Mark Tomczak

Review of Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines

I have to be honest, this is the worst hotel I've ...

I have to be honest, this is the worst hotel I've stayed at in ages. It's not gross or dangerous, but it did not live up to its reputation. We found issues with basic infrastructure that I have not seen in other hotels rated this highly:

* Front desk staff discourteous and unhelpful.
* Check-in was a challenge. We needed an additional room for a member of our party; their booking system claimed they had no available rooms, then claimed many available rooms. Very confusing.
* Grill restaurant is poor quality for the price. Fish tacos were nearly raw.
* Air conditioning in the room was extremely poor quality; we had to crank the temperature down to 65 to get a bearable, consistent 70.
* Room has a refrigerator, but the refrigerator barely functioned.
* Internet was complimentary, but incredibly unreliable; it would simply cut out for minutes at a time, randomly (I am writing this review from a network tether over my cellphone's data plan).
* We asked for a room make-up at a specific time; cleaning staff did not arrive for an hour and a half. They were very courteous, but explained that the front desk hadn't transmitted my indication that we needed the room cleaned at a specific time, so they'd just added it to their work queue.
* Pool max depth is 5 feet; no diving.
* Coffee cart is constantly closed; difficult to get a cup of coffee after noon in the hotel.
* Staff at coffee cart claims to be selling Starbucks products; is selling off-brand.
* Last day of stay, we were excited to use the pool; discovered it was closed from 6 to 9PM for a private function. On the plus side, Hilton La Jolla lets you rent out the entire pool area for a private function! ;)

Pros for the hotel:
* clean
* fire pits are nice
* outdoor jacuzzi is nice