Last week, Rowell and I had the pleasure of staying at the Intercontinental in San Diego while he was attending the Cisco Live conference and we had the most wonderful hotel experience ever! We stayed for 5 nights and let me tell you, it was so hard to leave!
The Intercontinental is located right on the Embarcadero in downtown San Diego and is walking distance to many attractions such as Seaport Village, Little Italy, Gaslamp Quarter, the USS Midway Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Maritime Museum of San Diego, the Civic Center, Petco Park and the San Diego Convention Center. It’s a newly built luxury hotel right in the heart of San Diego. The location is absolutely perfect!
This is our second time staying at this hotel and have stayed at the Intercontinental in San Francisco for my birthday over Memorial Day weekend.
Because we love staying at Intercontinental hotels when we travel, we thought it would be a good value to become part of the Ambassador Program. Being part of the program costs $200 a year and with it comes great perks!
Benefits of the Ambassador Membership are:
- Guaranteed room upgrade to a Superior Room which is one category higher than the one purchased.
- 4pm late check out
- $20 credit towards hotel restaurants
- Free mineral water and internet service
- Complimentary weekend night rate
- Platinum Elite Status with IHG Rewards Club which allows you to earn points faster
If you are a regular guest at the Intercontinental Hotel, I highly suggest becoming an Ambassador as the perks are amazing and well worth the annual cost!
During our stay this time, we got upgraded to a suite which normally costs around $500/night but because we got a free upgrade for being ambassadors, we were charged for the premium room rate at $275/night.
Our suite located on the 16th floor came with a view of the San Diego Bay and it was beyond everything I wanted it to be. As soon as we walked in, we were blown away by the floor to ceiling windows all throughout our room and the amazing view of the San Diego bay.
The living area is big enough to have guests over for drinks before heading out to dinner. Just look at all that space!
This is 915 square feet of space (bigger than my first apartment)!
The suite comes with a wet bar which comes equipped with a spacious wine fridge and a Nespresso Machine which is always stocked with coffee and tea in addition to some complimentary snacks such as chocolate covered almonds and cashews, Evian water, and Sparkling water.
The separate living area and bedroom makes it such a comfortable space, especially for a family of 4 staying in one room.
The table is large enough to set up your laptop and get some work done, have a meeting or order room service and enjoy your meal while enjoying the view.
We enjoyed watching the Raptors win the NBA finals on that 55 inch television!
I enjoyed my morning coffee sitting in one of these yellow chairs just gazing outside at this amazing view and feeling grateful for life.
Ahhh, the bed! The bed is so luxurious and comfortable! One night, while Rowell went out with his conference buddies, I stayed in and watched movies from that bed and didn’t move for hours. It was glorious!
The bedroom television is also 55 inches and I just loved the simplicity of the decor in the room.
I want this exact bathroom set up in my future house! The lighting around the mirror is amazing. Also, lets talk about the shower. I’m a stickler for the water pressure not being strong enough. I know….first world problems. But the water pressure in this shower was just right! And the towels, robes and slippers that they provide is all really great quality.
I love a good cozy robe!
The kids enjoyed having bubble baths in this spacious tub. It’s so big Emilia was pretending to swim in it.
The toilet area and sink is separate from the bath and shower area which I loved! It means I was able to get ready in private without a kid having to come in and use the potty while I’m in the shower!
Okay, how epic is this gym?
Have you ever seen a gym like this in any hotel? Usually hotel gyms consist of 3 treadmills, 1 elliptical and maybe a bench if you’re lucky. This gym is equipped with the latest and newest cardio machines, weight lifting equipment and it even has a cycling studio. It’s so awesome and is my favorite part of staying at this hotel! Not only was I was able to get my workout in everyday but I was super excited to do it in this gym!
Also, it is super clean as you can see and is always fully stocked up on towels and ice cold lemon water.
After one of my workouts, I had breakfast one morning at their restaurant, Vistal Bar & Restaurant and ordered the vegan tacos. Anyone who knows me knows I am the farthest you can get from being vegan but I had just been consuming so much meat and savory food that my body literally craved anything other than meat! So I ordered the vegan tacos and my world changed. It was so good that I’m going to try and recreate this dish at home. It’s sweet potatoes with peppers, tomatoes and cilantro cream sauce and it was delicious.
The best part is the view from this restaurant. Ask for a table outside, sit back and enjoy the people watching in beautiful San Diego!
The view of the hotel pool from our room! Not a bad office for the day.
The pool is not the biggest as you can see but it was perfect for our kids to play in as the whole thing is only 3 feet deep so Gabe was able to go in by himself while Emilia was in her arm floaties. Also from Thursdays to Sundays, the pool bar is open starting at 4pm so grab a cocktail and sit back and relax!
Overall, I absolutely love the Intercontinental in San Diego. It’s the best hotel I’ve stayed at with impeccable service, so incredibly clean and the gym is phenomenal. The staff is very professional and will go out of their way to help you.
If you’re new to San Diego, make sure to visit the Concierge desk located on the third floor. They can help customize an itinerary for you to make sure you hit up all the best San Diego spots based on your interests.
The Intercontinental San Diego is the perfect hotel for families, and those here for business. The amenities are top notch, the location and view is perfection and the experience was absolutely wonderful.
If you’re visiting San Diego or planning a staycation, I highly recommend staying at the Intercontinental San Diego.
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