Pantai Inn — Hotel in San Diego

I booked a weekend here from May 30 - June 1, 2025 and was so pleased and impressed that I had to write a review.||The rooms: we booked a suite as we had 3 members in our party. The suite had a bedroom, living room, dining room, and kitchen. The bedroom had a king bed, a dresser, 2 bedsides, and a closet. We had plenty of room for 2 people in this room. The living room had a couch, a window seat, and queen murphy bed. Both beds were very comfortable, and the rooms were clean. The kitchen had a full sized refrigerator as well as a full-sized stove (oven and cooktop). There were pace settings for 4, a Keurig, and coffee supplies. The kitchen sink was a beautiful beaten copper basin. ||The bathroom had a large shower with stone tiles and beaten copper fixtures. No tub, which was fine for us. While some of the fixtures did show the wear and tear of hard water, it was overall very clean and beautiful. The dining room had a round table with 4 chairs. I would consider it a small one-bedroom apartment rather than a suite. This was all included with complimentary laundry (which we didn't use, but it was there), complimentary water and sodas in the lobby, and complimentary snacks when available in the lobby. There were front and back entrances to this suite, which was nice as you could park on either side and not have to lug your bags all the way around the building.||Cleanliness: The kitchen and bathroom did show signs of hard water buildup but that's not really a cleanliness issue, just a cosmetic thing. The fridge and stove were clean, the dishes were clean. Although I saw a handful of ant traps, I didn't see any ants, so I guess any problem they had was resolved. (There were a ton of ants outside so understandable if a few did get in.) Beds and linens were all fresh and clean. They left 2 sets of toiletries, I'm not sure if that's standard or if they thought we might need extra for three people, or if I should have asked for a third set. We all shared one set so it wasn't a problem but I also suspect it would not have been a problem to ask for extras. Cleaning service was on-demand, and we didn't use it as we had plenty for our 2 nights. For a longer stay you'll need to ask for fresh linens/towels, and if you need a vacuum or such. |||The staff: I was met in reception by a very cheerful, kind woman who knew who I was on arrival (perhaps because we arrived a bit late, maybe we were the last room to check in). She was very patient and accommodating as I had to split the 2 night stay over 2 cards, as the first night was work-related and the second was personal. I had reserved the room on my personal card, and she made sure to split the payment and book the correct night on the correct card, never once giving me a sigh or rolling her eyes. I only had passing interactions with other staff, but they were very courteous; no complaints about the staff at all.||The location: this hotel is across the street from the beach. Stepping out in the morning to smell the ocean air was so refreshing. It is located within a block of tons of restaurants and shops, everything within walking distance. While we were there we visited UCSD (about a 15 min drive) and SDSU (about a 25 min drive). We also visited downtown San Diego but it was all mixed in with driving elsewhere so I'm not sure of the actual distance from La Jolla to San Diego. ||Parking: this would be the only "con" as parking was very limited. I paid the parking fee for 2 nights but could park on the actual hotel grounds for only the first night. However, after about 9 pm, the street parking clears, and you can park overnight on the street. I was able to park across the street from the hotel (and just use the back entrance to the suite) for the second night. Then at 8 am, parking is permitted in 3 hour blocks. This was perfect as check out time was at 11. I'd probably recommend not paying the parking fee unless you plan to just park the car and not move it. ||Value: for 2 nights, we paid a total of $756. The room charge was about $288/night, which I thought was very reasonable for what was essentially an apartment. Parking was $25/night - I'd say opt out. A mandatory resort charge of $25/night is unavoidable, but that gets you wifi, beach equipment rentals, laundry service, drinks and snacks, and covers gratuities for maid services. Taxes were another $40/night, again unavoidable. I was fortunate that my job paid for one night so I only was out of pocket for the second night, which might make this feel like an even better value. It might feel a bit pricy if you are footing the entire bill, but for the room we booked, it could easily be split among 4 people. I think that makes this place a great value. ||Miscellaneous: I was able to book directly with the hotel for a good rate. Checkout time was at 11am, which is an hour later that usual checkout times, so that was a plus. They serve a buffet-style breakfast with the usual: scrambled eggs, potatoes, sausages, toast/bagels, make-your-own-waffles, and oatmeal. To be honest I have no idea if this was included in the price or not; nobody asked me my room number or gave me a bill. I supposed I'll find out when I check my final credit card bill. ||Overall, I'd highly...

Beware!!! Not the Pantai it used to be!

Last room left and I can see why! At the last minute my husband and I decided to change things up and stay at the Pantai. We had stayed there several years ago and it was absolutely wonderful on every level! This time, there was only one room left and boasted a newly remodeled premium room with an ocean front view. Where to start… first, there was no elevator to get to the 3rd floor and while we managed just fine, it was not clear anywhere in booking the room that it was only accessible via stairs. When I entered the room it smelled strongly of fresh paint which I had hoped by opening the door and letting the ocean breeze in might help. I opened the door to the balcony trying to prop it open with the door stop that barely worked. Eventually I was able to get it propped open and let some fresh air in. It was winter and cold so I tried to turn the heat on. Low and behold the heater to the room did not work. Upon asking the very nice person who checked us in about it, she indicated that it had not been working for awhile and the hotel owner was informed and further had been told by the staff that it needed to be fixed prior to renting the room out. That apparently did not register as an important enough detail for the opportunistic owner who simply wanted the profit from a “rented room” with no regard for customers comfort. The front desk person was wonderful and offered a floor heater, e tra blankets and even a bottle of wine of our choice to help make the situation more tolerable. Needing to close the door, opting for some warmth over paint fumes, we tried to enjoy our take out dinner only to start getting headaches due to the paint fumes. So….we bundled up and took our wine out on the patio to sit for some fresh air when the door closed locking us out of the room. With no cell phone to call the front desk, I had to walk down 3 flights of very steep metal stairs, to the front desk, wait for help, get a new room key, that by the way did not work, and had to go back for another one, go back to the room, again, and let my husband in from the patio! we tried not to bag the only night out and sat on the couch for a movie and some dessert we had put in the fridge to stay cold……or so we thought! It was nice and warm as the fridge, we discovered, was not plugged in! That was it for us. We left. This room was clearly not ready and not in condition to rent out and I must say that having stayed here under the previous ownership was such a pampered and incredible experience that it is sad to see how the new ownership does not value the reputation that The Pantai had earned as a quality establishment that caters to its customers but rather just seems to want to focus on making...

Where to begin? To start with, I was panicked by reading a few recent unfavorable reviews. As I had booked thru Expedia, I was outside the refund window. I was "stuck" and I paid a good chunk of change so my only choice was to grin and bear it and come for my stay. Boy I'm glad I did! We arrived 4 hours before check in and unfortunately, they were not able to get the room cleaned any sooner so they held our luggage while we wandered around. When we got in our room, it was spotless. I owned a cleaning company in my younger days. I'm a good judge of cleanliness. The furnishings seemed a bit dated, but were in good condition, in no state of disrepair and clean. The bed that I read was "no way a queen size and had a depression in the middle" must have been somewhere else. My bed was absolutely a queen and it was Amazing! The breakfast that was served every morning was plentiful with a great variety of breads, eggs, fruits, meats, waffles, juices, yogurts, etc. The lady serving every morning was an absolute doll! The TV's worked wonderful although I would have liked to see smart tv's where I could log in to my personal account and watch movies. There was netflix and youtube, but I don't do so good with finding good movies on those. Truth of the matter is, we aren't here to watch tv, but it is nice to be able to chill in the evening with a good movie after a fun filled day. Norma and the other staff are friendly and helpful. There are refreshments in the lobby and fresh cookies every afternoon! The grounds are neat and manicured with a nice seating area. There are 3 separate buildings and from what I can tell, we were in the oldest one in room 108. Our view was FABULOUS! I think 208 might have been better and I saw several others that appeared to have great views and balconies. People, sea lion, pelican, seagull, and car watching are phenominal from this location! It is a short walk to tons of dining, shopping, the Cave, the museum, etc. An easy pick up location for ride shares. Parking did seem a bit tight, but it appears all guests have spaces and they do a good job patrolling for non guests. Sadly, due to an emergency at home, we have to leave a day early. Hopefully, management will be able to work with Expedia for a partial refund, but I do understand they are by no means obligated to do so. Hoping your stay is as great as ours has been...