Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego - Great Hotel W/O
Written: May 04 '03 (Updated May 05 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Location, views, and event facilities
Cons: Inconsistent service. Somewhat dated room furnishings.
The Bottom Line: Best for business or social events. Not much "bang" for your buck (usual rates are much closer to $300). Superb location. Stunning views. Some great service, some not-so-great.
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| pilotpat's Full Review: Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego |
As Jo mentions in her review of this same hotel, the Manchester Hyatt in San Diego is currently the tallest building in the city - 40 floors. Since her review, they have nearly finished the second 40-story tower, and as I write this review looking out my window I can see furniture in most of the rooms, still in plastic wrapping, indicating that those rooms should be ready for occupancy in the near future.
Another option sits just across the street. Please click here to read my review of the Embassy Suites San Diego Bay.
LOCATION
The location of the hotel is perhaps its biggest asset. It is at the entrance to Seaport Villiage, a charming group of shops, restaurants, and cafes on the waterfront and marina (not beach). San Diego Lindberg Airport is visiblefrom the hotel, about 3 miles (but about 10 minutes) away. The hotel does not offer a shuttle service to/from the airport, which I find to be a detractor.
Coronado beach and Navy North Island are but a short drive across the bridge. You can see both from the window as well, including the docked navy ships. The hotel advertises that every room has a bay view, which is true, though the new tower (about 1,000' from the original tower) obstructs a bit of the view from my room (though not the most picturesque).
PARKING/ARRIVAL/CHECK IN
Driving in, the valets were helpful in offering to get a bellhop to carry bags. Valet parking runs $22/day plus tips, self-parking is $16. Both come with unlimited in/out privileges. The first time I called from my room to have my car brought up front, I was greeted with a message that said "due to security concerns," they don't do that anymore. However, we have yet to wait more than a couple minutes at the door for our car. Taxis drop off at the same location.
The lobby is immense, with the ceilings (and two of the lobby paintings - done in an early colonial style) reaching up 4 floors. Check-in staff were courteous and professional, and the process took less than 5 minutes including the short wait in line.
Two sets of elevators bring you to your rooms. The first set covers the first four floors (where restaurants/meeting facilities, gym, pool, etc. are) and floors 24-40. The second set cover floors 1-24. Even with this split and the ear-popping swiftness of the express elevator to the top floors, Waits for elevators can be somewhat long.
ROOM
I requested a non-smoking single room with two double beds, and received such as advertised. I found the room neatly appointed, but dated. The room is moderately sized for San Diego, with parchment-pattern wallpaper and colonial-style dark cherry/mahogany veneer furniture. A small desk with an upholstered armchair (a twin of which is provided near one wall) sits in the corner of the room next to the window, with a lamp, telephone with dataport, hotel information, and a "GuestTek" DSL connection ($9.95/day). Another identical phone sits on the nightstand between the beds (along with a digital alarm clock). Local and long distance phone calls are $1 each. Neither the desk nor the nightstand were furnished with a memo pad/pen, which seems a strange oversight, though hotel stationary and envelopes were available inside the hotel info binder. The electrical outlets are poorly placed - only two are available within reach of the desk, both occupied (lamp and DSL modem). Curiously, 4 (2 empty) are available at the nightstand.
Beds are reasonably comfortable, with new linens, but quite dated bedspreads - clean but faded and old. The same can be said about the carpet and furniture, with the armchairs being the sole exception. The windows were clean, with one large upper panel swinging out about a foot to provide ventilation. Once you open the window, you realize what a good job they do of keeping out street sounds. The view of the sunset is nice from my room, somewhat marred by the new tower (and not half as good as the view from the 40th floor bar/restaurant).
The armoire has two swing-out doors, one revealing a moderately sized TV with standard hotel chanels plus PPV. The other conceals 4 large drawers. 4 more are avaiable beneath. A minibar by the door is stocked with exhorbitantly expensive sodas/beer/wine/liquor, and $4.75 litres of water. Also provided is complimentary coffee service (4 cup maker), an ice container, and 2 highball glasses (2 more in the bathroom).
Closet space is adequate, though somewhat cramped on the floor due to the placement of the in-room electronic safe. I had to call for additional hangars, which took some time to arrive (actually, after waiting 10 minutes, I left my room and found them on my return a few hours later). An iron and ironing board were in the closet, along with a spare pillow and blanket.
The bathroom is clean and relatively modern-looking. The floor is tiled, as is the shower/tub. Even at the upper floors, pressure and heat are good. Standard soap/shampoo/lotion/conditioner freebies, plus a shower kit and small mending kit. No shoeshine cloth was provided, again a strange oversight. Towels were adequate and clean, but somewhat old and though not "threadbare," not lush either. There is a wall-mounted hairdryer available.
The cooling/heating system was efficient but slightly noisy compared to more modern hotels - nothing terrible, just noticeable.
SERVICE
Room service is available, though quite overpriced. A delivery charge of $3, plus 18% gratuity is added to your bill.
Speaking of this, the best kept secret for San Diego visitors wishing for room service is Dining In, a restaurant delivery service that will bring an order to your room from some of the best downtown restaurants in about 30-60 minutes for a $5 delivery charge plus gratuity. You can either call your order in (619) 297-2222, or fax to (619) 297-2240. Menu prices are the same as eating in the restaurant. Note that if you use a credit card, they charge a 3% fee.
As I started to unpack, I asked for additional clothes hangars to be delivered. The woman who answered asked me (somewhat terseley) if I had already made that request, which I had not. After 10 minutes, they still had not arrived, so I halted my unpacking to make a meeting. The hangars were on the bed when I arrived several hours later, along with a message to make sure I had gotten them.
The front desk staff were very friendly, even though I had to bother them twice for another keycard (I have a terrible habit of leaving them in my room and accumulating a stack as my stay progresses).
Housekeeping was efficient and clean, even arranging my bedside books neatly.
The concierge was quite helpful. Iris made a wonderful recommendation for a Japanese restaurant (The Octopus, I believe) and reservations. Other concierges were helpful as well with recommendations of places to go or eat.
FITNESS/POOL
The fitness/pool facilities are $5/day, though Hyatt Gold Passport membership (which is free) entitles you to free use.
The pool is suitable for lapswim, though cleaning service for both the pool and deck (which overlook the bay) obviously arrives after I do for my 6 or 7am morning workout - ashtrays are usually full from the previous night and overnight debris is in the pool. A very small, round hot tub/jaccuzzi is squirrelled away in the corner of the deck. Adequate seating exists, and a poolside menu is available for delivery. The hotel has some large cabanas with curtains for privacy, two lounge chairs, and a small table. Power outlets, as well as phone and DSL connections are available. Nothing like doing work by the pool.
The cardio fitness room is like much of the hotel - adequate, high-quality, but dated. The computers Jo spoke of in November no longer exist on the cycles, and the selectable headset system (to let you decide which program to listen to while you workout) was inoperative as well. 4 upright lifecycles, a recumbent, two treadmills, various stairsteppers, and 2 nordictracks are available. TV's were all tuned to CNN, which is fine for me, but the noise of the cardio machines made them somewhat inaudible except in the weightroom. Closed Captioning wasn't turned on, which would have been nice (if only I could have found nearby staff to do so when I started my morning workouts).
The weight room has a good selection of barbells and a full complement of adjustable weight machines (MAXCAM - a brand I had not worked on before - nothing fancy, but new and smooth).
Spa/Massage and Salon services are available 7 days a week. Tennis courts are available for $15/hr ($5 for raquet rental).
Overall, it just wasn't the type of facility I was expecting based on their website. However, a new larger pool/deck facility is being built between the two towers.
BUSINESS/MEETING FACILITIES
This is where the Hyatt excells. It has a huge selection of large meeting rooms and banquet halls, partitionable down to smaller rooms, as necessary. The ballroom is beautiful, and the lobbies between the rooms have wonderful views of the bay through huge wall-to-ceiling windows. Catering service ranges from excellent to so-so, which seems to match the rest of the service in the hotel.
RESTAURANTS
Top of the Hyatt
On the 40th floor, this provides spectacular views of the city and bay, for a price. The atmosphere at night is very dark (which allows a better view) and somewhat more trendy than the decor reveals in daylight.
Sally's
Just outside the lobby, Sally's specializes in seafood, and overlooks the marina. I did not try this restaurant, but the menu looked reasonably nice.
Laels
The "fancy" restaurant in the hotel - serves upscale cuisine at an upscale price. Specials are available Thu-Sun, with a Sunday brunch and Friday night seafood buffet. We found better seafood elsewhere.
Seaport Village
Though not part of the hotel, it's just out the door. You can find some nice options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with A pleasant atmosphere and reasonable tab.
Gaslight District
Just a 10-minute walk from the hotel (or a quick pedicab ride from the local bicyclists). Pedicabs usually expect $3-6/person for their effort, and are a fun way to scoot around especially if your cyclist is friendly.
OVERALL
Mosts aspects of this hotel followed a similar theme. Nicely done, well-appointed, but dated. The exception was the front desk, housekeeping and concierge staff. I hope that when they open the new half of the hotel, they close this half for refurbishing. I found myself wavering between a 3 and 4-star rating, because I feel very little "bang" comes for your "buck." The majority of the staff are genuine 4-star material, but some were not. The location is superb, and the views are 4-star level. The meeting and banquet facilities are nearly 5-star quality. However, the absence of a shuttle to/from the airport, ridiculous local phone call, Internet, and minibar prices, so-so fitness facilities, and the "strange oversights" I mention above just aren't on par with a 4-star hotel. So let's call it a "4-star minus" ranking.
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Recommended:
Yes
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pilotpat
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Member: Pat
Location: World Traveler
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"Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now."
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