We just got back and found the Westin Horton Plaza to be just another rush-rush big city convention hotel. Short on charm, and the concierge gave us wrong directions to the ferry to Coronado which we ended up missing. But, what do you want for $139 on Priceline. Looking back I wish that we had ponied up more money and paid to stay somewhere with a view of the San Diego's spectacular harbor. Many of the high rise hotels have bars on top that offer panoramic views of the harbor so they are great places to go for drinks. The Gaslamp district is meh. No big deal. Bottom line: if you are in and out just for business or a convention -stay here - you could be at any Big Hotel, in any Big City. If you can afford it, book a harborview room somewhere and luxuriate in the beauty of San Diego.

Also what many of the earlier guests noted about the elevators being horribly slow is true. While we were there one whole bank was out due to service, which really compounded the problem.

A slightly below average Westin ready for some upgrades. I was impressed with the customer service to include front desk (Jeanette) and bar staff, but overall the facilities are a bit run down. Old equipment in the small fitness center, room doors bruised and battered, stained carpet, etc. . The hotel location is good though, with a 1-minute walk to Horton Plaza shopping mall and easy walk to all of Gaslamp Quarter. I would wait to stay here until the pending renovations (?) are complete or fight for a discounted rate. If you want to avoid the $27 valet parking fee, the Horton Plaza offers free three hour parking with validation from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Outside of those hours it is rather simple to find overnight parking on the street as meters are not enforced until 8:00 a.m. READ THE SIGN on the meter to make sure there is no street cleaning the night you want to park. If there is, simply move one block to the left or right.

This hotel is great if you are looking for a hotel close to everything. We stayed here because of the short walk to Petco Park. It was during the playoffs and despite the Padres loss, we still had a good time. The hotel is very crisp and fresh. The rooms are comfortable and fun. This is a really nice hotel.

I've stayed at many Westins (almost every location in major cities during business travels), and I have to say that I experienced the worst service I have ever had at any Westin during my stay at the Westin Horton Plaza. To start, food was cold when I ordered room service and dessert was completely melted (it also took quite a bit of time to deliver food... and oddly, the server's hair was a wreck and he was sweating profusely when he delivered the food... very unpleasant). Also, the previous guest's hair was all over the Chaise lounge (it took room service 3 calls and 2 hours to finally send someone to vacuum it) and valet service was honestly the worst I have ever experienced. I had my newborn with me during this trip and our valet server walked away before all of our belonging were put into the trunk. Maybe he assumed that I wouldn't leave him a tip due to a racial stereotype (I am Asian, but a very good tipper... maybe he assumed that the next guest would be more generous? It's my only guess). It was bizarre... he started walking away when I brought the stroller to the trunk area to load. I greeted him kindly and I am a Gold SPG member, so I have absolutely no idea why the kid behaved like that. I actually tried to get his attention after he started walking away, but he was already walking towards another guest. Of course, I reported his behavior to Westin.

This is my experience and I am not countering other people's experiences. If the service was at an acceptable level, I would be happy to recommend this hotel, but it certainly was not during my stay. I've also stayed at the US Grant, which is right across the street (albeit a bit more expensive) and it is a much better hotel. Everything about the hotel is better and although it does attract a lot of tourist, it isn't the tourist trap that the Westin Horton Plaza is.