I want to thank Stella for sending this review in!
Hotel Review – The Westin Gaslamp Quarter
By: Stella
Last year (2011), my husband and I took a much delayed honeymoon so we could go to Comic Con because we’re just that adorable. It was the first Con for both of us, so everything was a unique experience! We scored press guest passes through a beloved friend (as a wedding gift) so we just had to book the hotel. We booked through the CCI website/travel agency, and had a great experience with that. We scored The Westin Gaslamp Quarter, which is over by Horton Plaza. I think it was our 3rd choice, or something, but we were pleased with it.
This Westin is a bit farther from the Convention Center than some of the other hotels, but it’s still completely walkable. It neighbors the Randall’s, so it was perfect for stopping on the way to the Con or back to the room for snacks, gel inserts for your shoes, contact solution, whatever you may need. Also, it is part of Horton Plaza, which means lots of shopping/fast food/etc just outside your hotel (which can be a bit confusing if you’ve never been to San Diego before – my husband and I circled Horton about 5 times the first night trying to find the hotel…but after that we didn’t get lost a single time!). We loved it because it was close enough to the Con that we walked there every morning, but far enough away that you could escape the super massive crowds on your way home. Not that the hotel wasn’t booked solid, because it was, but the streets are a bit calmer once you get a few blocks away from everything.
It is the Westin, so the rooms were beautiful, clean, etc. Worth every penny. Staff was super nice and helpful, even though we checked in during the massive crowds on Wednesday afternoon. They even did a great job of holding our bags on Sunday after we checked out (there was another convention checking in that day so there was absolutely no late checkouts) while we went to line up for Hall H (we missed Supernatural, but we squeaked in to see Doctor Who!). After we finished up our first Con experience, we went back to the hotel, easily claimed our bags and hopped in a cab. We even had one celebrity sighting in the lobby – Yvette Nicole Brown (Shirley from Community!) was getting off the elevators just as we were getting on – but I think the majority of the celebs were staying closer to the Convention Center.
The only “bad thing” I can say about the Westin Gaslamp was there was no “free breakfast” and the restaurant located in the hotel was pretty pricey – the food wasn’t bad, but next time we’ll stick to the food trucks around the Con and breakfast in our room (we just bought cereal bars and such from Randalls). Other than that we loved staying here – we may stay somewhere else for our Comic Con 2012, but only because we just want a different experience the second time around. This hotel would be really great for families, or really anyone who want to get away from the hustle of the nightlife around the Con but still want something super walkable. Also, a big bonus for us was that the way the shuttles worked out last year was that this was the first stop on our schedule AWAY from the convention center – which meant that taking it in the AM wouldn’t have been worth it (a 30-40 ride), but you could hop on after an exhausting day on your feet and were back at your hotel in less than 5 minutes. It was perfect!!
