InterContinental San Diego by IHG

TL;DR: DO NOT STAY HERE. One month expired food provided in room service. Security used to intimidate as part of their process to collect complaint information handled via their insurance. 1/ FOOD SAFETY + SERVICE We stayed two nights at the InterContinental San Diego because the InterContinental is a refined hotel chain around the world that we have enjoyed because of its high standards. Not at this location. They served us condiments like this ketchup jar with 2 month expired date (we stayed early June 2026) with our breakfast room service order. When contacted on the in room phone, they did not take any action to address the issue nor apologize. Instead, they promised the good and beverage manager would arrive to our room to discuss in 5 minutes, but he never showed up. I walked down to the front desk and brought the expired condiment jars, and asked to see the food and beverage manager. He showed up in minutes, and stated he never got a call or email from the in room phone team to follow up with me. He was apologetic and stated he never saw this ketchup jar before, only the Heinz ketchup which we actually received the day before for room service. I assume he debugged this with his staff. He was clearly taking this seriously. My experience with front desk and security was far worse and the reason why I am writing this review. Noah (sp) the front desk manager echoed apology, but also initiated their procedure to use their security staff to collect information from me because food borne illness claims are an insurance issue. It wasn’t clear to me that this was the case. And when security showed up, they made sure to treat me with the same aggressive, transactional, harsh manner they would treat someone they need to escort out of the bar for drinking too much. When I asked why I had to give her the info rather than start, she said, “I cannot tell you that.” This immediately escalated an already unpleasant situation. When I asked the security person to understand the next steps, she folded her arms, stood up straight, and said we will contact you when we are ready to. I clearly saw this sequence of events as intimidation and retribution for reporting a health safety issue. Noah was apologetic for this experience, handled the situation OK, but the security person never apologized or acknowledged how they escalated the situation. All in all, I wouldn’t have left this review if it wasn’t for this uncalled for and intimidating encounter with security. I do not feel safe staying at this hotel… not only because of the food, but because how the hotel uses security to intimidate guests as part of their process for food borne illness complaints. We reported this to the local public health authority. 2/ROOM The room was very mid for an InterContinental hotel. It had the high class toiletries, but they didn’t have bathrobes or slippers. When you call room service, they can bring bathrobes. They didn’t give us slippers because they said the slippers haven’t been ordered yet. The pillows were flat and lifeless. Very different from the full down pillows at other InterContinentals. Windows are thin. We could hear the trains and cars outside thru the late night. The AC white noise helped muffle this. 3/LOCATION This is the main reason why to stay here. It’s 10 minutes drive from the airport, 5-10 minutes walk into Little Italy, and there’s even a small farmers market on Saturday morning just outside the hotel. You’re also about 10-15 minutes from all other locations you’d want to see around the city, like Balboa Park, Ocean Beach, and Gaslamp.

The hotel has an excellent location! The rooms are nice, the only downside is the water pressure (very low, but this close to the ocean this is probably undersrandable) and temperature (doesn't get properly hot)

right in the smack of everything in downtown san diego with great service and rooms. sooo much to do and see within walking distance and the bar/restauarant by the lobby has such a great view of the water and uss midway.

Beware if you try to stay here with the Chase Sapphire the edit credits they appear to try to SCAM you at every opportunity, and it appears the front desk is trained to do so. First, the front desk did not give me a welcome amenity for being an IHG rewards member, I had to remember to ask for it the second day. Second, and most importantly, they appear to intentionally apply your credits wrong according to multiple reviews ( do not apply the $20 in food credit that the extra resort fee is supposed to be creating), and then further try to confuse you by offering to try to comp a day in parking etc. I redid the math several times, and they appear to of scammed me out of $30, but this is actually low compared to others. The hotel rooms are nice, cold breakfast was nice though pricey ( extra charge for hot breakfast), coffee is good, location is nice. Rooftop restaurant is cute. Just very disappointing at feeling like they are trying to scam you at every opportunity. This is NOT hospitality!!

This intercontinental is much better than the one in Los Angeles. The breakfast is pretty good, the staff is helpful. I do wish intercontinental would stop employing overseas call centers for Guest service requests. At this price range, you do not want to be dealing with a call center that’s not even on the same continent. There’s no reason why when you are staying at a hotel, the phones should be answered for things like towels, etc., by anyone other than people locally at the property.When you tell them to transfer you to the front desk at the actual property, some of them give you grief. I am really glad that this property lets you rent microwaves, unlike other intercontinental hotels.

I’m going to be honest…. This place isn’t really cool. First off the valet guys are really prompt with the service. Shane was very respectful, Pedro was attentive and Ramsey ( I believe that’s his name ) was super funny. The hotel staff was very welcoming and the rooms are AMAZING. Last but not least the parking garage was super clean. Good job guys ! Definitely will visit again.

I liked the hotel. You need to get used to the fact that the check-in desk is located on the 3rd floor — that is very unusual, and I would say it was the main inconvenience for me. The reception staff were very pleasant, and I did not have to wait at all.On the last night, I barely slept because a group of men in the room next door were celebrating something and shouting very loudly until 2 a.m. I had to call and ask for security. That calmed them down, but not for long.The room was cleaned every day. I would even say it was a bit too much, but everything was very clean, and I have no complaints about that.

Convenience, Modern Style, and thoughtful Hospitality The InterContinental San Diego is an excellent property with a prime location near the airport and within walking distance of several major attractions. The rooms are modern, well-appointed, and comfortable. I particularly appreciated the staff’s ability to accommodate an early check-in and their thoughtful gesture of sending a dessert to the room for my wife’s birthday. The only service gap was a discrepancy between the IHG app and the Vistal restaurant. We chose the restaurant based on the menu displayed in the app, only to find upon arrival that the digital menu was several years out of date. I recommend the management update their digital platforms to prevent future guest confusion. Despite this, we had a great stay and would certainly return.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. My husband and I were super excited for our stay as this was our honeymoon and our first time coming to San Diego. We quickly regretted our stay here and wish we had stayed somewhere else. Our first night our AC didn't work, we called front desk and they told us someone would come up to look at it.. 30 mins pass and no one ever came so we called again, this time someone arrived within 15 mins.. they reset the thermostat and went on their way...in the middle of the night we both woke up sweating because the AC had turned off again... That next morning we went downstairs and had to change rooms... Packing up a 3 night stay during your honeymoon and changing rooms wasn't something we were thrilled about but we did. The next room we got to, we got settled in and went to turn the tv on..... It didn't work.. Had to have someone come up AGAIN to fix another problem late at night. At this point we had to complain because it was becoming annoying to have all these issues at such an expensive place ON OUR HONEYMOON.. they said the best they could do was give us $50 back.... The only good thing I can say about this place is the location but there are far better options in the area.

Jesse is the best! It was super easy and quick to extend my request! He made our vacation a lot more fun and stress less Thank you Jesse!