Veranda Bar at W San Diego

Not truly a rooftop bar (located on the third floor), cheesy EDM and weak drinks… not worth the extra trip unless you’re staying at the W.

Seriously, smallest pool ever. Except for maybe a tide pool. What’s the point even? I guess space is a commodity down town, but really? It’s laughable. Even more baffling are the posted «pool rules». No diving (of course, unless you are suicidal), no alcohol or drug use while swimming (but you can use drugs anywhere else in the hotel), no diapers unless under rubber pants (wtf…my baby is too good for rubber pants, he only wears lea-​tha pants, no cheap rubber pants… i thought this hotel was upscale!). Just plain odd.
The rest of the bar is weird too, from the the word «WET» posted everywhere to the tricky mirrors… luckily you can go upstairs to Beach.

Hit up the W tonight for the Unilocal Beer-​Fest Pre-​Party. The experience got kicked off smoothly because a) I did not get lost, as it is relatively easy to find and b) parking was ridiculously easy.
I slid into the cool dark interior and was immediately greeted by a slick little concierge who helped me find the Veranda Bar, where the event was. I mosied through the lobby, which is very lounge-​chic but at the same time seemed totally approachable. I wouldn’t have felt weird having a drink there alone, and I generally feel weird about that.
The Veranda Bar is on the 2^nd floor, outside by the very tiny pool. We had a good time, and the free beer was a-​flowin’, but the space itself really has no flavor. It’s a great little space to hold a semi-​private event, but I wouldn’t like, hang out here on a Friday night.
Once the beer ran out, we were gently swatted upstairs to the rooftop Beach Bar. Some folks complained about getting sand in their shoes, but hey, it’s San Diego, we all have sand in our everything. There was a big fire pit with couches, comfy little cabanas with windchimes, and a looooooooong row of pretty spring green couches. Again, we brought our own crowd and had some free booze, so it was a great time… but I don’t know that this place ever really gets bumpin’ on its own, and the drinks on the menu were insanely priced. Probably not a place I would have otherwise gone to, but I’m glad I got to see it.
Overall, great décor, craptastic prices.

Way to take a space and call it a «poolside bar».
To me, a poolside bar is just short of me swimming up to the bartender, really…
Call it a foyer, a lounge area, but not a poolside bar — ya, Veranda Lounge Bar… mmmmm, thats more like it…
Wasn’t the pool like, 4ft deep and the size of my living room floor? Ouch! Not trying to knock the friendly folks at the W but my goodness, I was sipping a martini and some half-​naked dude ran past me, sunscreen and all, to use the restrooms while his daughter swam in the pool. Ewwwww, thats not the W… Ee WWWWWWWWWW
The martinis were great and the appetizers were unfilling and non-​flowing but, its the W. I love the hotel… I give them props for trying to utilize the space… my suggestion is to change the name — its a bit misleading…

In my experience, the W Hotel always makes every effort to do things above expectations and they normally succeed. The grand re-​opening of the Veranda Bar was no exception.
Although the area is… shall we say «intimate,» poolside, they have transformed the space into a very chic, loungy space. The décor is kind of basic, it still accomplishes the W style really well. MInimal and modern, it leads nicely up to the «beach» which I have to admit, is still my favorite part of the W Hotel.
The grand opening party for the Veranda Bar was a blast though! The drinks were stiff (always a plus), the passed tray appetizers were yummy (another plus) and the staff were all extremely pleasant and helpful. It’s evident that the staff’s main objective is to make sure their guests of the hotel, or just the bars are happy.
Would I make plan to go JUST to the Veranda bar??? Probably not, however, I definitely wouldn’t mind bouncing back and forth between the «Beach» and the «Veranda»… and I am sure you’ll catch me doing just that a lot this summer!

The drinks were tasty, and I imagine the appetizers were too. I wasn’t wowed by the place, since the space always existed, but having the bar there and opening up the area to the pool was a good use of the previously dead space. I see it as kind of a «transition» area between the downstairs bar /​lounge space and beach bar. Would I go there again? Eh, maybe in passing as I head upstairs towards the Beach.

It’s the W folks: Modern. Snazzy. Simplistic Sophistication.
Great for a relaxing evening with a few friends. Downstairs was spacious, with limited seating. The seating that is available is more «loungey». The pool was OK, nothing spectacular.
The «beach» upstairs was nice. The dangling basket-​seating was a nice touch. Overall, the upstairs was my favorite.
I can’t remember the music but I did remember the martinis :)

This is about the third different reincarnation/​opening of the Poolside Bar at the W Hotel… and now its got a title with it… The Veranda Poolside Bar (maybe it had a title before but I didn’t know about it). The Bar is basically a little snazzy mid-​level area between «the Lobby» and «the Beach» that provides another bar (thats cash only), loungey couches and plush chairs to sit and relax, and a free flow open designed space for conversing and chatting by the pool and chillin’ in a less crowded area. Bartenders are very cool on this level… always very personable and friendly.

I hadn’t previously known this bar as anything else, so my first impression was that it was awesome. I’m not so sure the bar should be called a bar, but nonetheless, there was alcohol, the servers were great, drinks were great… the hang out area surrounding the actual bar was unique. the pool was very tiny, but I love that it said «wet» at the bottom of it. lol. (I’m assuming people aren’t actually going to swim in it anyway?) It was convenient to get a drink at the Veranda and then head up to the sand when the sand bar line was long. It’s a nice-​looking space located right below an awesome sandbar, so I can’t complain.

The Veranda Poolside bar at the W Hotel San Diego is what it is. It’s a bar set up on the veranda next to the pool at the W. ;-) The raspberry cosmos were really good and the bartender was nice. I totally expected the pool to be bigger — I’ve seen larger hot tubs! I give it 2 stars because there’s not really any character to the Veranda. It’s what you make of it. The best part is that it’s located between the W’s beloved Beach bar and the downstairs lounge.

I was expecting a bit more PIZAZZ with this being a «new» or «re-​invented» bar area at the W… it is basically exactly like it was before except they’ve «opened up» the space a bit more, changed the furniture and added a small bar on wheels. It has a nice airy feeling and could be a good spot to converse, make-​out, or relax if the lounge downstairs or the beach upstairs are really busy (which they usually are).
The service is always great at the W. The bartenders rock-​they pour great drinks and the servers are usually very accommodating. Bryan was ‘tending upstairs at the Beach last night — he is awesome!