San Diego hotel help please!
 

Going to be in San Diego for 3 nights in August midweek. Our agent has recommended the Grand Hyatt. How central is this hotel? We won't have a car and want to be able to walk to restaurants at night. We are in our 50's and celebrating our 30th anniversary. We would prefer a hotel with a pool. Are we better off in the Gas lamp district?

all your questions could be answered via google or google maps

that said, the Hyatt is a 2-3 min walk from the gas lamp

You have posted this before. You can click your user name to get to your old posts.
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...r-us-grant.cfm

We liked the Omni hotel, which is right across from the waterfront and blocks from the gas lamp neighborhood. It's a great hotel, with good restaurants. Ask for a room high up, on the corner. Ours was huge, with views both directions. It's more special than a Hyatt, I think, especially for your anniversary.

To answer your question, the Grand Hyatt is in a great location, you will have good views, you can easily walk to the Gaslamp district where there are many excellent restaurants.

Also, you can stroll to the Embarcadero where you'll find the San Diego Maritime Museum. The USS Midway aircraft carrier museum is right there too.

You can take the San Diego Trolley to Old Town and to Mission San Diego de Alcala, the first of the California Missions.

You would need to take a cab to Balboa Patk and the San Diego Zoo, unless the Hyatt offers transportation to the Zoo.

If it matters to you (pro or con), the Manchester Grand Hyatt is being boycotted by gay/labor union/diversity/human rights groups locally because it is non-union (like most SD hotels) and its developer and part-owner contributed $125,000 to get started the ballot initiative to remove the right for gay couples to marry. Several conventions and business meetings have been cancelled, and it is a source of controversy locally. BTW, the Hyatt organization itself has been quite gay-friendly here and across the country, so it is not a straightforward (no pun intended) issue.

IMO, it is boycotted for Doug Manchesters personal views on marriage between a man and a woman.
He gave money to the Yes on 8 group.
He does not bring his ideology to the Grand Hyatt and hope that turns around and sues the groups that are unfairly targeting him and his business.
Grand Hyatt is very gay friendly and is extremely diverse in its hiring pratice.
Doug Manchester is a great man and I don't agree with his opinions but they are his opinions and I respect them.
This is so wrong of you d claude bear for even bringing this up.

It's a great hotel with a great views and its the one that I would pick to stay in SD.

Why is it wrong to bring it up?

Right--Why is is wrong to let a visitor something that is frequently covered in the local newspapers and might matter to some of them? I think I offered a balanced view ("pro or con," boycotted but "Hyatt has been gay-friendly") of the situation. I don't have any reason to think Manchester is "a great man," but I didn't denigrate him either.

Doug Manchester opposes marriage between a man and a woman? Wow, this truly makes him a great man.

If it were me I'd rather be close to Balboa Park and you definitely need a rental car in San Diego to see anything.

The Marriott is another tall-tower, full-service national chain hotel you might want to consider: quite close to the Hyatt, right on the Bay, and somewhat closer to the Gaslamp restaurants--

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/maps/...el-and-marina/

d_claude_bear, I find that funny that you would post what you did about the manager of the Hyatt (I had no problem with you posting that), when the owners of Marriott (the parent) are devout Mormons and it was the Mormons who funded the Yes on 8 campaign! Just suggesting it's inconsistent to suggest the Marriott in this case.

The US Grant gets good reviews on yelp.com and tripadvisor.com. I'm not sure who they have offended. They are in the center of the Gaslamp district.

www.usgrant.net

Seriously though I would stay near Balboa Park. Seaport Village and the Gaslamp are tourist traps.

sf7307--You are right that the Mormon Church's had a big role in Prop 8, as did Catholic bishops and churches. I thought that Marriott (NYSE symbol: MAR) was a publicly-owned company. Is it privately owned, by persons who are members of the Mormon Church?

BTW, if you are from SF--Several years ago we stayed at an SF hotel we had reserved months ahead, only to arrive quite tired after a long drive to find it was one of several downtown hotels being picketed by a hotel workers union. We gave up trying to move after a few calls to fully-booked nearby hotels were unsuccessful. We would have welcomed knowing in advance that the hotel was on the union's do-not-stay list.

i remember hearing or reading about manchester apologizing for his donation - found it here http://mghsd4equality.com/mr-manchester-s-apology He says, and i quote "I am sorry for the pain and conflict I have caused and would like to take this time to apologize, clarify my views on the matter and share some background on Hyatt’s long-standing and commendable support of the GLBT community."

and for further clarification "While I am the owner of Manchester Grand Hyatt, I do not speak for Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, which manages and operates Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego and many other properties across the world. My private act and financial contribution does not in any way reflect or represent advocacy on the part of Hyatt Hotels & Resorts or its thousands of employees worldwide. Hyatt has a long history of support and engagement with the GLBT community, something we all stand by and take great pride in."

the machester grand hyatt has some of the most incredible views of san diego - i had a very enjoyable visit - this is a really great hotel.

Marriott is a public company, but the Marriotts still sit on the board and presumably have a huge stake in the company, and yes, they are devout Mormons. Book of Mormon in every nightstand instead of the bible (I personally consider both ridiculous, just trying to answer your question).

I think it would be impossible to avoid patronizing every business because you don't like the politics of the owner.

BTW, trying to avoid a unionized hotel in San Francisco? Good luck.

RBCal..its his opinion not mine..Doug is a friend of mine and yes, he is a great man.

Thank you Ryan for posting what Doug has stated!
The protestors don't bother knowing the truth.
This is America..respect others viewpoint.

'We would have welcomed knowing in advance that the hotel was on the union's do-not-stay list'
Are you serious?
You would listen to the Union goons as to dictate where not to stay?

sf730. FWIW, I think you misunderstood me. We were not trying to avoid unionized hotels--we are very supportive of workers unions--but would have avoided staying at a hotel that was the focus of a union protest. We do try to avoid patronizing businesses whose owners are very public and active in political causes we find reprehensible--but have no illusions we can be entirely successful. Manchester's apologia is misdirected--few protesters believed Hyatt as an organization supported Prop. 8 or holds offensive socio-political views. It is Manchester's continuing financial involvement in that property which draws their attention. There are many equally fine hotels in downtown SD--to each his/her own! In my opinion, hiding from visitors what most San Diegans are fully aware of would be a disservice.

d, actually I understood you completely - I just wasn't clear when responding! What I meant was, it's hard to FIND a non-unionized hotel in San Francisco, because most of the hotels here ARE unionized.

Grand hyatt is very central but hilton gas lamp is even better but just make sure don't get ripped off by the pizza company which deliver in hilton by name of broadway pizza

Anyone who call's a bigot a "great man" has a screw loose. Take any advice from that person with a shaker of salt.

I have been to San Diego several times and have stayed at the Grand Hyatt, the Marriott and the Omni. I don't think you will be disappointed with any of these choices. The Marriott and the Grand Hyatt are both on the harbor. I prefer the Marriott (even though it is owned by those dastardly Mormons!) over the Hyatt for a few reasons - the rooms were nicer, the pool area is very nice and pretty large for a city hotel and it is a just a little more convenient to the Gaslamp than the Hyatt. That being said, my first choice is the Omni, which is right in the Gaslamp. Nice rooms, good location, decent pool and the convenience for dinner of having the Gaslamp at your feet. If you sign up for their loyalty card, they deliver coffee and juice to your room each morning. Not a huge deal but a nice little feature.

I prefer the Marriott to the Hyatt and have also stayed in both on many occasions. We even got married at the Marriott.

My favorite is the Us Grant actually - lovely Starwood property.

Having said that, in August, I would pick either the Marriott or the Hyatt or Marriott Gaslamp. And be sure to get tickets to a Padre game. It is a treat - one of the best ballparks in the country imo! Too fun.

I recently spent three nights at the Grand Hyatt in San Diego. The location is perfect, the views from the rooms and top floor bar awesome, the rooms comfortable, the lobby huge and interesting, and the service just fine. The only downside was that we stayed in a club level room but the amenities and common areas aren't nearly as nice as other Hyatts. I think the Grand Hyatt Union Square and the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero in San Francisco, for example, are well worth paying the club level prices. That said, I'd certainly return to the Grand Hyatt in San Diego. Have a great time. San Diego is a charmer.

@englishlass - maybe you (and the rest of the community here) should read this article that I found recently - http://www.cherrygrrl.com/from-boyco...elers-to-know/ Very informative and really spells out what all this "controversy" is about.

It's about time we heard from an employee of this hotel and I can definitely relate to the fact that the "guests" are like "family" at Manchester Grand Hyatt. I had the best time there. I hope you enjoy your stay if you decide to go with Manchester Grand Hyatt.

As the person who first raised this issue, in an "if it matters to you (pro or con)" way, I am puzzled by the article. The intro says Manchester owns the hotel (perhaps as a co-owner with the Marriott Corporation?), yet the person being interviewed says, "he is only affiliated with the hotel by name." Which is it?

There is no question that Mariott as a company and this hotel as an employer and host to guests is in many ways gay-friendly. As I understand it, the protesters (with whom I have no connection other than moral support) intended both to draw attention to Manchester's role in funding the "prevent gays from marrying" initiative and to make it financially costly for him to have done so as an object lesson about the clout that the LGBT community has. I am not surprised that union organizers would piggyback on this, both because of their historical linkage to "human rights" issues and because they want to gain representation for the lowest-paid employees.

I doubt many visitors will be influenced by this issue, except for the conventions/meetings that have been canceled and the LGBT travelers who use their money to support their cause, but I think a lot more people are aware of the situation now. But does Manchester have a financial interest in this hotel, or is he "only affiliated with the hotel by name"? The answer to that question might help you evaluate the public relations interview posted just above.

Sorry--references to "Marriott" in the previous post dhould be to "Hyatt." Manchester apparently did sell his previous ownership interest in the Marriott.

There are several possibilities: More than likely (since this is how most of the big chains operate), he owns the building and land, and has a contract with Hyatt to "operate" the hotel. He would get a percentage of the revenues as "rent". It is also possible that he owns the building and simply leases it to Hyatt, which either operates the hotel itself or has franchised it to a third party. The third possibility is that he is a Hyatt franchisee and operates the hotel himself. The least likely is that he has no financial interest in the hotel!

Wow! Didn't think that this inocuous question would get such a response. We are from the UK and don't want to get involved in all the local politics. Just looking for a good hotel that suits our needs.

Englishlass, I know what you mean.

San Diego seems to be a "hot button" topic.

That said, if the Grand Hyatt is in your price range, it is an excellent choice. It has a great pool area, water views from many rooms and there are good dining options by walking along the water or into the nearby Gas Lamp District.

HTTY