Hilton San Diego Airport/Harbor Island — Hotel in San Diego

1.The front desk lady at this hotel truly gave me a rude awakening. When I first arrived and queued up to check in, there was a white customer ahead of me, so I waited patiently behind them. After a while, the white customer gathered their belongings and stepped aside, leaving the front desk lady free to assist. I hadn’t overheard where their conversation was when I walked in, but since the conversation seemed to have paused and the white customer had stepped away, I assumed they were finished. I stepped forward and told her I’d like to check in.To my shock, the front desk lady reacted as if I had personally insulted her. Her face twisted with fury, and she angrily shouted at me, "Didn’t you see that the white customer was here first?" Her outburst was so dramatic that it even startled the white customer and the other guests checking in nearby. Embarrassed, I quickly apologized, thinking perhaps she simply had a bad temper. She didn’t even give me a chance to explain—though frankly, no explanation should have been necessary. This was clearly a misunderstanding, as I had already been waiting in line for a while and she was fully aware of it.What surprised me even more was how drastically her attitude changed when I was assisted by another staff member. Her tone when addressing white customers immediately softened—she was suddenly gentle, polite, and even laughing with them. I don’t think this behavior is normal, especially considering that this lady herself is a minority. Moreover, none of the hotel staff made any effort to de-escalate the situation or explain anything to me.I’ve stayed at Hilton hotels in seven different countries, and this is the first time I’ve encountered such unreasonable hostility from one minority toward another, paired with such a lack of even basic courtesy to strangers. What’s worse, this whole situation was rooted in a misunderstanding between me and the white customer, but her impatience and anger escalated it unnecessarily. I don’t believe her anger was truly about me "cutting in line", because I had already been waiting and only stepped forward after the white customer stepped aside, and it made our eyes contact. Her anger seemed to stem from her instinct to defend her white customers, even though the white customer, like me, hadn’t even had a chance to speak a single word.2.By the way, the hotel said that there is an airport shuttle bus, but I waited for dozens of shuttle buses at the airport for an hour, and I didn't see any Hilton cars, and there was no exclusive hotel guide or sign, and no one answered the phone for consultation. Naturally, when checking in, no one told me how to take the bus - the location of this hotel is so weird that although it looks very close to the airport, there is actually no public transportation other than the shuttle bus that allows you to get to the airport except walking...

First of all I'm going to start by saying this I had made a phone call into reservations told them what kind of bed I needed and they told me my total I paid for it was that night I was trying to go into my account for special services and AD that I wanted the top floor, I was not informed At All by the reservations team that there were so many different example King rooms I was only told about what the view out these rooms looks like and for me I did not care about a view I just wanted to top floor I was not instructed that if I wanted a king no view but top floor the price it was going to be or that it was going to be a different price bracket I always thought that even a standard King room that there's multiples on all different floors and it didn't matter I was never instructed or educated or informed and I don't work there so I don't know nor have I ever visited the location to know there's different floors but only a staff would know that if you want a king bed they're only on one particular floor they don't go higher than a third floor for an example so for that information not to be informed to a customer is wrong somebody needs to pull the reservations department head out their butt and they need to start doing their job a lot better this will be my last time booking with the Hilton because Hilton reservation team does not know how to treat act and inform a customer. Now I'm also a hotel Choice member golden, their reservations team take excellent care of you they inform you of everything from top to bottom and explain everything they would not do this or treat you this way that I have been treated by the reservations department, so the next day I called the hotel I spoke with an employee got nowhere I asked to speak with the manager manager was not on duty, only the employees supervisor that Supervisor was not able to do anything once I explained the situation they said they could not do anything other than charge me a $35 upgrade fee to move my king from a third floor to the 9th floor just because there was a king bed on the 9th floor they charged you the higher you go up in the building I did not know this how would I I'm not an employee I don't work there I don't know their rules and regulations I've never been informed that the higher up you go in a hotel the more money you pay which that was not an issue with me my issue that I had was with the reservations department. In making this reservation I was not informed of this. So be aware next time you do your booking and you want to top floor ask the different rooms the different prices otherwise you're not...

My family has been a Hilton family for a while (reward, vacation club, etc.). So I have grown to expect certain things when I stay at a Hilton. I recently stayed at this hotel after my husband was diagnosed with Covid. While my stay was pleasant, it certainly did not meet my expectations.

The good - The hotel is very nice and in a great location. It is close to the airport and a short drive to downtown. The views of the harbor are beautiful. The staff was very nice made me feel very welcome. I did not get to use a lot of the amenities since I was working from the hotel. The only one I used was the hot tub and it was lovely. The only thing was that there weren't many pool towels left at the end of the day.

The not good- The biggest issue I had was with the parking. It is $25 a night. For those who are on the Hilton website, parking is listed as an amenity and says nothing about a fee. When we booked the hotel, I specifically looked for hotels that did not charge for parking. When I arrived at the hotel, I was asked about parking a car. Nothing about the charge for parking was mentioned. I did not have my car since my husband needed it to go to the doctors, but I said yes just in case I ended up needing it during my stay. Why not say yes if it is free? To my surprise, I had a charge on my credit card. When I called asking for clarification, I was told that it was for parking. When I explained that the website doesn't state a fee for parking and that I felt is was a little disingenuous to charge for parking without stating there is a fee especially when I ended up not having my car there, I was told the website would be updated for better clarification but that I was not able to get a refund since I stated at checkin that I had a car. I was pretty disappointed with this answer and 100% expect better from Hilton. I shouldn't have to read google reviews to find out there are charges for things at the hotel.

If you are unfamiliar with the area, the hotel is across the bay from the military base at Coronado. You will see ships, planes, and helicopters coming and going all day. This did not bother me. I expected it. But I can see how that would be an issue for folks who are not prepared for it.

Overall, my stay was nice. However, the parking issue has really left a bad taste in my mouth. I will probably opt to stay somewhere else next time. I don't feel the need to be loyal to Hilton if something like this is too much work...