More about Sommerset Suites Hotel
Highly Recommend this Hotel
by A TripAdvisor Member
We recently stayed at the Sommerset Suites Hotel in San Diego for a week. The staff, location, breakfast and afternoon wine and cheese spread were great. We used the pool and hot tub on a regular basis, and found them to be an ideal temperature. In regards to the sounds of sirens from the Scripps Mercy Medical Center in the back of the hotel, we could hear them occassionally, but not enough to wake us up. I would ask for a room off Washington Street if you are a bothered by street traffic. Definitely take a stroll around the Hillcrest area for a variety of restaurants to sample, or just go to Whole Foods Market to purchase your meal to heat up in the room. If you are travelling with children, the kitchen in the room comes in very handy.
A Disappointment
by A TripAdvisor Member
Pro: one-bedroom suite cost only $107/night (with the special 4+ nights stay), good location, clean rooms, full kitchen, crib already in the room when checking in, courteous staff at reception desk.
Con: VERY thin walls and floors, could hear upstair neighbor stomping around all night. We asked for a quiet room and was told that we had one, but could still hear the traffic and people in the pool. The shower temperature fluctuates frequently and in drastic range, both my husband and I almost got scalded. The hotel can really use a good renovation. The maid service is terrible: they took away dish towels without replacing them, forgot to empty trash bins under the sink, and never bothered to replace coffee/creamer/sugar etc or the paper towel. Breakfast was unimpressive, containing just coffee, muffins and pastries; plus it was all gone by the time we went down around 8:30-9am, eventhough it's supposed to be available from 6:30-9:30am. Sirens can be heard every night (about a handful of times when we were there), it woke up my two-year old one time (scared him) and I had to soothe him back to sleep. TV remote control was bad, the number buttons didn't work. Sofa bed was terrible, thin and lumpy mattress with the metal wires of the frame sticking right into your back.
Overall impression: this hotel has potential to be really good, but it just failed on so many levels.
Recommend. No, we will not stay there again.
Its just fine...
by TripAdvisor Member WayneBennett
I guess your opinion of this hotel depends on how "high maintenance" you are. I stayed there for five nights without a major incident. I liked the location of the hotel, as I was very close to many different restaurants and places in San Diego's "gayborhood." The grounds were well kept, the free breakfast and free wine reception each day were just fine (nothing fabulous, but very nice with lots of options), and the rooms were nice. The rooms came with all the standard amenities (shampoo, lotion, towels) plus some unexpected niceties (q-tips, cotton balls, robes, 1 free bag of microwave popcorn, 1 breakfast bar). The sheets smelled nice and clean every night, and the towels were nice and fluffy. I stayed in a "one room" suite with a small kitchenette. While this was not an extravagant place, the $104 per night was well worth it. It's very true what's been said about the parking (very tight spaces) and the showers (wide fluctuations in temperature; very cold to scalding over the course of a minute or so). I did not hear sirens at night. The hotel is on a very busy street and sits up above a freeway. My room was on the freeway side, up near Washington Ave. I heard minimal road noise -- and was able to turn the A/C on to a "fan" setting which provided a lot of white noise. I was not awakened by sirens in the middle of the night, and I am a light sleeper. Customer service is acceptable, however there is only one person at the desk when you call. You WILL be placed on hold no matter when you call if a customer is at the front desk. I got this treatment every time I called...but hey...there was only one person working. The maid service was great. The rooms are in okay condition - nothing dirty. There was a nice recliner in the room, which made for nice relaxing in the evenings. The hot tub and pool were in good shape and kept as clean as outdoor stuff can be. If you aren't wound tight, you probably will like this hotel. If you are someone who expects super service or the best, you won't like this place. I'd go there again without reservation.
Wonderful Hotel
by TripAdvisor Member DementiaDoc
Wow... had a fabulous stay at the Sommerset Suites Hotel...in the Hillcrest area of San Diego....with lots of small shops and restaurants all within walking distance...and about 3 mi from the GasLight area and the convention center...(the hotel can provide a free shuttle)...
Attractive and clean small suites...free wi-fi...good continental breakfasts..a very friendly and helpful staff ...and a reasonable price... i'm not sure what more i could have asked for... as they say in california: "Ah'll be back !"
Good Stay
by A TripAdvisor Member
I did an extensive search of San Diego hotels and Sommerset Suites is one of the few hotels could/would accommodate my family of six. After reading some of the reviews on this board I was a little concerned about how our stay would be. I was ready to slam the hotel in this review if our stay was miserable. Not to be. Our stay was for six nights and it was just fine. This is not a fancy hotel, but it met our needs. The biggest disappointment for me was the size of the pool. It is smaller than the picture looks. This did not seem to bother my kids though, so it didnt turn out to be an issue. I was driving a Suburban and the parking was tight, but a normal sized car would have no problems. We asked for a room off the street and were given one. Sirens can be heard, but wasnt an issue for us either (we were pretty tired so slept soundly). The breakfast is not fancy, but adequate. The hostess (Martha) was super friendly and helpful. As has been mentioned, the rooms could use some updating, but they were clean! We drove around hotel circle looking for a place to eat and found only a Dennys. Near this hotel is a Corvette Diner, pizza, sushi, indian and other foods within walking distance so that was a plus. Bottom line, I would stay there again, especially for the rate you can get for an extended stay (check their website).
Second visit, still great
by TripAdvisor Member MarineDad
We stayed here previously in January, 2004 when the pool area was being rebuilt. That area has been completed and looks beautiful! Hot tub was nice, didn't use the pool (3' deep throughout), and they've added many umbrella-covered tables and lounging chairs for catching some rays. Another nice addition is 2 gas barbeque grills available to all guets. Our first night, we bought groceries at the ALbertson's 4-5 blocks down the street (nice walk) and grilled steaks and chicken breasts, then made baked potatos in the room's microwave. We also had a full-size fridge with freezer so could store milk, bread, ice cream treats, beer, etc. with ease. There was also a full-size 4 burner stove with oven and a dishwasher in the kitchen. We did not have a recliner in our room, nor did we sleep on the sofa bed so I can't comment on these amenities.
We drove an extended minivan and didn't have any problems with the free, covered parking (if we drove carefully). It seems like this lodging is close to almost everything we wanted to see in San Diego, and the staff is VERY helpful with directions (and general friendliness). Maid service was very good and our suite had plenty of closet space. The breakfast hostess, Martha, actually remembered us from our last trip: a very nice surprise!
Our suite was on the third floor and faced the pool area, so we also expereinced the noise from Washington Street which is noticeable but not overbearing (we could slide our patio door shut at any time and turn on the room A/C fan to lessen the noise). We did notice an uptick in sirens compared to our previous stay. If you want a quiet room, ask for one on the 4th floor rear near the freeway (it's far below the hotel). We stayed in a 4th floor room previously, and they are now more expensive than the other 3 floors, but I would say that the increase in price would be well worth it.
We will definitely consider staying at the Sommerset Suites again.
Great Location & Value in the Hillcrest District
by TripAdvisor Member SoCalBC
Our stay was for only one night 06/24/06, but will stay here again. The Sommerset Suites Hotel next to Mercy Scripps Hospital in the Hillcrest District of San Diego is a very nice basic hotel (like a Courtyard or Extended Stay Suites) with all of the amenties of home, Stove, Refigerator, Dish Washer, etc. The One Bedroom Suites were a little Small, with the above listed & a Reclining Chair. However, the Two Bedroom Suites were very large with a pullout sofa and the listed above. It was very roomy (larger than alot of one bedroom apts) and clean (including the refigerator, stove, microwave, cabinets, etc.), which makes it a great place to stay with kids or family members. The Hotel is south of Hotel Circle, so it's not as busy as the other places off of I-8.
The Hillside District is great for walking around, safe either at day or night, with plenty of good restuarants and night life. Skip the hotel breakfast, try Hash House A Go Go about 1/4 to 1/2 mile down from the Hotel, HUGE BREAKFAST PORTIONS it's worth the wait & you'll have plenty of left overs. The Happy Hour at the Sommerset is nice, Free Soda, Domestic Beer, Wine, Crakers, Cheese, Nachos, etc. good for the small pool or Barbaque next to it. Downtown is a 15 minute drive, Seaworld is only 10 minutes away, while the Zoo is 3 to 5 minutes by automobile.
Should you be visiting someone at the hospital, ask about the Hospital Discount while making reservations with the Hotel, there might be one?
Great value in San Diego
by A TripAdvisor Member
I stayed here last summer with my family and we are planning to stay again this summer. It's a great value for the money, especially given San Diego hotel prices, which seem to run higher and higher. The one bedroom suites are perfect for getting your kids to bed earlier than you, and it's really quite a bit of room for the money (especially considering kitchen / dining area). Everything was clean, nice, and in good condition. The continental breakfast was one of the best free continental breakfasts I can remember having--lots of choices (including hard-boiled eggs, which I appreciated, since often all there is at such things is bready stuff) and it was kept well-stocked until the end of breakfast time. The pool area is also very nice and well-maintained, and the kids had lots of fun there. Hillcrest is a great neighborhood with nice restaurants, used bookstores, etc., and I'm sure the fact that the hotel wasn't in a beach area helps with price. I'm one of the lightest sleepers there is and I don't remember being bothered by noise. It is not a luxury hotel but I was completely satisfied. People from other areas of the country should be aware that San Diego hotels are expensive and that a rate of $160-180 does not mean a luxury hotel. If you go in with reasonable expectations you will probably be happy.
Great Location-Great Value
by TripAdvisor Member Deli-Lama
This was my first trip with my 1 year old and My 3 year old as well as the Wife and mother-in-law
Without knowing San Diego well we were looking for an area close to the major attractions, and be a safe area for walking around and hopefully have some inexpensive eats.
Expedia had the Suite at 159.00, which came with a King Bed in a separate room with its own TV, The Living room had a
pull out Queen sleeper, and the Kitchen was a full use Kitchen. There is a Safeway and an Albertson's nearby for stocking up on stuff for the fridge and there was utensils, paper towels, and a few pots and pans.
It appeared a bit old style inside the rooms, but it was confortable.
The Shower can change temps on you quite rapidly, but it was fine for the price range.
It is right next door to the Scripts Hospital, so late night sirens can get Loud if you leave the windows open.
Air Conditioning was failrly quiet and worked well.
Morning Breakky was not too bad for a Continental "plus".
The swimming pool is only 3 feet deep, so it worked well for my Boys.
Jacuzzi is avaible to 10:pm and was a welcome relief after all went to sleep
Free hi speed wifi allowed me to connect quite well in both the room and the Poolside areas.
I wanted to check in early, but the real nice front desks cold only prmise me first available.
They list 12:00 check out, but they also allow for 2:00 Late check out, so 3:00 is most likely the earliest check in time.
A few of the area restaurants:
University deli,open late
Corvette cafe-super 50's diner
Lots of Sushi and Great South of the Border eating everywhere
For the price I was very happy.
Would I stay here again, yes
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