Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina in San Diego, CA

I had really high hopes for this hotel, and we really did have a great time, though there were a couple things I would love to see different if we were to return. Our room was great, we stayed in a Marina view double queen standard room. We were able to see the fireworks from Sea World every night from our balcony, and the seals playing during the day. Great view! The pools were fun, though I was expecting them to be a bit bigger. They are all fairly small, though they were all slightly different temperatures, so it was nice to be able to pick what you wanted. The biggest pool with no slides was quite warm, and we were able to swim until it closed at 10 every night comfortably! On Friday night they did a poolside movie on a projector that my kiddos loved! The stairs for the water slides were a little gross and rusty and sort of smelled like cat pee, but over all other than the pools being small, and as a result, the chairs being a hot commodity it was great! We didn't really spend much time at the pool during the peak of the day though. I would imagine it was probably more crowded than would be comfortable in the middle of the day. There is a cute area with some lawn games. However, it is tiny. I think it is a great idea, but not nearly big enough for the size of the hotel. The elevators were kind of a nightmare during busy times of day (morning and evening) because there were only a few - again, not enough for the size of the hotel so it was not uncommon to wait 10 minutes or more to get on an elevator, and once you got on people packed in like sardines. The food was VERY over priced and not great. There was a little grab and go breakfast spot down by the marina which had okayish food - basically starbucks type breakfast items that were processed and reheated - for a family of 5 it was $77 to get a couple breakfast sandwiches and drinks which seemed kind of insane. We quickly learned to go down the street to Einstein Bagels instead. The more upscale restaurant was also very expensive and none of us liked our food, it was all incredibly salty, and I don't remember ever thinking that at a restaurant before. So that was a bummer because with getting cheaper things on the menu it was still a $200 dinner and not at all satisfying. We were able to check out free beach chairs, a big sun canopy, beach toys, and boogie boards for use at the beach from the front desk which was awesome! They have a big fire pit out by the pool, and one by the lawn games were you can make smores. They sell smores kits - but it is $15 for a kit with 4 marshmallows. I would definitely recommend grabbing your own supplies at a grocery store near by instead - but it was a fun experience, and I love that they offer it! Even with the things I would change, I will say, for the location and activities at the hotel I thought it was a great value! We were there for 5 nights and paid just under $1,400 including parking and all fees (parking is $50 per night) so not bad! There is a free shuttle than runs to old town and sea world at the hotel as well. The self parking lot does tend to fill up if you come back to the hotel in the evening so you end up having to use vallet - they don't charge you the extra $5 for the vallet service, but definitely bring cash for tips because you will likely end up using vallet against your will. We rented jet skis down at the marina and were able to go all over the bay and see sting rays and seals - we also took a day trip over to La Jolla with all our beach gear and brought our own snorkels to swim with the leopard sharks - very cool experience! The bay is obviously much calmer water, but also about 10 degrees warmer than the ocean which was nice! The ocean was however, relatively warm too! I would definitely recomend looking into the various go city ticket options for tickets to do things in the area, we were able to save quite a bit of money this way! Over all, we loved the trip, and even with the downsides mentioned above, I would totally come back! Adding that the restaurant by the pool has fun poolside drinks and great service!

This hotel is quite a distance from downtown San Diego. Our rooms were bungalows on the outskirts of the property next to a large event tent. On Saturday night of our stay, there was a very festive wedding reception. The music had our room shaking until about 10:45. Although we made the best of it, we had to leave our room for a break from the base boom. The rooms (because we had two rooms) were old and uninviting and we couldn't walk barefoot the floor was so dirty. Also many a champaign cork has hit the ceiling. The pool area was tight and crowded. The water was cloudy. However, the food and beverage service at the pool was excellent. Being next to the harbor is nice.

Breakfast, either made-to-order or buffet , was bad and not worth the money. Front desk was understaffed and always long lines in the lobby. Pool was nice. Poolside restaurant had poor service, limited menu, Fold out sofa bed was unusable. Horrible. Hotel did have roll-out beds that were better but for some reason promised a queen which did not exist. We did get two full-size roll out beds. Hotel ran out of water bottles.

Staff was outstanding and tried to be as helpful as they could. Pool was overcrowded- no loungers available. Requested early check in but couldn’t get our room until just before 4pm. Property is old and needing structural upgrades. We had a huge ant problem on the second floor and had to move to another room. That room was an upgrade, but had to rig the sink stopper to drain water. This property did not meet our resort expectations.

Overall disappointed with our choice to stay here. Hotel is old and unkept. We stayed in a 1 bedroom suite which is separate from the hotel - the lobby and elevator were dirty and did not appear to have been cleaned during our stay - 4d/3n. Our bathroom shower was dirty as were cushions on the sofa and a few chairs. The cherry on top was the Daybed we rented at the pool - I don't think the cushions have ever been cleaned - covered in stains, food/debris on the base and table of the daybed. We will be sticking to Marriot Hotels moving forward.