Satisfied Traveler - Great Value for the Money

• December 5, 2008
• Rated 4 of 5 by a traveler from Travelocity.com

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Great Room

• November 6, 2006
• Rated 4 of 5 by a traveler from Travelocity.com

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Hawthorn Suites

• January 9, 2006
• Rated 4 of 5 by Idler from Poolesville, Maryland

This ‘extended business stay’ facility is centrally located on Hotel Circle, which runs alongside I-8 near both the I-5 and Rt. 193 interchanges, quite close to Old Town and the Presidio, with Balboa Park just minutes away. It’s also close to Fashion Valley Mall, a gargantuan and quintessentially California shopping complex. However, the immediate area surrounding the hotel is rather bland, consisting of just a long procession of hotels and motels facing the interstate. Thankfully, the soundproofing in our third-floor suite adequately masked the traffic noise; it also probably helped that our suite was near the elevator as it had an interior door rather than an exterior door on a long outside corridor.

The hotel’s suites have separate living room and bedroom sleeping areas, a kitchen, and complimentary breakfast. Perhaps because it was over the holidays and no doubt also because of the extremely reasonable rates, the majority of patrons were families with children. The best thing about this hotel was the size of the suites – they are very large, if somewhat sparsely decorated. The central living area contains the kitchen, a long bar counter perfect for use as a work area, and a separate table. The kitchen contained a dishwasher, microwave, stove, refrigerator, and small coffee maker. Dishwasher detergent, dish soap, paper towels, dishrags, and coffee packets were provided.

Our son commandeered the sofa bed, my husband set up his computer on the counter bar by the kitchen (free wireless internet access was provided), and I stretched out onto the comfortable king bed with my book. Everyone was happy.

This is not to say that everything was perfect. As mentioned above, the décor was a bit on the sterile side. The bathroom had minimal toiletries, and there was a $1 per night fee for the in-room safe – which could be removed at check out, but only by requesting the clerk to do so. Signs in the breakfast room instructed guests that they were not to remove food from the dining room, while a laminated card by the bed advised guests that they would be charged for any items taken from the suite. This struck me as a tad on the inhospitable side, though if it is such economizing measures that allow this hotel to keep its rates so low, then I’m all for it.

A decent complimentary breakfast featured scrambled eggs, toast, muffins, biscuits, gravy, cereals, a variety of juices, and good coffee. I especially enjoyed the savory sausage links and herbed potato wedges. Two rather idiosyncratic items offered were dark-looking chili and salsa. I would have preferred fresh fruit, but this is a mere quibble. There’s a pleasant enclosed outdoor patio, where it wasn’t too cool to enjoy an al fresco breakfast under tables shaded by large green umbrellas.

All in all, this hotel offers good value for money. Although not much in terms of ambience, as a handy base for touring it’s a reasonable option.

From journal Christmas in San Diego

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