Sonesta ES Suites San Diego - Sorrento Mesa — Hotel in San Diego

My husband and I just recently went here...DO NOT GO TO THIS HOTEL RIGHT NOW.

it is under MAJOR construction.

When we got there, there was a fire alarm going off and people sitting outside on the curb

There was no front lobby. It was all taped up and signs pointing to go to the makeshift lobby We walked around the building two times before we found where to go

There was TONS of construction workers taking all the furniture out of the hotel .It is being gutted.

The only floor that is able to be used by guests is on the fourth floor.

We hoped that since everything was brand new, we could ignore the rest. We had recently gone to another hotel also under renovations, and we were barely disturbed at all. We thought it might be the same.

IT WAS NOT.

When we got there, the room looked new and the hallways smelled like new carpets, so we thought ok! this might be nice to have a brand new room.

The renovations inside were not top of the line. A lot of half-hearted work. The hotel room door has a space of about 1.5 Inches from the floor. We had to keep the air (or heat at night) on constantly as the draft kept the room temperature unstable.

There was sticky stuff (like syrup?) on the kitchen table and kitchen counter upon arrival.

The bed and furniture was nice enough.

The bathroom was whee you could really see a lot of the shoddy workmanship. The fan was connected to the light (in the bathroom) and SO loud. Some of the outlets didn't work. We were on the side of the hotel right next to the automated car wash next door...and it was so loud. I realize you can't do much about a business next door, but you can soundproof the rooms a bit better

There were tiny bugs crawling in the kitchen and bathroom. I have no idea what they were...I've never seen them before. They were about half the size of tiny ants. Not sure? but all over.

There were construction workers everywhere and the doors were always open

One morning we were woken up (at 8am ) with banging and hammering.

The breakfast was in the makeshift lobby and my husband went down there once and said let's go out for breakfast.

I normally use the laundry and the workout rooms...I didn't even bother walking the halls trying to look through the debris.

They also called to let us know the water and electricity would be shut off for an hour.A minor inconvenience but so unprofessional.

I reached out to the customer service with Sonesta. I received an email back thanking me for my email, and was told it would be shared with corporate. They told me that they take these things very seriously and want to be sure that their guests are accommodated.

I emailed back and said the state of the hotel seems to prove otherwise.

I received another email and a phone call stating that they didn't know the hotel was in that state .

I'm not exactly sure how one rogue hotel could have major renovations without anyone else in the company knowing, but that's the email and phone call I got

Nothing else was offered to us to rectify the situation. We booked through Priceline so we were told they can't do refunds through there, but I'm sure they could have offered something to compensate for the money we paid for that hotel

I book hotels based on ratings and feedback, and the hotel was NOT as offered. It was rated an 8.4 on Priceline. It might have been before the restoration started but it definitely is in no shape to be booking anything out right now.

I hope this review helps someone know to STAY FAR AWAY from this hotel. Life is too hard right now with finances! I can't believe that we lost $500 to that terrible experience! I hope this review spares someone else from...

This is one of my first public negative reviews I have ever written! |Usually instead of writing negative reviews for a hotel, restaurant, shopping store or other companies I don’t like, I simply stay quiet and take my business elsewhere.||But unfortunately Mike Jones (Manager of The Sonesta ES Suites in Rancho Bernardo - San Diego, CA) has pushed the limit on his behavior that has now affected my livelihood as he canceled all of my reservations from today for the next 2 weeks due to his assumptions and discriminatory behavior.||Although so much of these challenges fall back on Mike’s leadership, I must genuinely acknowledge some of the team members at this location like Rachel, Arnold and CJ that always showed me great respect and kindness during my stays at there. ||Long story short, my family recently faced some significant transitional challenges that led me to becoming a long term guest at this hotel for a few months since December 2024. Needless to say, I’ve spent thousands of dollars at this location which has now earned me the Platinum Travel Pass member level.||I kept using this location as it is the closest Extended Stay Hotel near my day job, but during my stays there, here are just a few of the challenges I faced while there:||- My first room had ants in it from the kitchen to the bathroom |- Many of the kitchen utensils were stained and not properly cleaned|- I’ve taken many cold showers at night as the hot water in many of my rooms were inconsistent which could have affected my health as I work a second job during late nights as well |- One of their employees yelled at me in front of other guests in December over a minor policy clarification I asked for |- My last room (336) was a pet friendly room, which I had told Mike about in early January that I’m allergic to many pet hairs, but he never addressed that issue - Since my allergies persisted while using the AC, I called the front desk again last Friday and a team member kindly came and finally cleaned the AC unit weeks later - Mike’s repeated lack of urgency as a leader trickles down to some of his team members at times which could affect their guests’ wellbeing|- Although I was told that my rooms are supposed to be cleaned once a week, I seem to always be forgotten until I call the front desk again |||Things worsen this past Saturday (2/22/2025) as the hotel was overbooked last minute and for the first time I couldn’t extend my room. At short notice they told me to pack-up my things and check out while I was stuck at work until 4pm. ||Furthermore, by the time I got off work, without telling me (not even a phone call), they went through my room and packed up my belongings in random plastic bags and luggage carriers for me to pick up from their office.||Needless to say, as I packed my belongings into my car, I felt embarrassed and discriminated against as I have given Mike and his team much quality business and many courteous feedback while they tried to resolve some of the challenges I had faced above with them during my stays there. ||I hope Sonesta’s leadership takes a more constructive, thoughtful, caring and humane approach to this matter than Mike did.|The world needs more hospitality leaders that see people more than just convenient financial transactions. ||Lastly, I hope this statement from your Company’s Website remains true “The human side of hospitality is the core of our culture. Our mission is to wow every guest, team member, partner, and community in which we operate by delivering quality, value, and amazing...

I stayed in this hotel for 3 weeks and this is, by far, the best hotel I've ever stayed at. The staff here is the best team, and friendliest I have ever met (Shout out to Skip, Mark and Naomi!). Most importantly, Donald, the manager is the most awesome hotel manager I have ever met. I swear, the customer service in here is better than any 5 star hotels I've ever stayed at.

During my 3 weeks stay, I was assigned to different rooms and floors because I leave on Fridays, and come back Sunday night. All rooms I was assigned to were spacious, very clean, and have fully equipped kitchen. I love the fact that the location is close to everywhere and they have free laundry offered to guests. I also like their breakfast buffet and I like the fact that they change the menu everyday.

They also offer shuttle service to the Proton center, and if I understood correctly, they can give you a ride around SD on weekends, just give them heads up.

Their outdoor patio is also nice and they have bbq grills if you want to bbq. They also have games like giant jengga, and basketball court so kids can play.

Their outdoor fire pit is also nice and over all, it's just relaxing to just sit and enjoy the fresh air outside too.

During my last couple of days we had a little issue with the room, and the staff took care of me right away and they honestly went above and beyond to make sure that everything was okay and Naomi even called me the next day to check on me.

This hotel served as my home for the past 3 weeks and it really meant a lot to me that the staff here treated me not just a guest, but a friend, and I felt really touched when Donald said good bye to me personally on my last day. Some managers wouldn't care, or wouldn't bother and if they need to address something, they would just send someone who can talk to the guest on his/her behalf.

I really can't say enough good things about this hotel, the staff and the management. I will surely miss the staff here, and will...