The Good
The apartment is about a minute walk from Mission Beach. It is in a GREAT location. You are walking distance from great sushi and tacos. If you are into nightlife activities, then you’ll be happy to know that you are a 10 minute Uber ride from Pacific Beach. If you want a quiet and calm beach experience, then you can simply step outside the back patio onto what feels like a private beach. The sand is peppered with broken seashells and you will not get the same crashing waves that you will experience across the street, but it is a nice intimate experience nonetheless.
The Bad
When they describe the garage parking as “tight,” this no exaggeration. During our stay, there was a large SUV parked parallel to the garage door about 16 ft across the alley. When there are no other vehicles in the garage, this really isn’t a problem. However, if the garage is full, then you will need to completely back out of the garage before exiting so get ready for a 35 point turn. Grab a Snickers bar because you’re going to be there for awhile. I strongly recommend they you opt for the free overnight parking on El Carmel. It’s a short walk from the apartment, but be advised it is first come first served.
If you are the type who enjoys sleeping in, you will probably not have a great experience. The apartment faces east so as soon as the sun crests the horizon you will have a bright ball of fire blazing in your direction. The blinds are essentially useless at blocking any light. This could easily be resolved if the owners opted to invest in blackout drapes… even cheap blackout drapes… or any drapes, for that matter. Needless to say, mornings are very bright.
The hot tub and BBQ is shared between all three units in the complex. Unfortunately, a large party that booked the upstairs unit basically commandeered the entire patio for the whole weekend. Oh… and the bed is mere feet away from the sliding glass door which is mere feet away from the hot tub and BBQ. Sliding glass doors do not sound proof very well. If you are expecting peace and quiet, reserve this unit with caution.
The cleaning fee is outrageous. When we arrived the unit had several flies that had decided to homestead on our vacation. Furthermore, the oven was filled with dirty pans. Friends… this unit is 400sqft… a trained spider monkey could clean this place faster than Hermione Granger could say “Scourgio!”
The Ugly
We had the misfortune of booking our stay the same weekend as a group of eight or nine 20 something year old men in the apartment directly above us. They were there to party… and party they did. On Friday night they had a full on party, a lot of people, what sounded like beer pong, and lots of music. On Saturday night, instead of exploring the San Diego nightlife, they decided to stay in… lucky us. We got back, from a day at the beach around 4:30pm. They were already outside on the patio BBQing and enjoying the hot tub. No biggie. Except they didn’t leave for hours. At one point they decided to move their bro-cation upstairs onto the balcony for the next 7-8 hours. The walls are paper thin. We heard EVERYTHING. Lexi, Pricilla, and Brianna, your boyfriends, FWBs, or whatever, very loudly described how they goad you into sex. The whole complex knows… so sorry. Around 3:45am, I finally went outside and asked them to lower their voices and turn down their music. To their credit, they did oblige. However, they simply moved their bro-talk indoors… which due to the paper thin walls was a little better, but still loud. They finally passed out, from what I can only assume to be a drunken stupor, around 4:30am. Unfortunately, two short hours later that big ball of fire crested the eastern horizon to let us know it’s time to wake up.
Guys, friends, fellow travelers, we paid about $400 per night for our stay… the cost of a top tier hotel. Our experience was light years away from a top tier hotel. If you have the time to plan I’m advance, there are much better places to stay at much more affordable rates.