San Diego Hotels

Real travelers know—or have learned through sad experience—the code words of the road. So when you hear "Euro-style hotel," you can't help but expect Lonely Planet-toting backpackers or budget-minded families, all willing to forgo private bathrooms for the promise of lower room rates.

But here I am in the breakfast room of San Diego's Hotel Occidental, and I am surrounded by three boomer couples chatting about tee times and dinner reservations, plus a Gen-X husband and wife with matching iPods and designer sandals that probably cost more than their entire stay. There isn't one hiking boot or brooding child in sight.

San Diego's hotels may be going hip and high-end, but this property on the downtown fringe is clearly catering to a different type of traveler: one who can afford to buy a more expensive room but chooses not to. When mid-scale hotels in town are charging $200 or more a night for less-than-spectacular accommodations, why not pay half that and use the difference for a round of golf or dinner out?

Don't answer that, at least not until I acknowledge that the rooms do spur flashbacks to freshman-year dorm living: the bed with all the suppleness of a trampoline, the mini-blinds that lose a daily battle with the morning sun. And space? Though 11-foot ceilings help alleviate claustrophobia, I can open my room door without leaving bed.

But for $89, one would be hard-pressed to find a better value in peak season—not when the practical touches include a mini-refrigerator, a microwave, place settings for two and a basket with tea bags, bottled water and popcorn. I'm not using the TV, safe, desk or free wireless Internet connection, but who knows? Maybe they'll come in handy. My room also has a private water closet, which brings us to the all-important bathroom discussion....

Follow the link to read the rest of our review of Hotel Occidental.
– Craig Nakano (Sept 11., 2007)

This downtown 1920s landmark reopened in mid-2006 as after the interior was gutted to create the a 54-room modern hotel. The hotel was formerly the site of a community hospital, a movie theater and a service club headquarters.
– Valli Herman (Mar. 14, 2007)

- L.A. Times Staff Writers