say this hotel is Frugal Momma approved. Here's why:

Location: Central to everything we wanted to visit. From La Jolla Shores/Kellogg Park & Windansea Beach to various dining, coffee shop & shopping options this is what sold us to choose Empress for our stay!

Rooms: Comfortable, cozy and had just everything we needed. Our room came well equipped with a fridge, microwave AND plenty of counter space in the bathroom. Convenient for families who bring food back or need to store milk. Beds and pillows were plush and comfortable. Shower and bathroom were very clean and updated to feel more luxurious (walk in shower) which we appreciate! Overall, it was clean with the exception of a large wet spot on the carpet (we just avoided it). We hardly heard any noise from neighbors or outside!

Lobby/Hotel commons: Some outdated details and lobby smelled of urine when we checked-in but if you can get past that and have a clean room -- it'll outweigh some of those details. We loved that Manhattan Restaurant was in the same hotel - we ordered pasta to go one night after a long beach day (Bolognese and Shrimp alfredo) and everything was tasty. We appreciate snacks, cold beverages and Evian water being available for purchase.

Service, Valet, and Parking: 10/10 - Valet was very timely, we didn't wait longer than 5 minutes for our car each time. I wish the parking garage was a bit more straightforward, we ran into some confusion our first night and was not ADA accessible (we had strollers with us). We caved and paid for valet all 5 nights instead. For those who like to avoid valet, there is street parking but if you tend to store items in your car you'd have to bring everything up to the room with you.

Overall, we would stay here again as a trusty option for our family. You get a little more than what you expect at...

The Good: The hotel itself is perfectly fine. Wonderful, central location. Housekeeping did a great job and the rooms were clean with incredibly comfortable beds. While not fancy, a full hot breakfast spread is offered and the attendant did a great job keeping the breakfast stocked and organized. The afternoon cookies in the lobby were a nice treat, too. ||The Bad: During my 2 night stay, the hotel was horribly understaffed. There was almost never anyone at the front desk when you walked up. Sometimes the attendant would be off to the side and would come quickly, and other times we had to wait 5 minutes for assistance, with no bell to alert anyone. At check-in, the attendant told me that I could call the front desk to have the valet pull my car in advance but the 2 out of 3 times that I called, the phone just rang and rang and rang. ||Sometimes the valet attendant is in front of the hotel but was usually sitting down and on their phone in between trips rather than monitoring the hotel entrance. The elevator is not locked by key card so anyone can come in through the unattended entrance and take the elevator up. One Saturday night when we arrived back to the hotel around 8pm, there was a disheveled man loitering in the halls with a suitcase and pretending to be on his phone. My friend and I felt uncomfortable so we went downstairs to alert the attendant. The front desk was not attended, so we had to wait several minutes for someone to come out. We told the attendant the situation and then we sat down in the lobby to wait. I don't know what kind of measures the attendant took if any, but we did not see any hotel staff going upstairs and after about 10 minutes, we saw the man exit the hotel on his own. When we went back upstairs ourselves, we saw that the man had left his suitcase in the hallway. ||This hotel has so many nice attributes but given the lack of staffing and security measures, I would choose to stay elsewhere on...