“Built in 1924, reborn in 2019”.
Those are the words etched on a plaque posted on the exterior of The Guild Hotel in San Diego, California.
I recently had the chance to stay there and see for myself if The Guild Hotel’s rebirth was a success – or if it needs to go back to the drawing board.
Review: The Guild Hotel, San Diego, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel (CA)
About The Guild Hotel
Entrance to the former YMCA. Image: marriott.com
Room card about the Guild Hotel
Location & Parking
The Guild Hotel is located in the Core-Columbia section of San Diego at 500 W Broadway.
There are two official options for parking at The Guild Hotel: Valet parking for $53 daily or off-site parking for $35 daily.
The off-site parking is located a short walk from the Hotel’s front entrance in a parking garage around the back of the hotel.
Image: marriott.com
Street level entrance
FHOP Tip: If you want to avoid the hefty parking fees, you can try your luck at finding street meter parking near the hotel (where parking is at your own risk).
Marriott Bonvoy Booking & Redemption Rates
During our stay, The Guild Hotel started at the rate of $380 per night for an “Apprentice” room.
As The Guild Hotel was a Marriott Bonvoy Category 6 property, it was bookable for the standard rate of 50,000 Bonvoy points per night (60,000 points on the night of our stay).
Had I booked my stay for 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, I would have gotten a relatively poor value at just .63 CPP. Because of this, I opted to pay the cash rate.
Lobby
I arrived to find the lobby of the hotel packed with people attending a special event.
The Lobby and Guild Bar. Image: marriott.com
Front Desk & Check-In
As I navigated through the sea of people, I arrived at the front desk.
I was welcomed and recognized for my Bonvoy Platinum status, and quickly checked-in.
Image: marriott.com
Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Room Upgrade & Breakfast Benefit
What did Bonvoy Platinum elite status get me in terms of a room upgrade? Nothing.
As I was handed my room key, I asked if I had been upgraded – to which the front desk attendant gave me a look that said, “sorry” as she eked out, “we’re totally booked-up for the night unfortunately, I’m really sorry”.
Still with a sorrowful look in her eye, she then informed me the restaurant was still closed and that my Platinum breakfast benefit would consist of a continental breakfast “grab ‘n go” bag that I could pick up from the bar the next morning.
Room Key
Elevator Area
Truth be told, I was pretty underwhelmed with the austere renovation visible in the hallway and elevator areas, but I still held out hope that my room would make up for it.
Hallway
Room Entrance
Bedroom
Well, to say my hopes for a nice room were “dashed” would be an understatement. The more accurate description would be a “confused state of shock”.
Why you ask? Well because this was the smallest room I’ve ever stayed at in the United States. Heck, it may have even been the smallest room I’ve ever stayed at In my entire life. Was this an Army dorm room or solitary confinement?
Additionally, there was this strange, strong, smell of vintage men’s aftershave that reminded me of the kind that my soldier grandfather wore in the 1970’s.
This overwhelming “ghostly” smell of aftershave begged the question, “was this place haunted”?
The room was so small, I could barely fit the bed in this picture – and I was standing in the bathroom!
View of the bathroom entrance and historic ceiling
Living Area
The picture of the living area (below) juxtaposed against the room door shows just how small this room was.
What is this? A room for ants???
Room Amenities
The room amenities consisted basically of this tray (below) which included a single bottle of water, an ice bucket, two glasses, and an informational card.
There was also a rack.
Informational room card
Room Artwork
Although I was quite disappointed with the miniature room, I did appreciate the artwork and the plaque about the historic role The Guild Hotel played for American soldiers.
Close-up
Bathroom
Perhaps the only bright spot to the room was the bathroom.
I kid you not when I say that the bathroom was almost 1/3 the size of the bedroom.
The C.O. Bigelow brand of toiletries were the hotel’s toiletries of choice.
Room As Booked Vs. Reality
One thing was for sure – the room I received looked nothing like the room pictured on the website (below).
From the looks of it, the room I received was much smaller.
And, it didn’t even come with the same Replica brand line of toiletries.
Not what we got. Image: marriott.com
Not what we got. Image: marriott.com
Not what we got. Image: marriott.com
View From The Room
View of the Luca courtyard.
Bonvoy Platinum Breakfast Benefit At The Guild Bar
My stay thus far had set my expectations pretty low, so I was pleasantly surprised to find helpful and chipper bartenders eager to assist me with my continental breakfast order.
My continental breakfast bag consisted of oatmeal (with toppings), a container of fruit, and my choice of pastry (in this case a cheese danish) and juice (orange).
To my surprise the oatmeal was delicious as was the cheese danish. I have to say I was happy with the [filling] continental breakfast.
There was also a coffee stand at the end of the bar.
“Grab ‘N Go” breakfast at the Guild Bar. Image: marriott.com
Contents of the continental breakfast
Walking The Property
The Guild Bar & Lobby. Image: marriott.com
Luca (currently closed). Image: marriott.com
Luca (currently closed). Image: marriott.com
Grace Garden. Image: marriott.com
The Bottom-Line Review: The Guild Hotel, San Diego, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel (CA)
Disappointed. That’s the word that best sums up our stay at The Guild Hotel. Admittedly, I just couldn’t get past the size of the room, not for over $300 a night.
But there was also the glaring lack of basic room amenities, the “bait and switch” of a room that appeared nothing like how it looked on the website, and the hauntingly oppressive ever-present smell of aftershave.
The guest floors were unnecessarily austere and the hotel overall had an unshakable “dingy feeling” that was strange to find in a newly renovated building. Adding insult to injury, Luca was closed so our breakfast benefit was reduced to a continental breakfast grab ‘n go bag.
Even considering the positive aspects of The Guild Hotel (The Guild Bar was great, the Historic Building was literally a landmark, and the oatmeal was surprisingly tasty), there just wasn’t enough to change our feelings about the stay.
The bottom-line? The Guild Hotel would be a great place to meetup with friends, host an event, or to have drinks at the bar, but I probably wouldn’t stay there again (not with so many other great options in downtown San Diego).
It may have once been a fun place to stay when it was a YMCA, but as a $300 per night hotel, not so much.
Final Rating: 6 out of 10.
