Inn by the Sea Hotel

The warm welcoming

They claimed to have called me for my room availability but never did.

The location is the best thing about this place. Close to the major sites in LaJolla and lots of restaurants and cafes close by. The street is relatively quiet but close enough to the water so you don’t get the congestion and foot traffic from tourists. We got a queen that was listed as partial ocean view. See attached photo. Not exactly what I envisioned but we did see the ocean once you’re in the balcony. Parking for guests is $20 but never a problem to find space. The variety of teas available and the lounge area and pool is a nice touch. I was surprised to find a refrigerator and microwave in the room. I don’t recall seeing that on the listing but that was a nice so we could heat up leftovers.

Like many others have said and I knew going in: It’s dated and it shows. There’s dirt and dust that’s accumulated and can’t come off no matter how much cleaning, peeling paint from the tub, cloth shower curtain. The walls are extremely thin. We could hear our neighbors’ conversations and even their coughing and sneezing. We could easily hear the water pipes running. Thankfully we were there weren’t many guests in the facility otherwise the noise levels would have been challenging. I am a light sleeper so perhaps others won’t mind the thin walls. There are renovations going on so the noise started at 8am and reverberated throughout the building. The hotel told us about after we booked but I took a chance anyway. We were away for most of the day but no sleeping past 8am. Finally, the beds were listed as queens but they were more like full size. They were soft and worn but I was able to sleep on them. The pillows were too soft for me. But this is all personal preference. Additionally the sheet that is to cover over the duvet was shorter than the duvet so you didn’t get enough coverage from the duvet. I doubt the duvet is washed every time there’s a new guest, so that was disturbing. Another reviewer had mentioned this before and it was disappointing to see that they still had not addressed it this somewhat problematic hygiene issue.

I loved having the view from the balcony and hearing the sea. The beds were very comfortable and refreshed pillows made sleeping quite a pleasant experience. The location is exceptional and a huge perk, with very good value considering how close it is to prospect ave.

the maintenance during our stay on either side of our room was a bit noisy and prohibitive to resting/napping, but not the end of the world.

Location was good and the bed was comfortable.

Outdated rooms, very small tv I think like 32”. Toilets took forever to flush. Room had a smell, plus the AC takes forever to cool the room good thing it wasn’t in the summer when we stayed.