San Diego Marriott Mission Valley Review

Booking & Stay Details

This time, work brought me to a site near Hotel Circle, which is just north of Downtown San Diego. There are a ton of hotels here, but I was looking for a great place to stay which I could also share with you folks. I found the San Diego Marriott Mission Valley. The rate for my stay was not a lot different from other not so exclusive hotels like Courtyard by Marriott nearby. 

I booked the app hotel through the Marriott app on my phone. Unfortunately, they only had guest rooms available with 2 Queen beds and I had the option between the city view and pool view. Overall, my stay was a week, but I had one night missing in between. The same issue when I made my second reservation, only 2 Queen Bedrooms were available with either City or Pool view. No suites and no King Bedrooms. To be fair, I always booked the night before check-in, and it seems to be a busy hotel. 

Location

The San Diego Marriott Mission Valley is located in Mission Valley East, part of the Mission Valley District. Mission Valley is located north of Downtown but is a good location for a home base while visiting San Diego. Everything is pretty much a 10-minute drive away: San Diego International Airport, Downtown, San Diego Zoo and Seaworld as well as San Diego Old Town. From the hotel you have easy access to Interstates 8 and 805. The San Diego River splits Mission Valley which is named after California’s first Spanish mission – San Diego de Alcalá, established in 1769 and still operating here as a Catholic parish in a reconstructed building. 

Parking

The hotel offers plenty of parking spaces around the building. Unfortunately, they only offer paid parking, which is $34/night. This is expensive. Lots of hotels in the area charge for parking but the parking rates here are one of the highest in the area. Thanks to my ambassador status, the hotel comped the parking charges for me. Which was genuinely nice of them. The first time I stayed here it was offered directly to me and the second time I just asked for it during check-in and the agent took care of it and removed the parking charges for my stay.

They used to do valet parking, but this is currently suspended, mainly because of the pandemic.

Your room key will open the gate to the parking lot. One feature I love a lot here is the dedicated Elite Parking lot. It is located to the left of the main entrance, and you need your room key to open the gate, but you can just pull up to the other gate to exit. This parking lot is also located closest to the actual hotel building and gives you easy access to the elevators. But it seems there are too many elites staying here. I arrived one night around 10 p.m. and the elite parking lot was completely full. You get access to this parking lot if you have reached any status with Marriott Bonvoy other than just the Member level.

Shuttle Service

The San Diego Marriott Mission Valley is about eight miles from the San Diego International Airport. Unfortunately, the hotel is not offering any shuttle service from or to the airport.

Check-In

I arrived late evenings and pulled up straight to the main entrance where usually valet parking would be situated. I parked my car and walked inside to check-in. You have to traverse the large lobby to get to the check-in counter on the other side. 

Check-in overall was super easy as usual. It seems the manager checked me in as he was training a new staff member. I didn’t mind at all, as I know how hard it is at the moment to get good personell. It didn’t bother me at all that he was explaining and showing her the check-in procedure. He also comped parking for me, which would be usually $34/night. I received my room keys and parked my car in the elite member parking lot.

2 Queen Beds Room (Room 1106)

Behind the main lobby is the elevator lobby. There are three elevators and it’s easy to miss one as it is behind you to the left when you walk into the area. The elevators are slow here. It can take some time to get an elevator. The ride also takes a little bit, even with no stops. The room itself was only a few steps away from the elevator on the left side of the hallway. 

As you walk in, you have the bathroom to your left. A frosted glass sliding door can separate the bathroom from the rest of the room. Inside the bathroom you have a vanity with a single wash basin and a wall-mounted mirror. The mirror has a built-in smaller make-up mirror with magnification. There is also a walk-in shower which has a shower head and shower wand. Shower wands are rare in the U.S. Finally, you have an open closet. The bottom part has some drawers where you can place your suitcase on top of it and it comes with hangers as well.

The main bedroom area comes with two Queen beds against the side wall. A nightstand sits in between both beds and comes with lamps mounted to the headboard in the center of the two beds. There is also a bedside carpet in between the two beds while the rest of the room has vinyl plank flooring. Even with the two queen beds there is plenty of space in the room. The only narrow part is between the queen bed which is next to the bathroom. There is only a small space in between and it is barely walkable. It would be better to just push the bed all the way against the wall, scoot up the second bed, which would give you more space between that bed and the outside wall. Which comes with a small chair and laptop table. 

Opposite the bed is a work desk and another chair. The desk is attached to a dresser which holds a small refrigerator, in-room safe, coffee maker and ice bucket. Above the dresser is a larger wall-mounted TV.

What I love most about the rooms here are the large floor-to-ceiling windows and the actual balcony you can use. On the balcony you have two chairs and a small table to just sit outside and relax.

But unfortunately, the city view rooms are not really city view. They are facing away from downtown, and you get only a view of the nearby office buildings as well as the large Interstate bridge…

It’s better to ask if they could switch you to a pool view room. The pool view is nice as well, you get to see the nicer landscape and actually more of a city view than the other side of the building. From the pool view rooms you can also see the sunset very well. Below are pictures from my second stay at this property in a room with pool view.

Public Areas & Amenities

Lobby

The lobby is very spacious as well. There are plenty of seating options in the lobby and the large windows let a lot of light in to make it a warm and welcoming area. There is more seating right outside the main entrance where you can sit under palm trees and enjoy fresh air. 

Business Center

The business center is located next to the elevators. There is a desk with two workstations and a printer you can use.

Pool Area

The heated pool is located outside in the courtyard of the hotel on the lower level. The pool area is surrounded on one side by the hotel building and the oder sides with meeting spaces and ballrooms.

To get access to the pool area you need your room key. You can take the elevator to the lower level or take the stairs in the courtyard near the main hotel entrance. 

The pool itself is very large and even has a waterfall on one end of it. Around the pool are plenty of pool chaise loungers as well as three cabanas which are on a first come first serve basis. 

There are restrooms in the pool area, but you need your room key to access them.

Hours: daily 6 a.m. – 11 p.m.

Fitness Center

The fitness center is located on the lower level as well. You will pass it on your way to the pool from the elevators. You also need your room key to get in. It is open 24 hours a day and has a great selection of workout equipment. There are two more exercise bikes outside, in front of the pool area.

Garden Area

This area is used for weddings but if there are none you can find table tennis set-ups here and additional chairs to hang out and relax in “the green”. The garden area is located opposite the hotel building next to the main parking lot.

Guest Laundry

There is a guest laundry facility located in the pool area. I know it’s a weird spot and I didn’t even realize it was there when I first used the pool. Here you need to use your room key yet another time to open the door to the guest laundry. Inside there are two washers and two dryers. Soap is available in the marketplace next to the front desk. Alternatively, you can use the dry-cleaning service by filling out the form in your room and putting everything in the plastic bag and dropping it off at the front desk.

Dining

Breakfast

Breakfast is served at the DEN Restaurant in the lobby. You can choose between breakfast buffet and a la carte. The buffet is actually fairly good, you can read more about it below in the M Club Lounge section.

The DEN (DineEntertainNetwork) Restaurant

This is the only on-site restaurant. It’s not only great to dine in, but you can also meet up or hang out at the bar area. As it is open from early morning until late at night, you can always swing by and grab something to eat or drink. Besides dining indoors, you can also go and sit outside on the terrace overlooking the pool area. There is even a small fireplace with seating.

The DEN is open daily from 6:30 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.

M Club Lounge

Elite members with Platinum level or above can access the M Club Lounge, which is located on the lobby level next to the DEN Restaurant. You need your room key to get in. There might be someone in the morning checking people coming in to see if they are eligible for the free breakfast here as people try to tailgate other members into the lounge. The lounge is spacious with lots of seating. 

Breakfast at the lounge is daily from 6:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. You can order from the same menu as the DEN Restaurant or choose the buffet option. The buffet room is shared by the restaurant and the lounge, and each has its own entrance to the buffet room. During breakfast hours you have servers here who will make the breakfast even more enjoyable by offering fresh brewed coffee or juices as well as taking care of you. You will need to sign a paper ticket for your breakfast, but the balance is $0.

The buffet includes the usual items such as breakfast potatoes, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, cereals, toast, and yoghurt. Besides that, you also have an omelet station in the buffet room, and you can build your own omelets and they will be made to order. 

There is an evening spread at the lounge with changing food options every day.
After the evening spread you have desserts served in the lounge from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m.

The lounge itself is open 24 hours a day. During these times you have access to water, sodas, snacks like nuts and energy bars as well as a coffee machine. You can also sit down and hang out in the lounge as well.

Market Place

A very well-sized marketplace is situated next to the front desk. There is a huge selection of snacks, drinks and whatever else you might need during your stay at the hotel. Just check it out, you can’t miss it.

Conclusion

My stay here was amazing. I really enjoyed the property. It comes close to the Grand Hyatt in Downtown San Diego, which is still my favorite place to be. However, hotels in this area tend to be cheaper than the ones downtown. It always depends on what you are looking for and where you need to be.

I loved the 24/7 lounge access and always having an option for some snacks, coffee, or sodas. The whole staff was super friendly and made my stay even more enjoyable. A big plus was the comped parking charges, which saved me a lot of money. If I have to be in the same area again, I will definitely stay here again. It’s just an exceptional hotel. I hope in the future there will be also King Bedrooms available or even a suite to get upgraded too or use my suite night awards.