The hotel itself is beautiful and the staff was very nice. Special shoutout to the red-haired lady—I believe her name was Grace—who was especially helpful and welcoming. There was also an Asian manager whose name I unfortunately don’t know, but she was very kind and helpful as well. Since we were traveling with our baby, they made an effort to make our stay comfortable by providing a Pack ’n Play crib and sound machine, which I really appreciated. They also waived several fees at check-in, which was a nice gesture.

The cafe also had a great breakfast, and I believe they offered free coffee/tea in the lobby before 10 a.m. Our favorite meal was the birria Benedict, which was delicious.

The location is convenient if you’re interested in nightlife, as it’s within walking distance of the Gaslamp District. This makes it easy to enjoy the bars and party at night without having to drive. There is also a 7-Eleven right around the corner, which was convenient for grabbing snacks, drinks, and other essentials.

Unfortunately, we did have some issues during our stay that affected our experience. Our room stayed very warm, and the smoke detector repeatedly went off loudly while our baby was sleeping. We contacted staff three times, and the final solution was removing the batteries from the detector. Given that this is a safety issue, I would have expected a different solution. Since we experienced multiple issues during our stay, I also feel the hotel could have offered additional accommodations or compensation.

Another issue was the bathroom sliding door. There is a noticeable crack/gap that allows people outside the bathroom to see someone using the toilet or shower. We were traveling with family, so the lack of privacy was not ideal.

The hotel is also located right by the train station, and there were frequently people experiencing homelessness and openly using drugs around the area. I understand this is largely related to the location and not necessarily the hotel itself, but it was something we noticed and found uncomfortable, especially while traveling with a baby.

Parking is another thing to keep in mind. Valet was $70+ per day, but there is metered street parking available if you prefer not to pay for valet.

Overall, I liked the hotel and the staff, and they were very accommodating toward our baby. The cafe breakfast and complimentary lobby coffee were also nice perks. However, the unresolved room issues, bathroom privacy concern, surrounding area, and parking costs kept this from being a great stay.

I was extremely disappointed with my stay at the Alma Hotel in San Diego. For what this hotel charges and how it presents itself, the experience was unacceptable.

The lobby is average at best, and nothing about it feels particularly upscale. I was told my room had been “upgraded,” yet I ended up with a horrible view. If that were an upgrade, I’d hate to see the standard room.

The room itself feels old, tired, and overdue for an update. There were no USB-C charging ports, only outdated USB connections. The shower was equally disappointing — worn-out controls, a cramped shelf, and an overall setup that felt poorly maintained.

The air conditioning was probably the biggest problem. The room would barely cool below 74 degrees. I called maintenance; they came to address it, and it still didn’t work properly. A hotel at this supposed level should be able to provide a comfortable room temperature.

Even the basic details were missed. The espresso cups in the room were dirty. That immediately makes you question the overall standard of housekeeping. The manager said the stains were normal; that’s laughable, as no restaurant would ever serve you anything in a filthy cup.

The area surrounding the hotel was also disappointing, with homeless people seemingly everywhere. Then, around 11 PM, our neighbors were so loud that security had to be called so many times to get a comfortable night’s sleep.

What really sealed my opinion of the hotel, however, was the management response. When I spoke with the manager about the problems, her attitude made it seem as though they were my problems. I told her to do whatever she thought was fair and that I would leave an accurate review of my experience.

Well, this is the accurate review.

Between the dated room, terrible “upgrade,” ineffective air conditioning, worn bathroom, dirty espresso cups, late-night noise requiring security, the surrounding environment, mismanaged and dysfunctional valet service, and an incredibly disappointing response from the head manager, there is nothing I can recommend about this hotel.

Do yourself a favor and stay somewhere else. San Diego has far too many good hotels to spend your money somewhere that delivers this level of experience and then makes you feel like you’re the problem for expecting better.

You can absolutely find better service, a better room, and a far more enjoyable stay elsewhere.

Very nice hotel staff. The rooms are very much downtown city styles. Nicely decorated with good quality renovations. The city is pretty noisy with the train right there and there’s an endless horde of junkies outside. But also there is a train right there for getting around and good central location for seeing the sights. Rooftop pool is awesome and the gym is midsized with new equipment.