The San Diego Downtown Lodge offers clean, unfussy lodgings with daily cleanups, 24-hour hot water, and generally pleasant staff. Rooms are good for rest and sleep, looking as pictured, though the property has only minor updates. Its location is a good walk to Little Italy and the Pier, and it is not far from downtown San Diego. However, the hotel is situated right at the freeway exit and entrance, which creates challenging ingress and egress, traffic noise, and there are lots of homeless people in the area. The small parking lot requires guests to double park bumper-to-bumper, leading to significant inconvenience when blocked in. The property lacks an ice machine, vending machines, and in-room coffee machines, directing guests to a gas station across the street. Management receives criticism for being horrible, with claims of overworking and underpaying employees. While safe, caution is advised. For some, it serves a budget need, but many find the inconveniences and pricing not right, leading them to stay away.
There wasn't enough parking, and the lodge is right off the freeway, so leaving is difficult. Also, I never received my security deposit back. There were also ants in the room.
June 2026
The rooms are run down. The TV in the room did not work. Torn blankets and super noisy. Rates are decent, close to everything. Despite everything we were comfortable and that was is important.
April 2026
The room was great and the bed, no issues. But it did smell funny and the towels, well they were clean but not clean all the way. They need to get a better washing machine or better quality towels. Over all great location with parking and Great staff
