Ramada Gaslamp/Convention Center

I made the mistake of not checking their reviews and pictures. This hotel is getting a star for being walking distance to many pubs and restaurants and ok customer service. This hotel has no parking only Valet at $ 24 a day. Looking for street parking is like looking for Waldo. To top it off their amenities are limited (no pool & only 2 old machine to workout) The rooms are very old and the restroom shower need to be re-​done. This morning I woke up with bed bug bites on both of my legs. I’m amazed my company chose this hotel. Lastly the rooms walls are super thin that you literally could here your neighbors conversations and hair dryer go off at 5AM in the morning.

I think this hotel is pretty underrated. A lot of negatives have to do with misunderstandings or things not meeting their expectations.
Parking
Parking fees are normally standard in downtown areas, this area being one of them. It costed us $ 24 per night which isn’t bad. You may find parking cheaper in other areas close by (probably not by much), but it’s just more convenient to just valet with them. We never needed our car because everything was so close by, we basically walked everywhere. If you can handle walks around Vegas, you’re fine walking here.
IMPORTANT!- Park on the white curb in front for valet, and bring your keys to the front desk if no ones there to valet. If the curb’s full, park in the lot to the right of the hotel and let valet or the front desk know so they can give you a temporary tag.
Cleanliness
I feel like people expect this hotel to be so great and clean, but in my opinion, it’s just a normal standard hotel. Don’t expect it to be luxurious and you’ll be fine. Although when I stayed there, it was very clean, and everything worked. I get that on the rare occasion, the housekeepers miss things, but hey, no one’s perfect. Mistakes happen and I’m sure the hotel will take care of whatever problems you come across.
Noise
So I read a ton of stuff about the noise levels, but we never had to deal with it, other than the AC’s running. This was because of our room location, which I’ll get into later, but more likely than not, you will experience the city’s ambiance noise. You’re in the middle of a ton of activity, you cannot expect it to be quiet. Use the ear plugs they provide (they had one pair on our bed, but I’m sure you can ask for more), and put on some background music.
Employees
The employees I dealt with were very friendly. We all have our bad days, I’m sure the hotel wouldn’t hire someone that is consistently rude. If you show them respect, I’m sure it will be reciprocated. If not, no biggie, I only talked to them to check in, valet, and check out. Unless something is wrong, contact should be minimal.
The Elevator
The elevator is a bit tricky to handle, you have to hold open a door, then hold open the gate, then bring your stuff in while holding both open. It’s much easier to do with two or more people, but it can be done. It is small though, you can fit maybe 8 people in there without luggage. People who are calling it ghetto and old need calm down. It’s not a huge deal, do you honestly think it’s going to break? I believe the only way that would happen is if they don’t properly maintain it, but I doubt the hotel is that stupid. I thought it was pretty interesting to ride, but in the end, it’s just an elevator. It brings you up and down.
Those were most of the negative things I read that I wanted to address, the rest of this review is just to talk about the hotel in case people needed more information.
Ice
Ice machine is on the lobby floor. When you first walk into the hotel, straight ahead, left of the stairs, there’s a door to a room with vending machines and the ice maker.
Rooms
This is just how I think the hotel is laid out and why I didn’t experience any noise from the outside. I had two rooms, both two queens, and it made up the partial center of the building. There were other rooms surrounding us so any outside noise had to go through those rooms first. It makes some sense for the way it’s laid out, but I’m not a hundred percent sure so you may want to call in and ask. Each two queen bedroom was split into two rooms with a door in between. Each had a TV, an AC, and a sink, but only one of them had the bathroom. One weird thing was that in one of the two queen bedrooms, the sink was in the bathroom, and in the other two queen bedroom, the sink was in the room itself, meaning that the bathroom had a toilet and shower, but the sink was in the bedroom. There is free WiFi.
Smoking Patio?
No one in my room smokes, but there were two patios (which I believe were for smoking) on the first floor. One of them was between our two rooms, the other was adjacent to our two rooms, but unless you’re on the first few floors, you’re better off using the elevator and smoking outside the hotel. Also you should quit smoking, smoking is bad for you.
Security
At night, there is a guard who makes sure you have a key-​card before you can go in. Make sure you have one.
The room rates were decent, and the location is very convenient. If you’re looking for a standard room where you can walk outside, and barhop without worrying about a DD, then this hotel will work for you, especially if you have large groups.
You can also get a hotel close to the district and Über, which isn’t a bad alternative, and from what I’ve read from the past reviews, may be better for you.
I’m giving it a 5 star because I think it’s rating should be higher. Other than that I would give it a 4 because its not «perfect», but I’m was definitely satisfied with how everything turned out.

Often we like to book a room downtown for a mini vacation. The Ramada (St. James) is always one of our go-​to hotels. Compared to other hotels in the Gaslamp, the Ramada is relatively cheap. The valet parking is $ 24 which seems steep until compared with other nearby hotels. I’ve seen valet anywhere from $ 32 to $ 42 per night. It is true, the rooms are small (queen beds only) and the elevator, while nostalgic and historic, is a pain in the ass. We just use the stairs, it’s faster. The staff is always friendly and helpful. Brian’s 24, the attached restaurant, has really good food. Get there early for breakfast the place is very popular and fills up fast. The menu is huge!

This hotel is actually pretty good … IF you have the right expectations. It’s old and the rooms are small, but the price and location are great. The elevator is either terrible or a neat experience, just depends on how you look at it. If you want quiet luxury, this is not your place. If you want to be in the middle of the action for a reasonable price, and don’t mind a few oddities here and there, this might be your spot.

Location, location, location!
I loved this hotel because the location is in the heart of the Gaslamp district, the rate was pretty fair for being in the middle of all the action, but oh my Gawd that elevator though! I was not ready and part of that was because my sister booked this room the day we arrived (thanks sissy face) which was a Thursday at a rate of $ 120 a night. The room comes with standard 3M Ear Plugs which is necessary if you’re here on Friday and Saturday night since you can hear ALL of what’s going on in SD. The room also has a little charging cube on the nightstand with a USB charger port and 2 additional electrical outlets. I almost forgot to mention free Wi-​Fi!
PARKING:I pulled up to the front of the hotel and asked Matthew the front desk/​valet attendant if there was self or free parking anywhere. He gave me this long winded answer which equated to the word no. Parking is $ 24 a night (so factor that into your plans), but if you find parking after 4 p.m. on a Saturday at a meter nearby you’re good cause it’s free all day Sunday. Valet is the way to go as it’s hard to find parking in downtown especially at night!
I wasn’t ready for the 100 year old elevator with the old school gate you slide open and balked at the process upon first learning about it. The elevator is also TINY so be prepared to wait if it’s busy. The room is the size of a jail cell… I’ve never been to jail (thank you universe) so that might not be accurate, but it’s small and the bathroom is tiny also but it’s usable and does the job. The housekeepers were all nice and attentive, front desk interactions were always a pleasure as was the valet person (s) especially Matthew cause he was impressed I drove stick! This hotel is all about location and we hardly used our cars because all of our events ( Unilocal Spring Break San Diego) were walking distance from our hotel which was super convenient and great! Also, there’s A LOT going on around the hotel (food, entertainment, bars, etc.) so what it lacks in space and charm it makes up for in general convenience of location.

Pros: Great location located in the gas lamp quarter, free wifi, parking is $ 24/​day with in n out privileges (you just have to call them and give them 10 – 15 min notice)
Cons: small room, small one-​person shower, elevator doors were outdated gates and heavy which can make it a hassle to open if you were traveling with big luggage.

We loved this hotel! We came last weekend to celebrate our 28^th wedding anniversary. We arrived about 1:00pm, and Matthew Hall at the front desk asked us why we were here and we said we were here for our anniversary and they upgraded us to the Presidential Suite for no extra charge! The room was huge and very clean. Yes, it has a vintage feel to it with the old style elevator and décor, but that just added to the charm. Our entire stay was excellent! The location was perfect and walking distance to the Gaslamp District restaurants and bars. We would definitely stay here again!

I was going to give this hotel a good review until I was treated terribly when I was leaving. Rude front desk man, I’ve never had a hotel employee speak to me so rudely before. Unacceptable.
The hotel is a good value in a good location but that employee was so ridiculously inappropriate that I wouldn’t stay again. Also, the hotel is noisy with thin walls.

This place is super charming, clean, and in a great location (for a great price). Cool shopping and bars right down the street. It’s an old vintage building that has fresh updates and is nicely painted with a nice tv. Great view too. Not too noisy. Would definitely stay here again!

Very pleased with the hotel. Made last minute reservations online and checked in promptly after. Very nice and clean lobby with helpful staff the gentleman that helped with our reservations was very pleasant and had great customer service. The elevator was very cute and old fashioned which had a lot of historical value in the building. The room was small and cozy for two and clean and our favorite was the pillows. We were so happy with how the pillows were so cozy made our night so enjoyable. I recommend this place for being in downtown with classic details décor!

Worst service ever! It clearly looks like the workers are not organized, do not work well together and are not coordinated. To get our car from valet took over an hour and they were clueless as to what to even do. We will definitely never come back to this hotel again.

Soo, my boyfriend I decided to stay at the Ramada since it was so close to downtown San Diego. As you walk in, you instantly realize how old the place is, which is really fascinating. We took the stairs to our room because I didn’t really trust the vintage elevators. We had a very small bedroom with a full bed for around $ 120. The room was clean, had clean towels, and the people working were very nice to us.
Okay. So, I literally woke up constantly during the night from noises outside. It sounded like bums were playing drums with the trashcans ALL NIGHT. I was too scared to look out the window so yeh. Then, I woke up from the sound of someone running up the stairs, weird because it sounded super loud! Then my boyfriend and I woke up twice from the sound of knocking on our door. We even heard someone say, «Room service,» near our door. I really, really thought it could’ve been someone next to us messing around with the room next to us, but after looking at the reviews that I’m not the only one that experienced this scary sh**, I came to a conclusion that, that hotel was haunted! I’m baby to all that, but if you’re into that, go to the Ramada hotel, and have fun. But I’m unfortunately not staying there again lol.

This hotel is a perfect example of a low class zero star establishment. Let’s start with the horrible customer service and charging me extra money cause your employees don’t know what they are doing. They have the most unsafe ghetto elevator I’ve ever been inside which I checked the inspection date and was expired.
Wouldn’t recommend ever staying here!!!

I got stuck staying here on a business trip and I was really displeased. I’ve stayed in my fair share of places that are historic, quaint, and interesting. This place is not that — it’s just grungy. Every inch of fabric on anything in my room — the curtains, the upholstery, the carpet — stained and disgusting. The toilet, sink, and tub — all chipped to the point that I couldn’t tell if it was clean or just ruined. I appreciate historic hotels, but not when historic = gross. Plus, everything smells bad, I was woken up by street noise from nearby bars. The staff seemed really nice, but other than that, just really an unpleasant stay and I couldn’t wait to leave.

Loved my overnight stay. Quaint room with an antique look but modern amenities. Built in 1912, the elevators feel so nostalgic and the rooftop really gives it a movie set feel. Staff was very friendly & room service was quick. I’m coming back for sure!

This hotel has the best location, right in the heart of the Gaslamp district. and thats the only nice thing that I have to say about my stay at this hotel.
If you like quaint and old this is definitely your place. For me, I couldn’t get passed the dirtiness.
The carpet is so old and stained I could not take myself to walk barefoot in our own room.
I could not take a decent shower here because after being in the shower for 2 mins the tub clogged up, how freaking gross is that? I can only imagine what the pipes were clogged up with, and there you are, soaking your feet and legs with it! Not even flip flops can save you.
At around 3 – 4 am every night of our stay the bright light right above our bed turned on by itself. I’m not scared of ghosts but WTF.
Honestly, overall my thought of my weekend here makes me cringe, I hated it so much. Maybe the teenager me would have loved it, its a party lover’s dream. And if you’re just going to be out for the night and need a place to crash this is your spot, of course, if you don’t mind paying over $ 200/​night.

Very interesting hotel. Valet parking is kinda of a pain and a bit slow but hey whatever. Check in was fast and easy. The rooms are very small and don’t have a ton of amenities but the hotel is old and affordable so what can you expect. The rooms were clean and the bed comfortable and that is the main thing. The elevator is old and historic, which is fun. The downtown location is great and convenient to everything. My favorite thing about this hotel is the rooftop. You can go up there and hang out and they don’t really care what you do. Drink, listen to music, whatever. The view is fantastic! If you are looking for an affordable, fun and comfortable hotel downtown San Diego this is your spot.

My sister and I had made separate reservations at the Ramada Gaslamp that I was trying to combine together so that we wouldn’t have to move rooms. I called about a week beforehand and spoke with Matthew at the front desk. He let me know that I wouldn’t have to change rooms, and that he’d be there when I checked in to take care of everything.
When we arrived, Matthew heard me say my last name to the valet guy and before I even got to the front desk, he was checking me in and scanning my room keys. He was on top of everything, made the whole process so easy, and I was in my room in less than 5 minutes.
The lay-​out of this hotel is funky and the hallways are super narrow. The elevator is one of the oldest elevators in San Diego or something like that? You have to open a door, slide the gate over, and get into this tiny elevator. It’s a little scary, the claustrophobic in me was definitely screaming. We decided to use the stairs for the remainder of the stay.
Our room was split in two – one had a queen sized bed and the restroom, while the other had a queen sized bed and a sink. There’s a door that you can keep open or closed between the two rooms for privacy. The AC unit is in the window and can be a tad bit noisy, but I didn’t mind because it helped to wash out any of the outside noise.
I did see a few dead spiders in the shower, and the rooms overall just look dirty. WiFi is free, but cuts in and out. However, the hotel is in a great location, right in the middle of the Gaslamp.

I have stayed here twice. Once because hotwire «chose» this hotel for me.
The location is awesome. Right in the heart of the gaslamp district. The hotel is dated, also called the St. James Hotel, and it shows. But if you’re into that look you’ll like it here. There is a rooftop area where you get a nice view of SD. A ²⁴⁄₇ restaurant is attached to the hotel which is nice when you’re hungover and looking for food. The bar next door gets very loud where they play very loud music. In fact, on your bed are ear plugs if your room is on that side of the motel.
Valet like all downtown hotels is expensive but thats just how this area is. Well worth it. The self parking is a joke.
Highly recommend this location if you’re there just to party and not worried about accommodations.

Apparently there was an overbooking incident at the Gaslamp Plaza Suites Hotel so we were directed here. Did I enjoy the stay here? Definitely.
First of all, this hotel was also called the Historic St. James Hotel, built in 1913 and it has retained its vintage design and authenticity, most especially, the old, seriously antique elevator. It has this METAL CAGE and yeah, it was an epic first ride! This was exciting because it created a lot of uneasiness when we first hopped in. It probably can only fit 4 people and I didn’t want to know its capacity.
Room was smaller than ordinary but it was ok. It was clean, no strand of hair found, neat, organized and no dust. The only thing, the ceiling fan didn’t work. So there goes my one star.
The best part? Rooftop, people! What more can i ask for a DTSD 360 degrees view! Day and night were spectacular! A mature couple we met in the elevator actually said they love this hotel as well despite some bad Unilocal reviews.

Niemals wieder! Dieses Hotel ist ein graus! Vielleicht machtbar, wenn man lediglich auf «Party-​Tour» ist und geschafft ins Bett fällt. Ansonsten finger weg. Tageslicht ist nicht in sicht, evtl in den oberen Etagen. Die sog. Klimaanlage ist in die Fenster eingebaut, d.h. es ist auch sehr laut, eine ruhige Nacht geht anders…