Hampton Inn & Suites San Diego Airport Liberty Station Review

This was another trip for business. I had to go to a project at the San Diego Airport and was looking for a place to stay. I love to stay at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego. It is just my favorite hotel so far with great amenities. Unfortunately, the prices there skyrocketed to over $400/night for a regular room. Because it is located downtown, it would also be a bit of a drive in the morning. not terribly bad but lots of traffic lights to cross. After looking for a more affordable option, I found the Hampton Inn & Suites San Diego Airport Liberty Station. The price of a night was just over $200/night, and it was one of the closest hotels to my project site. The hotel was booked through the Hilton app on my phone, just hours before checking in at the hotel and on my drive to San Diego from L.A. Originally, it was supposed to be only a stay for one night, but I ended up staying there for over a week.

Location

The Hampton Inn & Suites San Diego Airport Liberty Station is located west of San Diego International Airport. The hotel provides a free shuttle service between the hotel and the airport. There is also lots of parking available, for a fee of course. You get charged $15/night to park here during your stay. Remember your license plate number and give it to the front desk during check-in. You don’t need any placard or hanger for your car. The TownePlace Suites by Marriott across the parking lot and the Hampton Inn share part of the same parking lot.

There are lots of things to do in the area. Spanish Landing Park is just a short walk away from the hotel. Or you can cross Nimitz Bridge, a former road bridge turned pedestrian bridge, to walk to a few restaurants and a Starbucks. Everything within short walking distance. An Uber ride to downtown takes you about 10 minutes and is around $10 each way.

Check-In

After finishing my project for the day, I drove just a few minutes to get to the Hampton Inn & Suites San Diego Airport Liberty Station. Parking around the front entrance was all used. There was a few EV charging, clean air/van pool parking spots still empty at the front of the building, but since my pick-up truck is neither, I decided not to misuse these parking spots, like most other guests here do. People don’t care, they park their Camaro in the EV spot. I parked in the back, near the back entrance of the hotel and was ready to walk all the way to the front to check in and then later use this entrance to unload my car.  However, I got lucky, and the automatic sliding door of the back entrance stays unlocked until late at night. Additional EV charging stations are also available at the back of the hotel.

The front desk was easy to find, and I walked up straight to the counter to check in. Overall check-in was quick and easy. Unfortunately, I didn’t receive a welcome amenity during my check-in even though they have a box with choices displayed right at the front desk counter. I was also too tired and just wanted to get to bed after a long day. I was still able to get my bottled water in the coming days, but a small snack would have been nice too. No room upgrade was offered, as all of their better rooms were sold out already for the night.

1 King Bed Room (Room 330)

This room is just around the corner from the elevator lobby. As you walk into the entryway of the room, you have a sliding door into the bathroom on your left. The sliding door has double use, it is also the door for the wall closet next to the bathroom. On the door itself is a full-size dressing mirror. Inside the closet is an iron, ironing board, suitcase stand and hangers for your clothes.

The bathroom is a decent size. You have enough space to move around without having to step over yourself. On the left is the vanity with a single sink and a large wall-mounted mirror. The toilet is next to the vanity. On the opposite side of the bathroom is the walk-in shower with sliding glass doors. There are no soap dispensers in the shower, but you will find small bottles on the vanity.

The entryway opens into the actual bedroom area. The King-sized bed is on the left, centered on the wall and facing outwards towards the window. ON either side you have nightstand mounted to the wall and a lamp on one side and a wall-mounted light on the other. As well as the obligatory alarm clock and in-room phone. The front of the nightstands has power outlets and USB ports.

Along the wall on the right side, you find a smaller closet, which houses a small refrigerator behind a door. It also holds an ice bucket as well as a coffee maker and comes with extra drawers to store belongings. On top of it is a well-sized flatscreen TV. You can swivel the TV to be watched from the bed or the little sofa lounger in the other corner of the room.

Attached to the closet is an office desk that comes with a chair. Power outlets and USB ports are built into the closet on either side of it. 

The AC unit is mounted below the window and the controls are mounted on the wall between the entryway and bedroom area. The small sofa lounger in the corner has a tall lamp sitting in the corner and comes with a laptop stand to get some work done while comfortably sitting.

The room itself offers enough space to be comfortable and to relax. You will spend most of the time away from the hotel anyway or even in the beautiful lobby or back patio. Wi-Fi reception was great and no issues here. The bedroom area comes with a carpet floor while the entryway and bathroom have some type of vinyl floor.

To activate the power in your room, you must put your hotel room key in a slot right next to the room entrance. Removing the card turns off all the lights in the room. This is what you find in many European hotels to conserve energy. The front desk agent let me know about this feature and instead of two room keys, as asked, I got three. Even with two you can just stick one permanently into the socket and your lights will stay on. 

Public Areas & Amenities

Lobby

The lobby area of this hotel is amazing. It’s different from most other Hampton Inns. Lots of glass allows natural light to flood the lobby area. Lofty ceilings reaching over two floors give you a feeling of space and freedom. The second-floor overlooks part of the lobby area. I like this atrium style lobbies a lot.

The lobby area comes with plenty of seating. Some of it is part of the dining area for breakfast but can also be used the rest of the day. Great if you have multiple people stay in different rooms to bring them together and have food delivered. The front desk is on the opposite side of the main entrance and staff here was always super nice to make me feel welcome.

Business Center

Two workstations and a printer form the business center here at this hotel. It is located next to the front desk and elevators. You can’t miss it. It is open 24 hours a day.

Patio / Outdoor public spaces

This hotel really has a lot of outdoor spaces which guests can enjoy. Especially the back patio is amazing. Lots of comfortable chairs and tables to hang out and relax. Umbrellas give you shade from the California sun. If you want, you can also eat breakfast out here. A fireplace gives you cozy warmth during the evening hours. All this is right outside the back door of the hotel, next to the pool area. Another firepit is at the front next to the main entrance. It has a few benches around it to sit down and relax. 

Outdoor Pool

A heated pool is located at the back of the hotel. You need your room key to enter the pool area. Around the pool you have many pool loungers and tables with chairs to hang out, relax and soak up some sun. A unisex bathroom is located right within the pool area. The pool area is on the south side of the building which gives you the most sun exposure. A large parking lot puts some distance between the pool and the busy Harbor Drive.

Fitness Center

The fitness center can be found on the ground floor down the left hallway of the hotel. It is opposite the public restrooms. It’s a well-equipped fitness center with all the usual workout gear. Lots of large windows allow for natural light to flood the room here as well. The fitness center faces south towards the pool area.

Guest Laundry

A guest laundry facility is provided to guests and especially useful if you plan a longer stay or just pack light with not a lot of clothes to change. There are a few sets of washers and dryers here, which should avoid any wait time while someone else is using a machine. All the machines are coin operated and laundry detergent is available for purchase at the market near the front desk and the agents can also give you change for the machines. This hotel also offers dry cleaning service which can be charged to your room.

Dining

Breakfast

Breakfast at the hotel is complimentary for all guests. The buffet is set up in a separate room in the lobby. You will find a broad selection of breakfast items. However, the breakfast wasn’t all that great. The scrambled eggs had almost always some burn marks, they ran out of yoghurt after my first night and didn’t get any back until almost a week later. Same with juices, out of orange juice for almost a week and another flavor was still not available even after one week of staying here. This could be a result of the ongoing supply chain issue we are all facing now. The staff was, however, great. They refilled everything promptly and wiped down tables even when there was a big crowd during breakfast hours. They did their utmost to keep up with demand. Besides everything else being so amazing for this hotel, breakfast let me down a little bit. It wasn’t that bad that you couldn’t eat anything here. But I would rather have some burn marks on the scrambled eggs than the powdery scrambled eggs you get at some places.

Breakfast Hours: daily from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m.

The coffee station is situated in the lobby and coffee, cold and hot water, is available 24 hours a day. 

The Treat Shop

Next to the front desk is a small market, called here the Treat Shop. You can buy essential hygiene stuff here as well as snacks and drinks. It’s a broad choice. There is even beer and wine for purchase. 

Gold and Diamond Hilton Honors members receive free bottled water every day you can pick up at the front desk.

Conclusion

The Hampton Inn & Suites San Diego Airport Liberty Station should be on your radar if you need a place to stay. It will be more affordable than the hotels directly downtown and it is only a short ride downtown. If you want, you can even walk. I previously walked all the way from the Grand Hyatt, along the bay, to the airport. The agent working at the front desk during my arrival told me that the hotel opened in March 2019. It’s a brand-new hotel. Overall, this is a great hotel to stay in. Some insignificant things turned up here and there, but just minor stuff.