Motel San Diego

Yes, this is an older motel — it’s vintage & a bit shabby-​chic. Yes, it could stand some love and tlc, but honestly, in the 6 nights we stayed there, I felt safe and welcome. The staff are amazing, just wonderful people, who are trying to renovate and clean up one of the oldest motels in San Diego. It’s not flash and shiny, but it’s very clean, towels are plentiful upon request, and the rooms are a perfect fit for a coupe travelling on a budget. Our room had been recently repainted, and had great new windows installed, complete with insect screens. Nothing compares to waking up to a bit of peace a quiet (yes, this close to the freeway) and seeing lovely birds in the tress all around the car park Unlike some of the more expensive motels we stayed in, there was no disruption or noise, no prostitutes or drug users outside, and the wifi was excellent. Not only do I recommend the place, I would willingly stay there again any time. Betsey & the MSD family are truly a home away from home.

The most uncomfortable hotel ever, smells bad, shower is tiny, very uncomfortable matress tried to have sex on the bed it made so much noise im suprised this place exists!

1 star is overrated. Betsy is The name of the manager, receptionist and owner too, who knows if she even have a visa for staying in this country. This place is to absolutely avoid if you still want live your life, cause she is not just rude, but after losing our reservation and although we had a confirmation number, she didn’t even apologize but also insisted that it never existed. Even if it’s cheap, it’s just not worth it!!!

If you have checked what the going rate is for a hotel room in the area then you know that $ 55 for a motel room is fair when the room you’re getting is as completely old and outdated as the rooms at Motel San Diego. My Advice:
— do not compare this place to a hotel in any way because you truly are getting what you pay for.
–Bring your sheets, blankets, and pillows. Everything WAS clean however it made me feel better
–wear sandals in the shower and make sure you have your own soap and hair dryer… etc
— call ahead and make sure the windows in your room are closed before you check in. I checked in at night and had a room FILLED with mosquitos. Took me 30 mns to kill all of them before I gave up all together.
— keep in mind everything us outdated… walls are paper thin, bed is squeaky with plastic in the mattress, no phone, no electrical outlet in bathroom

The lady is a complete B*#CH and the place is a complete dump. San Diego should be able to sue this pile for misrepresenting their name so poorly. I can only guess that that the local people would rather sleep on the street than to stay here, because there are tons and tons of homeless people right in front of this pile. I can only imagine that this place stays in business from the local drug users every weekend. This place is filthy and disgusting, don’t stay here unless you want to do some hard drugs or screw some low class prostitutes!!!

This place is dirty and disgusting… If you don’t want to get seek, don’t sleep there.

I’m 100% positive that Bates Motel is nicer than the Motel San Diego. We booked a room here super last minute for the holiday weekend. It was one of the only places that still had rooms or didn’t cost an arm and a leg.
The room was SUPER small and smelt like bleach (at least we knew it was clean-​ish). Everything is truly outdated. The art on the wall is clearly taken from a yard sale and all the furniture looked like it was stolen or was found at anther hotels going out of business sale. I showered in my flip flops because I didn’t feel like getting ring worm. The AC leaked when we turned it on and had to put a garbage bin underneath to collect the water, so our room didn’t turn into a lake. Our mattress was the most uncomfortable thing I have ever slept on. The door only had one lock on it and could easily be picked or broken into. Literally — if you have the option of staying here or sleeping in your car — choose your car.
The only good part was the nice old lady who checked us in. Other than that, I honestly don’t know how this place has a business license.

Right when we walked in, we noticed a really gross smell. Some dude was blowing leaves in our room. I saw a strange lump in the bed I was supposed to be sleeping in and I was too scared to see what it was. But I did see the yellow stained pillows. The walls were really sticky and gross. And the bathroom was the size of a really really really small closet. I was scared to walk on the floor without shoes on. Basically, we walked in and walked out because paying an extra $ 100 for a hotel on the beach was extremely worth it.

You know, it’s the bottom of the bucket motel. I totally would pay an extra $ 100 for somewhere comfortable.
Here’s the thing, I was terrified to walk on the floor barefoot in the room I got. The shower isn’t really a shower, it’s a closet that’s re-​modified with linoleum and I could see mold starting to grow. Also the hot water is temperamental, it’s probably rigged improperly so it’s a gamble on which rooms has adequate water flow.
I saw stains on the bed, the bed was uncomfortable and I’m pretty sure I got bit. I even laid a towel on the mattress cause I was paranoid.
The entire room felt sticky, like it just got glossy paint painted to cover the damages.
It was that level of budget. Seriously I’d have considered camping in the outskirts if I’d known. I paid a total of $ 121, and it’s terrifying cause my door was broken the entire time and all you have to do is push, the lock is a lie. If you’re staying in room #1 DONT.

Very cute little place, and the management was very warm and welcoming. Rooms were okay and in a wonderful location. I would definitely recommend motel San Diego!

I would give this place a negative 5 star if I could.
Shithole does not even come close to describing this dump. The rooms are very dirty and old looking, the blankets had cigarette burns all over them and forget about taking a shower, when I turned on the shower it sounded like the pipes were about to explode inside the walls and all that came out was a trickle of water.
The lady that runs the place was nice until I told her I can’t stay in a place like that and wanted a refund.
The staff is very unprofessional and rude. As soon as the sun goes down you’ll find all of them sitting in front of the office drinking and making a lot of noise. So good luck getting any sleep if you do decide to stay.
Seriously people you would have a better experience staying in a gas station bathroom then in this dump. It may be cheap but remember you get what you pay for.

This place is where the term, «You get what you pay for» comes from. No two ways of putting it; this place is shady. Creepy as it may feel, its exactly the place you want to go when you are young, not scared of an adventure, and want a whole in a wall to stay at while in beautiful SD. Don’t expect the Ritz. Why? Cause your paying for the cheapest place to stay in a 5 miles radius. Have fun, don’t sleep with the cover on the bed (statistically one of the dirtiest things in a motel), and enjoy a restful nights sleep.

People, if I could give this place a zero, I WOULD.
If you want to spend a night feeling like you’re going to get murdered in your shit-​stained toilet in the middle of nowhere, STILL DON’T VISIT THIS PLACE.
Seriously, don’t be fooled by the lady who seems «kind’ but she’s kind but dangerous.
Bottom line, you will probably get a disease from spending a night here…

You get what you pay for. I was just looking for an inexpensive place to sleep and its what I got. Extremely dated, probably not the most efficient cleaning ladies, but it seemed to be run by a really sweet old lady who has probably run this establishment for a decades. We found 2 little ticks if I were to guess that I assumed were dead, so they moved us to a new room. I’m young and just out to have fun on a budget so it didn’t bother me much. Great for college students and carefree low maintenance individuals who just need a place to sleep and shower! Great location and proximity to the beach and shops.

So not realizing that it was memorial day weekend, the bf & i ran around frantically trying to find a room & the only vacant one left was this «wonderful» place lol
I must agree that the receptionist way wayy super sweet. Other than that our room was fairly tiny, layout was oddly strange, beds were uncomfortable & a mix of kitchen & bath towels were ripped & raggedy.
Parking kinda sucked but other than i honestly wouldn’t return :(

We planned on staying for just a couple weeks but ended up staying for a couple months because our new apartment that we were moving into fell through. We couldn’t have gotten «stuck» at a more pleasant motel! The service is above and beyond what you would expect from a little motel. It was truly 5-​Star service! The motel manager was a really helpful, friendly and fun lady whom we will never forget. Thank you, Motel San Diego for making our extra long stay so enjoyable. We recommend this motel to anyone visiting San Diego. It will save you bundles and it is close to everything. Pacific Beach is right down the road, Mission Bay is right down the block, MacDonald’s is right across the street, and 7 – 11 is kitty corner! What else could you possibly need? We love you, Motel San Diego!!!

What a gem! What character! What personality!
What the hell is that smell?!
Ah, San Diego. Beautiful warm San Diego. Sure we could have stayed in Downtown San Diego and paid with our limbs for a bed and shower. But we wouldn’t have had the same experience. The «this feels a lot like a motel in Tijuana» experience.
First of all, the «receptionist» lady was an absolute sweetheart. I especially loved the peek at her overly cluttered kitchen behind her. Yup, the owners LIVE on the motel property. We got 2 nights for $ 120.
The first thing we noticed upon entering the room was the smell of something similar to feet and mold. The second thing was the warmness of the room. Yeah, mix heat, feet and mold and you’ve got a not so rosy situation.
Unfortunately, for some odd unexplained reason, you couldn’t control the heat in the room. Thankfully, the room was equipped with one of those window air conditioners. Crank that baby and we’re back to a comfortable temperature in the room.
Other «character» features:
–The TV and the overhead light were connected to the same outlet that was connected to the switch just by the door so if you flipped the switch to turn off the light, the TV also went off.
–The smoke detector had no battery yet the reception desk had a sign that said they were not liable for any fires.
–There were no mirrors ANYWHERE in the room and the bathroom had no power outlets. Try flat-​ironing your hair THAT way!
–The shower had what felt and looked like an old bed sheet as it’s curtain and was super dark. But the water got pretty hot.
–The towels provided looked like they had been used to deliver babies.
But the place was right off the freeway and about 2 miles from Pacific Beach.
Our little mo-​mo, as we affectionately called it, provided more than a few fits of hysterical laughter. I KNOW the Hyatt, Radisson, hell, even a Motel 6 couldn’t provide that.
***Note***: It should be Motel San Diego (remember, i before e, except after c… or some BS).