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500 West Hotel
Rating Details »
Neighborhood: Downtown
500 W Broadway
(between 5th Ave & Columbia St)
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 234-5252
500 W Broadway
(between 5th Ave & Columbia St)
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 234-5252
Weekly rates
Single rooms available at the weekly rate of $37.14 per night plus tax. Community kitchen. Detached, private bathrooms.
- Hours:
Mon-Sun. 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 a.m.
- Price Range:
-
$
17 reviews for 500 West Hotel
If you're running low on cash, need to stay at a place that's not too far off from the Gaslamp District and the train station and you're totally fine with the way hostels are- this place is for you.
I stayed here in July 2009 after winning a last minute eBay auction for Comic-Con passes. My room was for $99, which was relatively dirt cheap compared to all the other hotels near the San Diego Convention Center. This place is about a 10-15 minute walk over there. I know beggars can't be choosers so I'm grateful to have found a room here that weekend on such short notice. But if I ever need to stay in San Diego again, it won't be here.
Maybe I'm just too old for this sh*t. I'm used to staying at places with private bathrooms and air conditioning. The room for a single person is kinda like a prison cot. In this room you get a hard bed, sheets that make you wish you had gloves on to touch, an Ikea style armoire and a little flatscreen TV that looks smaller than my computer screen. Ceiling fan only here, but I got a window that looked out to the street. Conveniently across from my room were the shared bathrooms. They weren't filthy, but the toilet didn't work all the time :( Oh and with the way the elevators squeak so much, it makes you wanna take the stairs.
I'm giving this two stars because the staff was very, very nice and accommodating. Really helpful in giving me and my friend tips on where to go. But again, if I prepare earlier for the next time I need to be in San Diego, I'll be looking for a much nicer hotel than this.
This place is pretty nice considering how inexpensive it is as well as centrally located. It's only 2 blocks from the Amtrak Station and a 15 minute walk to the convention center. The neighborhood felt very safe and the place was reasonably clean.
The rooms are small (European style) and it's a shared bathroom so remember to bring shoes for the shower. Other than that it's a good place to sleep. Pretty quiet and nice staff.
If you want luxurious and classy, this isn't quite it. But, if you're on a budget, and just want a nice and clean place to sleep, then this is where you should go.
A friend and I went down to San Diego for 4th of July weekend, and we got a nice deal for one night at $79 dollars. It may have been a little more than average, but we also booked it a little under two weeks in advance and it was also a holiday weekend. And other places we looked at were costing 125+ and we weren't willing to spend that much for a place we were only going to stay at for a few hours and overnight.
For parking, you can either park on the street (good luck) or park in the structure for $15 dollars overnight. Not so bad, especially since when I left the gate was open so I just took it as a sign and passed through and got parking for free. The elevator is a bit frightening as it shakes, however, it is an old YMCA building so that explains that. As far as decor, it's okay. Nothing ugly, nothing to rave about.
As for the rooms, they were clean and simple, which is really all you need when you just want a place to sleep. We got a double twin room WITHOUT a view (which I also recommend because I hear it gets loud) and had one towel each waiting for us. There is no air conditioning but there is a ceiling fan and a working window, which is all you need considering San Diego doesn't get that hot (especially since you are so close to the water here). You do have to share bathrooms, but they are private. A good tip is to use the bathrooms as early as you can in the mornings, as that is when they are most clean and refilled with extra towels for you. Another good tip is to bring flip flops that you can dispose of after your visit, you don't want to walk around barefoot at all, especially in the bathrooms, and ESPECIALLY in the shower stalls. They provide you with some shampoo and body wash in the stalls but I prefer to bring my own.
As far as how loud it gets in the hotel, it seems that a lot of young kids stay here so it can get quite loud at times, but nothing too bad.
It is in walking distance to a LOT of restaurants, shops, and nightlife in the gas lamp and downtown district. My friend and I were able to walk to the waterfront, restaurants, and bars in under 15 minutes. Definitely do not recommend driving though, as it is very busy with many pedestrians. As for safety, I walked around at midnight with a girlfriend and felt very safe.
Overall, I would stay here again if I were on a budget and just needed a simple and clean place to stay.
The name sounded four star! It all seemed like a good idea. For the price (around $50) I had little or no expectations. Basically just a good location to crash for a night. Haha, actually I thought it would be worse.
Parking is LIMITED
The room is size of a closet, and it is basically just a place to keep your stuff, the location is pretty good close enough to walk anywhere downtown. Sharing a bathroom is kind of weird at first, but they are private. The LCD tv was the smallest I've ever seen, and it was never turned on. It was kind of fun to rough it for a night, this is how I pictured hostels being like in Europe. If your looking to stay close to downtown, and not stay in your room this is your place.
Sofia Hotel down the street, very nice.
This place is a dump. I booked this hotel after calling http://Hotels.com and I had the worst experience ever, so bad that upon checking in, I decided to cancel my reservation and go elsewhere. The staff is a joke. They have 1 person working at the front desk trying to manage phone calls and check people in. The guy who handles the check-in for the night shift is a jerk and I got into an argument with him because of his immaturity and mind-games. I called before coming to ask for the address so I could put it in my navigation and he kept asking me my name and my reservation number. I explained several times I am driving right now and just need the address and he was anything but helpful. I wound up filing a complaint with the hotel and they didn't even do anything about it. They even try charging a $125 security deposit. I highly recommend avoiding this place and spending a little more money at a more credible establishment.
Europeans are hip.
That is common knowledge. Though they may scoff at us and ridicule our immense waistlines, we still admire our slim-fitted brethren for their contribution to "cool."
Enter the 500 West Hotel: a Euro-inspired "hybrid hotel" (aka a converted YMCA) with tiny units and shared bathrooms. Sure, it's inconvenient when you have to leave your room just to splash some water on your face, but it's just so damn hip... I mean, this is tapas hip. They'll even constantly remind you of their "shared bathrooms," as tapas restaurants constantly remind you of their "small plates." You know, in case you forgot what you just got yourself into...
But the 500 West is about as cheap as a private room in a hostel, and it's located right across from much pricier hotels. In fact, it's within prime egg-tossing distance from the Westin. Perfect for harassing the lushfolk next door. And avoid the elevator, or at least don't look at the expired permit.
If you're staying here, then you're probably not above frequenting the 7-11 behind the building. After a late night of partying, or drug dealing (depending on which you partake... and it will be one of them if you're the type to stay here), you'll want to hit up ol' 7 for some stale taquitos and greasy hot dogs made from bacon pieces. Who knew you could make a sandwich out of old convenience store sushi and Pop Tarts?
It's this type of creative ingenuity that sets man apart from animal.
There are two lines you need to know and only two lines that will help you understand the 2 star review...
"All guest must sign in at desk" what hotel has a sign in sheet?
"You will have to leave after 28days" might run into someone living there (I did)
See, I'm not picky so it didn't bother me none. So what if I almost fell out of the "so called twin bed" twice... who cares if their "flat screen TV" looks more like a late 90's flat screen monitor. It didn't even bother me that it took 1hr and a 1/2 to get an iron delivered to my room... oh and lets not talk about the showers...
I probably spent a total of 7hrs in this place. For 4 of the hours, I was asleep.
If you expect great service... 500 West is not your place.
If you expect a big ass bed with a 17in screen TV and your OWN bathroom... 500 West is not your place.
2 stars for the price and location.
Oh 5 stars for house keeping... that lady WORKS HER ASS OFF!!! 7 floors all by herself.
theres something wrong with the people who felt "disappointed" by this place. what the hell are you expecting for $59/night in the middle of april?!?! the staff is uniformly nice, there are NO BED BUGS, and yeah so the bathrooms are sometimes wet from another person's shower. its called "flip-flops" and they're a dollar at the dollar store.
this place has much more heart and soul than a best western plus a kickass location to boot. and i say this as someone with some weird OCD/cleanliness issues. 500 west is cleaner than any best western ive stayed at. no one has mentioned that theres a sizeable homeless population on the 2nd floor though...
i stayed here once in 2007 (2 nights) and once in 2009 (4 nights). other than the elevators being more scary/decrepit this time around, everything else has stayed lovely. the YMCA downstairs (ive used it) has great, high-end equipment at a fair daily rate. my only caveat is i wouldnt necessarily suggest this facility for a woman staying by herself, as the whole "walking down the hall to the bathroom by yourself" thing can feel freaky in the middle of the night.
Another situation where even the one star is about 12 too many. This place is gross. I realized last Sunday that I would be getting into San Diego too late & too tired to drive to Miramar from the airport. So at the last minute I booked this thinking, big deal, one night, I'll sleep and be off the next morning. Well, yuck.
Now, see, I'm not opposed to the concept. It's a great idea. Small rooms, shared bathrooms, I get it. But if you do this, you need to do it IMPECCABLY and this is the opposite of impeccable. The carpeting in the hallways is thin and frayed. ALL the walls need fresh paint The elevator is creepy. There's a funny smell in the hallways. The room is barely furnished. There's a lot you can do with a teensy space and none of that was done. It's basically a cell with a twin bed, an Ikea wardrobe (stained and peeling) and a desk. The TV is tiny and the reception was awful. There's no clock in the room! The bedding gave me the heebies - I slept in my clothes. The carpeting and walls are stained. The ceiling fan took ten minutes to figure out.
And those shared bathrooms? Cleaned every ten minutes? No freaking way. Maybe a few times a day. One threadbare towel. No toiletries.
I could go on but you get my point. Negative 500 stars. Stay far, far away. I wish I had just gone to the Denny's and stayed up all night. Or for that matter, for the $60 I spent on the room, taken a cab to Miramar. Yuck.
OK, it wasn't THAT bad, and they do advertise a lot of their shortcomings (shared bathrooms, dorm-like bedrooms, etc.). However, I believe this place is missing an "s" in its name, as the only thing "Hotel" about it is the cleaning service and getting a fresh towel each day.
Positives: room was clean, had a cable TV, Internet service was cheap, helpful desk workers in the hotel lobby, the location was perfect for me during the marathon weekend (middle of downtown), and you could use the YMCA next door for only $5 a day, although it was closed when I needed it the most (right after the marathon, since they had a jacuzzi).
So why the 2 stars? For one, I expect this same service from a hostel; I expect more from a hotel, even if it's priced at $79. The elevator was in bad need of repair, and the beds were alright but not very comfortable. Was able to get some decent sleep, but if I were to do it again I'd shell out the extra money for a better place, or go to a hostel that markets and prices itself like one.
Since I'm no longer in the wonderful city of San Diego, I've been reminiscing an AWFUL LOT over every little aspect of the 2 1/2 years I was stationed there...this was the beginning of it all. Aug 2006... I was on http://hotels.com and looking for the cheapest price (as well as proximity to the Naval Hospital), so this was it... After a 16-17 hour drive from San Antonio, TX, I finally got to this hotel at like 2 AM and well, the lobby and front view were really nice but when I got to the room, it all went downhill...kinda made me claustrophobic...the comforter felt dirty and filmy, the TV barely worked and only 1 electrical outlet...also it was above the loading dock...the bathrooms were scary dirty...that shit about the restrooms "being cleaned every 10 minutes" is crap...more like every 10 days. And I spent a small fortune using the Columbia Garage too!! I managed to hold out a week in this joint...luckily for me, the Navy reimbursed me for my stay here...lol.
It would be a good choice for those of you who don't need any added frills but it would be better to stay next door at the Westin...it's SLIGHTLY more expensive (about $30 more/night) but you get a whole lot more...no lie.
This is a no-frills, hospitality alternative to the big boys (Westin, Sofia, Westgate) down the street. The price for a twin bed room with shared bathroom was $55.17 for one night. This was a Memorial Day weekend, with the Cubbies in town and a Jazz Festival. I would have to add in the incredible bachelorette parties that were all over the Gaslamp last night. The TV worked, and it had all of the essential cable channels a man would want (ESPN, CNN). There is an on premise restaurant. But what put this over the 3-star rating was the fact that the lady who cleans all of the shared restrooms worked her ass off on a busy Saturday night. Mind you, the drunks, college students, Cubbie fans, and the down-and-out were all around, but that woman just did her job and cleaned after us. Well done! Not bad for an old YMCA. You can get yourself clean. You can have a good meal. Well, you know the rest. The front desk agents were very helpful and fast with directions or a recommendation. There is overnight security, and don't forget to bring your own shampoo. There is body wash in the showers, though. You have only one towel provided for you and no wash cloth. Go to the local CVS if you prefer your own wash cloth. In a pinch, I would do it again, even if I had a death wish.
Comment from Tom C. of
500 West Hotel
7/8/2009
Tony joins a number of savy travelers who have discovered…
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I stayed at a similar place in San Francisco -- shared bathrooms, tiny rooms -- but it was much better decorated, and therefore more enjoyable. I'd bump my rating up to three stars if the rooms looked better. Hang some cheesy art, upgrade the comforters, I'm easy to please. Don't remind me at every turn that I'm in a converted YMCA. That said, this place has a great location and the price is right.
This review is current as of July 2007. I gave a three star rating here, not to imply this is a three star hotel, but because it was a decent value. You should know you are getting a former YMCA, actually the building was built in 1924 as the serviceman's YMCA. But it has been fixed up and converted to a hotel. Yes there are shared baths, but I never had a problem getting one when I needed it. Half have showers and half have toilet/sink combinations. You get what you pay for here, and when I stayed, my rate was $55/night but understand that can vary with demand. The place was full of budget minded tourists like myself and some using the communal kitchen. The location is pretty good, with Horton Plaza walking distance, I walked to the convention center and the USS Midway museum and the ferries and trolleys are very close. The 992 bus to the airport passes right in front of the hotel and is about 12 minutes to the airport for $2.25.
I got a twin bed, and a cute flat panel tv in the room. I commend the maid service and desk people as friendly and responsive. My only complaint is that one of two elevators was not working and I understand it has not been working for quite some time. That will cause a big problem when the remaining elevator fails, and I believe you can count on that happening some day.
As long as you know what you're getting into it's the only affordable option downtown. My room and the bathrooms on my floor were clean. The people in the hotel were quiet, but being downtown it was noisy outside, cars, street cleaners, the occasional siren, etc. But seeing as how I wasn't willing to pay $200 to stay downtown for 1 night it was great. Walking distance to Gaslamp.
I would give this place ZERO stars if I could. My friends and I stayed here for a weekend over the summer... yeah the place is MUCH smaller than I imagined... I think the room I stayed at on a cruiseline was bigger. As a matter of fact, I'm SURE of it. And I thought that was bad. At least that was liveable. This is not. But even after a great shocking laugh, I could overlook the small room, the "flat screen" the size of a sheet of paper, and the stained walls. WHAT? STAINED WALLS? I should've paid a little more attention to these signs of bad sanitation. Unfortunately, the girls and I only planned on using the room as a place to get ready and sleep for a couple hours. Which we did. Unfortunately, my friends and I were eaten up by BED BUGS. Yes, that's right. Bed bugs. And now I've brought them into my bed because they must've come through my luggage or something. It's a pain in the ass and they're nearly impossible to get rid of. I think I have well over 100 tiny bites all over me and it looks like chicken pox. I repeat -- DON'T STAY HERE.
This place is not the best hotel in the world. Don't have high expectations, BUT if you need a place to crash after a night of partying in Gaslamp this is definitely the affordable way to go. The whole in the wall room is only $39 for one night and it is at the heart of San Diego Night Life. There are many negative points: no bathroom in room and the bed is tiny. It has a really nice outside appearance, but as you slowly go deeper in the hotel you will notice its vintage appearance. It is described on the website as a European style hotel, but it feels like your staying at a dorm. After leaving the nightclub, On Broadway (it's only 2 minutes away from the hotel) completely obliterated my boyfriend and I had a biker with a carriage take us back to our hotel at 3am in the morning, which took about 15 minutes. Finding a taxi in San Diego at that hour is ridiculous. My friend's were staying at the Marriott in San Diego, and they waited for an hour for a taxi to take them back to there hotel, We got back to the hotel at around 3:15ish and left at 10am which meant technically we barely stayed in the room. So, this place did the job for us.
