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Reviews of Porto Vista Hotel Downtown

3.5 out of 5
Porto Vista Hotel Downtown
1835 Columbia St, San Diego, CA

Reviews

6.0
Rating 10 - Excellent. 189 out of 1044 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 204 out of 1044 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 230 out of 1044 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 206 out of 1044 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 215 out of 1044 reviews" "

6.4/10

Cleanliness

7.0/10

Staff & service

5.8/10

Amenities

5.8/10

Property conditions & facilities

6.6/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Julio

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great spot in Little Italy San Diego.
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2024

8/10 Good

Peter

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Funky, NY vibe. Good restaurant closeby. But dicey area.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

2/10 Terrible

Wade

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service
This is a mediocre Holiday Inn type motel masquerading as a boutique hotel. Indifferent staff, OK rooms(nothing special). Lots of surprise charges. BEWARE - overnight parking in the area is difficult due to the street cleaning schedule and this place charges a ridiculous $45/night for guests. If you decide to book this place, plan on paying an additional $60-$80 a night in 'fees' and parking.
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2024

4/10 Poor

Jasmin

Travelled with partner, Travelled with group
Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Asked for towels and received them 1 hour later after asking. You have to find your own parking or pay 40 dollars for valet. Pool is so tiny
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

4/10 Poor

CHRISTOPHER

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Rude and unhelpful staff, they only want your money and couldn’t care less about you. Homeless, high woman yelling obscenities and swearing at the hotel restaurant over breakfast. Do NOT stay here
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2024

6/10 Okay

nelson

Liked: Cleanliness
Ok
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

RACHAEL, Juneau

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
It was ok
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2024

4/10 Poor

Amy

Travelled with partner, Travelled with group
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
There are areas that are updated and really nice and then other areas don’t look so great. The valet was a positive experience. The AC didn’t work great. And it was super loud all night in the hotel keeping us awake. In the morning it was loud too with the housekeeping carts. The elevators are super slow and the buttons do not light up so sometimes you aren’t sure if it is working or not?! This is not a huge issue but it did leave us wondering if it was working! The room itself is ok. It is not a 5 star accommodation by any means. There was a refrigerator which was nice. Towels are thin. The property is on the edge of Little Italy which is a great area! Lots of great restaurants and a charming area. At check in you are required to sign a hard copy list of things which could occur a penalty. I have never done this before at any property. And some of the information was wrong for my booking so I crossed off some sections and then they hand wrote the correction. I just thought it was strange.
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

8/10 Good

Jorge

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Great location, right in the heart of Little Italy.
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2024

6/10 Okay

Erika

Travelled with pets, Travelled with partner
Liked: Amenities
Very expensive pet fee. Very difficult to find parking.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024

10/10 Excellent

Olivia

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Everything was great, very friendly staff
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

4/10 Poor

Eva

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Nothing to add, would not stay or eat breakfast there again
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

4/10 Poor

David

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
I did not like the the fact that only 30 minutes was offered
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024

2/10 Terrible

Julius

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
The first room, a few broken items. Shower , air conditioning, second a lil bit better but no soap in the dispensers. Elevator is not working right either bottoms are not working properly, overall the hotel in some areas is not functioning properly and not up codes. I tried to cancel but it didn’t work. This will be the last time I’m staying here. Or using Expedia for hotels.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

4/10 Poor

Ruby

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
No parking
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

Matthew

Business traveller
Great place to stay!
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

Christina

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Wonderful location. I would definitely consider staying again.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024

2/10 Terrible

Corey

Business traveller, Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
DO NOT STAY HERE - PHOTOS ARE A COMPLETE LIE. The photos on this listing DO NOT match what the actual hotel is like. Your room overlooks the parking garage and all night there were people partying, revving their engines when leaving and the noise is very difficult to sleep through. Above me there was a loud banging from a party up above. My Girlfriend and I got stuck in the elevator for 45 minutes. We called the front desk and the front desk worker was too stupid to understand that we were stuck in the elevator until the doors finally opened and they said "oh youve been IN the elevator".... We found leftover rose petals beneath the bed, the microwave made a loud humm all night, the furniture was broken and dirty. DO NOT STAY HERE. THIS PLACE NEEDS TO BE SHUT DOWN.
Stayed 6 nights in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

Jeremy

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Front desk best help they deserve a raise
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

4/10 Poor

stephanie

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
The room smelled like smoke and the floor was very dirty. Bath towels were old and worn. Front desk not friendly. Pool/spa area is worn and needs to be redone.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 25 Mar 2024
Good Evening ,We see your stay with us was below satisfactory. I will chat with our team here and we will work on the items mentioned in your comment. We apologize about that. Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review.

4/10 Poor

Marlene

Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

8/10 Good

Joseph

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness
Bathrooms horrible
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 25 Mar 2024
Good Evening, Thank you for letting us know about your stay. I will have our maintenance team look at the bathroom in your room. Thank you for the feedback and next time travel brings you to the area hopefully you stay with us again.

8/10 Good

Mohammad

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Pretty good
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 25 Mar 2024
Good Evening, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. Hopefully you get a chance to stay with us again in the near future.

10/10 Excellent

Marruss

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 25 Mar 2024
Good Evening, Thank you for leaving such a nice review. We are happy that you enjoyed your time with us and hopefully you get a chance to stay with us again in the near future,

8/10 Good

Bronwyn

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Love it’s location in Little Italy. Common areas are welcoming and beautiful. Rooms are tired and need a refresh
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 16 Mar 2024
Good Afternoon, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We loved that you enjoyed our location. Our maintenance team every week has a new project to update our rooms. Hopefully next time you are in the area you will see improvements.

6/10 Okay

Bren

Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024

2/10 Terrible

Araceli

Travelled with family, Travelled with pets
Disliked: Staff & service
Overall, my experience at this hotel was highly disappointing. Not only did they make a mistake with our room reservation by not letting us know the suite didn’t allow pets, but they also failed to properly register one of our rooms they had accommodated due to mistake, leading to a terrifying incident with security in the middle of the night. Security walked into the room as my grandparents were sleeping and proceeded to question them. It was clear that Gerry’s priority was to avoid getting in trouble rather than ensuring the safety and comfort of their guests. While they did attempt to make amends with a free breakfast, it did little to erase the fear and discomfort we experienced during our stay. The lack of communication and professionalism displayed by the staff was unacceptable, and I would caution others against staying at this establishment in the future. The pleasant meals and occasional manager check-ins were simply not enough to outweigh the negative aspects of our visit.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 16 Mar 2024
Good Evening Araceli, We apologize about your experience while staying with us. This is not the typical experience one receives. We will look into this situation and make sure this does not happen with future guests. Thank you for taking time to let us know about your experience. We will also look into communicating with the third parties about which rooms are pet friendly.

6/10 Okay

Tanisha

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Stayed 6 nights in Mar 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 12 Mar 2024
Good Afternoon Tanisha, Thank you for staying with us and thank you for taking the time to leave us a review.

8/10 Good

Jessamyn

Great location, helpful staff, odd building but it works. I’ll be back
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 16 Mar 2024
Good Afternoon, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We love to hear that next time you are in the area you will stay with us again.

6/10 Okay

Jill

Travelled with group
Liked: Staff & service
Great location and the employees were nice. But the philosophy is not my cup of tea. Apparently you have to ask to have your room serviced and they will do it every other day. When you spend four times what it cost you at your home and don't get "luved" well it just isn't my cup of tea. Raise the standard.
Stayed 5 nights in Feb 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 9 Mar 2024
Good Afternoon Jill,Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. Happy to hear that the employees were nice. We will look into our housekeeping policies and hopefully raise the standard. Thank you again.

6/10 Okay

Geanie

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
The property is nice and in a convenient location. Paying $45 a day for parking is very inconvenient. The room was decent. Not terrible but the bed was super hard and the pillows were flat and hard also. Which made for 2 sleepless nights. If you are going to stay here bring your own pillow. Aside from that staff was friendly and overall a good stay.
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 9 Mar 2024
Good Afternoon Geanie,Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. We will look into the beds and pillows so we can make sure are guests have a more comfortable sleep. Very happy to hear the staff was friendly with you.

6/10 Okay

Erica

Travelled with partner
This is definitely a “low budget” place. It’ll get the job done of housing you for one night BUT expect there to be many flaws. Such as, stained sheets , dirty tub, stained towels loud exterior HVAC unit, older/slower elevators, etc. if you can look past these issues then this place is for you. Luckily, we only needed it for one night stay. The location is good since there’s many places to walk to in Little Italy. Their Glassdoor Restaurant was good too. Their bartender and manager were very nice and attentive. The restaurant itself was nice, the menu looked good and their drinks were good too. Overall, this place is okay to stay for one night if you can over look their flaws. I’d also say that this place is not worth it to pay more than $200 for one night stay—-Even then, that’s still kinda high for this hotel.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 9 Mar 2024
Good Afternoon Erica, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. never should you have dirty or stained anything in your room so i will address this immediately. Happy to hear that you had a great experience at our Glassdoor Cantina. Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review.

8/10 Good

Keith

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from Clayton Stone on 25 Mar 2024
Good Evening, Thank you for leaving such a nice review. We are happy that you enjoyed your time with us and hopefully you get a chance to stay with us again in the near future,

10/10 Excellent

Christopher

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The location is great if you're an urbanist like myself. Right in the Little Italy district, there are tons of good restaurants nearby and a Farmers Market on Saturdays. The expensive high rises don't know what they're missing. The room was great, quiet, and just about everything any of the more expensive places had. I would stay here again, easily.
Stayed 4 nights in Feb 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 29 Feb 2024
Good Afternoon Christopher,Thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice review. We would agree that the area is amazing and we are very fortunate to be right in the middle of it all. We look forward to you staying with us again,

10/10 Excellent

Jesse

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
It was really cozy and relaxing would def stay again
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 27 Feb 2024
Good Afternoon,We are happy to see that you enjoyed the room. Thank you so much for leaving such a nice review. We look forward to you staying with us again in the future.

10/10 Excellent

Varinder, Franklin Square

Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 25 Mar 2024
Good Evening, Thank you for leaving such a nice review. We are happy that you enjoyed your time with us and hopefully you get a chance to stay with us again in the near future,

8/10 Good

Kris

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities
We liked the location. Easy on off highway for Ubers to pickup or drop off. Walking to many restaurants was easy and quick. Downside. SOme rowdy customers came in late one night, but hey, they were on vacay. BUT... I finally had to call for a refresh of towels and pick up trash and that was not good.
Stayed 6 nights in Feb 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 27 Feb 2024
Good Afternoon,Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. I would agree that our location is one of our best features. Sorry you experienced some rowdy guests near you. Thank you again for staying with us.

10/10 Excellent

Paco

Business traveller
Liked: Amenities
I just got here what are You talking about
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 25 Feb 2024
Good Afternoon,Thank you for taking the time to leave such a positive review. Hope you get a chance to stay with us again in the near future.

6/10 Okay

Aaron

Travelled with partner, Travelled with group
Kinda just a hotel to get by for a trip definitely nothing fancy as advertised. Very very noisy rooms and beds. Like I said it’s a good spot to sleep and wake up to go about your vacation.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 27 Feb 2024
Good Afternoon,Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review.

8/10 Good

Jamie

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Porto Vista is a fun unique hotel. Conveniently located making it easy to walk all over San Diego
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 20 Feb 2024
Good Morning,Thank you for leaving us such a nice review. Fun and Unique would be some great words to use to describe our hotel. Hopefully you have a chance to stay with us again in the near future.

2/10 Terrible

Misty

Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 25 Mar 2024
Good Evening ,We see your stay with us was below satisfactory. We apologize about that. Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review.

2/10 Terrible

Junior

Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 21 Feb 2024
Good Evening Junior,We apologize about the experience you had while staying with us. Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review,

6/10 Okay

Danny

Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 20 Feb 2024
Good Morning,Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. Hope you have a chance to stay with us again in the near future.

8/10 Good

Ian

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
I think $45 for overnight parking for paying guests is too much. It’s a good location.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 20 Feb 2024
Good Morning,Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review. Unfortunately every hotel in the area does charge due to how competitive parking is in the area. We may explore a package deal in the near future which will include parking. Thank you again for staying.

10/10 Excellent

richard

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities
.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 20 Feb 2024
Good Morning,Thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice review. Hopefully you have a chance to stay with us again in the near future.

8/10 Good

Pauline, Cypress

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Good stay in Little Italy, San Diego. Overnight/ street parking can be expensive though.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023
Response from Clayton Stone on 20 Feb 2024
Good Morning,We are happy to see you enjoyed your stay with us. I agree parking in the area can be very competitive. Hopefully you have a chance to stay with us again.

8/10 Good

Ruben

It was a good reasonable price for location
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 20 Feb 2024
Good Morning Ruben,Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review.

10/10 Excellent

Antonio

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Hotel is within 2 blocks of the Piazza in Little Italy and if you don't drive, very convenient to mass transit trolley system. Jerry at the Front Desk was very helpful in checking me in and also at checkout. Got to my room 2 hours ahead of check-in.
Stayed 5 nights in Feb 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 20 Feb 2024
Good Morning Antonio,Thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice review. I will make sure that we shout out Jerry for his excellent customer service and hopefully you have a chance to stay with us again in the near future.

10/10 Excellent

Corbin

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024
Response from Clayton Stone on 20 Feb 2024
Good Morning, Thank you for taking the time to leave us such a nice review. Hopefully you get a chance to stay with us again in the near future.

6/10 Okay

Angelina

Everything about the experience was just kinda “meh”. My key cards had to be reactivated everytime I left my room. Not enough towels or trash bin in the room. I did like the heated pool. I’d stay there again, but if it’s the same experience, I’d want to pay slightly less.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024
Response from Front Desk on 9 Feb 2024
Good morning, Angelina! We're glad you enjoyed our heated pool and our friendly staff. We'll gladly welcome you when you return and will deliver as many towels as you need. If you're celebrating a special event, we'd love to offer you a free drink voucher at our Glass Door Cantina and food vouchers for some of our neighboring restaurants!