Hilton San Diego Bayfront set to open in December

Travelers won’t have to be on the 30th floor of the new Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel to get a good look at the water. Nearly every one of the 1,190 rooms will have a view of either the San Diego Bay or the Coronado Bridge and beyond, say executives who are readying for December’s soft opening.

To bring light, air and an outdoor experience to what is essentially a convention hotel, the rectangular building is loaded with balconies, covered in about half-a-million square feet of glass and flanked by a 4.3-acre public park. Nearly $2 million in art, most with light, airy themes, accent the indoor and outdoor spaces.

The $350-million hotel will be linked to the San Diego Convention Center by a pedestrian ramp and walkway, which may also hasten access to the nearby Gaslamp Quarter and PETCO Park.

The new hotel is one of many large, chain hotels clustered near the baseball stadium and the bars and restaurants of the Gaslamp.

Though the hotel has 100,000 square feet of indoor event space, including a 34,000-square-foot ballroom free of pillars, the hotel’s dining options are modeled not on traditional banquet fare, but more intimate and refined restaurant cuisine.

“I don’t think travelers are going to accept rubber chicken and plastic peas anymore,” said food and beverage director Brian Marcus. He’s instituting wine flights, nonalcoholic “day drinks” and an extensive tea menu that will feature tea cocktails. To emphasize the hotel’s location, the bar and restaurant menus were inspired by water and ocean themes.

To keep leisure travelers happy, the hotel has installed a heated saltwater pool that overlooks San Diego Bay, added the Aquazul spa, installed a 25-foot outdoor television screen by the pool and 42-inch flat-screen TVs.

The hotel, at 1 Park Boulevard, is accepting room reservations beginning Dec. 3. A grand opening is scheduled for early February 2009. Rates will average in the mid-$200 range.

Contact: For details, call (619) 564-3333 or see the Hilton San Diego Bayfront’s website.

— Valli Herman, Los Angeles Times staff writer

Follow the link to read more reviews of Southern California hotels.

[Images: Renderings of the building, top, and the lobby, center. www.hiltonsandiegobayfront.com]

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 3:00 pm by Valli Herman and is filed under California, News, Tips & Advice, San Diego, Weekend Getaways. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.