Alma San Diego, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel

Sophia helped us with restaurant recommendations and graciously upgraded our room when the first one didn’t work for us. She made our trip SO much better and we’ll be staying here anytime we come to San Diego now

We worked with the hotel team while hosting a company event and had a positive overall experience. Yvette was very patient and responsive throughout planning and coordination, as well as with on-site support, while Paula was flexible with rooming list updates. Rooms were clean, and the mezzanine space was a great place to gather. Catering and on-site teams were responsive and attentive. Luis from the AV team also offered a helpful suggestion that meaningfully improved our event setup. Overall, the team was responsive and collaborative, helping the event run smoothly from planning through execution.

I've been almost all Marriott brand hotels in Gaslamp area, and Alma is easily the best value for elite status. The breakfast is a full breakfast. The others I've been to only include a snack, nothing else included. Breakfast also ends at 12 which is a game changer compared to most stays (where breakfast typically ends hours earlier). All the staff have been wonderful. One of the front desk managers offered a good deal on a room upgrade since the one I was looking at had just sold out. Cleaning staff , nice, they returned an item to me I accidentally left. Bartenders at night made good drinks and were friendly. Very accommodating. The balcony views are very nice. High floors. Not next to a party club either.

- Room assigned should have been out of service We were upgraded at check-in to a premium king room with city view and was told there was a sofa bed. The room did not have one, and it took an hour for staff to arrive and confirm the discrepancy before a rollaway bed was provided. - Hot water issues The shower water was lukewarm even at the highest setting. I was cold after two minutes in (cold nights during my visit). After reporting the issue, the front desk later stated it was fixed, but the problem persisted. An engineer was sent again at night, requiring another 30+ minute wait, only to inform us that the problem could not be fixed. He ran so much “lukewarm water” during his visit, after he left, we only had cold water left. Had we been informed earlier that the hot water could not be resolved, we could have planned alternatives sooner with front desk instead of spending an hour dealing with it at night. After all that, we gave up showering and just went to bed. We were tired being out all day and kids need to just get in bed. - Communication & response time Staff were friendly, but response times could improve. While the hotel may not have been aware of the initial maintenance issues, guest experience would have been better if housekeeping or engineer could arrive within 10–15 minutes. No one wants to spend precious vacation time dealing with hotel issues. It was also misleading to be told issues were resolved when they were not, which resulted in avoidable delays. - Other maintenance & cleanliness notes Minor issues included non-functional shade controls (limiting the nice city view this room offers), a makeup mirror that doesn’t stay in position, worn shades, and a bathroom floor stain. - Location & cafe The downtown location is convenient and close to the zoo. But the surrounding area was not suitable for family with little kids to walk around (smelled, dirty street, and some homeless). The Cafe in the hotel has long morning queues. We waited about 1 hour to get seated. Our reservations came with breakfast credits that can only be used in the cafe so we were limited to options. I wish we could make reservations at the Cafe or the credits can be applied at in-room dining. Though the room was spacious and provides nice view, the room condition and communication gaps did not align with 4.5 star expectations relative to price. The hotel removed the $42 room charge balance from my bill, which is probably a service recovery gesture. I appreciate the effort.

I really liked how the hotel was close to restaurants. Lena at the desk gave some awesome food recommendations. Cowboy Star Steakhouse was amazing!!! Thank you Lena