Holiday Inn Express Hotel San Diego-Mission Bay

I have stayed here twice when taking a trip to San Diego and really like it. The rates were really cheap and the Internet connection was top notch. Location wise I really love it only drawback was the it was hard to find. I must say its not fair for such a sweet hotel like this to see its demise. The service and staff were really nice. When we wanted more soap and shampoo, the manager on duty got to us in less than one minute. The Breakfast here is the best. They made it better than how the McDonalds down the street does it. This was back in 2010. My family loved the beds, they were comfortable and sheets were crisp. If you go down the street you can drive to a local mall and Seaworld is not that far. If you ride the bus, you can walk right up.

Some Holiday Inns are pretty crappy and others are halfway decent. But if you’re paying a crap price, you should expect a crap hotel/​motel.
The best part of this place is the convenience right off the freeway. Parking can be tough with few spots in the upper and lower parking lot. For the sake of not getting boxed in, you might be better off parking on the street. Be sure to read the street signs first.
I was guaranteed two beds and thus was given the handicapped room. It was nice and spacious. However, I’ve always disliked ground level rooms. The windows are old, dont have screens or locks, and faced the sidewalk enabling any passerby robber to easily break in. I wouldn’t be surprised if tourists have been robbed while away from their rooms.

I really enjoyed my stay at this hotel. The hotel staff was very friendly from the front desk to housekeeping, the breakfast was good and the rooms themselves are nice and clean. The bed was comfortable and my room seemed to have been recently updated. I happened to get sick on my vacation though and was not able to check out when planned. I get a corporate rate that is only available through my friends and family discount. When I called to see if I could extend my stay and what the rate would be, they just went ahead and honored the great rate I had. Normally I have to go online and get my code for family and friends and it’s a hassle when you have the flu. I honestly could not get out of bed, so the staff did me a big favor and without me asking, went ahead and honored my lower rate. That may seem minor, but when you are as sick as I was, it was definitely a big help. I have stayed in enough hotels and worked in the hotel industry at one point in my life, so I know that them doing this for me was a big deal. Customer service is key in this industry, and I will always stay at this location when I come back to PB because of this reason. I visit about once a month during the summer months so Holiday Inn, you now have my business. Thank you guys for helping me out, and allowing me to recover in peace.
I do have to admit the view is not the best, but who cares… who goes to San Diego to sit in the hotel and look out the window lol. I was pretty much in my room the whole time due to the flu, and I could care less about the view… I saw some palm trees, and that was fine for me, lol.
Also, keep in mind, if you TIP your front desk staff for calling cabs and housekeeping for brining EXTRA towels etc, your service will always be better. Remember, you can pick up the phone yourself and call your own cabs or go down to the desk to get your own towels, as they have already provided some in your room. It’s not their jobs per say to call your cabs, and research restaurants, its yours… so when people help you out, give em a few bucks. They deserve it, and they will remember you.

Super legit breakfast! Stayed here for a week with a large group (30+ people) and every day, I looked forward to breakfast. Unlike other places which have a continental breakfast consisting of just packaged cereal and pastries, Holiday Inn does the whole deal: bacon, eggs, sausages, pastries, and my favorite… CINNAMON ROLLS! Being an all-​you-​care-​to-​eat, most people couldn’t resist just one trip in the food line cause the food was just too good to resist :)
Being a gymrat, I checked out the gym during some free time I had and was a bit disappointed. Though I’ve never really been impressed by hotel gyms (Vegas hotels being the exception), this one was quite disappointing: 4 machines which were not really maintained, and no free weights. I’m sure most people aren’t looking for a gym when they stay at a hotel, but it’s something that I look at.
The rooms themselves were all pretty nice. The view from the room wasn’t that great (overlooking San Diego highway). Two queen sized beds for four people was pretty comfortable, and the fact that we were able to have warm water at 6am in the morning for showers was good too (trust me! not all places have this «luxury»!).
Overall, a very positive experience. The only con about this place is it might be easy to miss if you don’t know where to look. The entrance is right after a freeway entrance so drive slowly when you’re GPS tells you you’re close :)
Sidenote: Free internet!

The front desk service was nice and pleasant (only reason I didn’t give 1 star).
Parking was pretty small/​cramped but manageable in a compact car.
Its tricky to find and get to the driveway (and I lived in this vicinity for 2 years…).
But the rest was pretty bleak– the bathroom looks uninviting, the room smelled very strongly of mold. The elevator is old/​outdated/​slow and smells like chlorine and hydraulic fluid.
For the regular $ 100 per night I would have been pissed, but it was on my company’s dime and I didn’t want to bother with the «complaining to the manager» process and switching rooms etc etc so I just sucked it up and slept my 1 night there.
Wouldn’t stay here again or recommend anyone to stay here. Stay at the Holiday Inn in downtown, 10 minutes south on highway 5. The downtown Holiday Inn is in much much better condition and actually cheaper!

We stayed here for two nights with family. The hotel itself was old from the outside but once inside the rooms, the furnishings and beddings looked updated and clean. My family enjoyed the breakfast. They served eggs, bacon, sausage, cinnamon rolls, and the usual continental breakfast items. It is in an awkward location, but close to Highway 5. I would stay here again just because its near Sea World, Old Town, Pacific and Mission Beach. There’s also a McDonald’s and In and Out close-​by.

We picked this hotel because we have had great experiences in other HIEs. Also, because it was close to Mission Bay, had balconies, and free parking. The price was better than similar hotels in the area. It is location right next to Hwy 5. But, it is in an awkward location and you have to make a couple of complicated turns to get to this hotel from the freeway. The room size was good and the bed excellent. As we would be returning from a day of scuba diving it was great to have a balcony to hang our stuff out to dry. However, we were disappointed to find a very small parking area that was very difficult to maneuver and park a mid-​size car. Keep in that if you get back to the hotel after 8 p.m. you’ll have to park on the side street. The bathroom fan was way too noisy and we could hear the people above us stomping around when they got up in the morning. Lastly the pool is a small and as crowded as the parking area. There have to be better, reasonably priced places in the Mission Bay area and we’ll find one next time…

I stayed here during my recent visit to San Diego. Staff was friendly and helpful, and rooms were clean though the building could probably use some updating. The wallpaper in our room was peeling underneath the ac and the parking garage was overly crowded and we had to park on the street once. Our room was comfortable.
Nothing fancy, but clean, friendly, free continental breakfast, and overall an okay place to stay.

I booked a non refundable rate for 2 nights that’s why i had no option but to stay or loose $ 378. I called the hotel to request for early booking but the front desk was rude and hanged up after telling me they don’t allow such requests. Upon arrival, we got lost because the area was so bad, it was surrounded by storage buildings, had an alley as entrance, and a lot of bystanders that i felt not safe. Luckily front desk on duty was kind and courteous, he said there was no available room but he’ll call me as soon as it is available.(we drove all night from north cal so, we were there early) Service was good, john gave us a copy guide of restaurants to go and hang out till we have the room. Breakfast buffet was OK warm cooked foods. There’s plenty of parking. Overall, it was ok, but not impressive.

Good sleep, they had an amazing breakfast!

I didn’t really have a bad experience in itself at the Holiday Inn Express– however the Unilocal expression «I’ve experienced better» rings true for me here.
This is a Holiday Inn Express that hasn’t yet received the new and improved Holiday Inn Express ‘Makeover’ you’ve probably seen across the country– Still the orange and blue logo here, not the fresh green and blue express logo update.
Although that’s not what made my experience bad– It was the fact that the amenities were very dirty. The sheets in my bed had literally has several stains on them– The pillows still had hair on them (not mine, for sure), the curtains were filthy and the desk area was very dusty. I’m not sure if it’s from the ocean breeze blowing toward this hotel, but the room honestly smelled of mold. Luckily I did not see any bugs, or it would have driven me over the edge…
I have to say, if you’re a family looking for a place to stay in San Diego on a budget, this place will work. Only 10 minutes to downtown SD, 5 minutes to Sea World. My single bed room was also very big and roomy, plus the water pressure from the shower was powerful. Also, they have a great HOT breakfast, much more than I was expecting– Eggs and Bacon! See the pic:
However ultimately, I was unsatisfied with the room based on it’s cleanliness– I may not be back but I would still recommend it as a good budget Holiday Inn Express.