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Overlooking the lush, rolling fairways of the Riverwalk Golf Club in San Diego's Hotel Circle, the Handlery merges contemporary comfort with relaxing, resort-style ambiance. As a family owned hotel, we create tailor-made experiences for our guests by offering 217 comfortable, beautifully appointed rooms and suites, a friendly atmosphere and gracious, personalized service.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Overall, the hotel is clean and tidy and feels safe. The staff were helpful and it is situated just a short drive from some great tourist attractions such as La Jolla Cove and San Diego Zoo. You do however need a car to get around unless you want to fork out on taxis as it’s not walkable from anything at all and is off the side of a very fast road.
The hotel itself is a bit dated but respectable. The pool area is clean with a nice pool side bar and the breakfast food was nice enough but overall the place is completely lacking in any kind of atmosphere. I’d imagine that it’s the sort of place which would be perfectly fine for a work stay or overnight pit stop, but I’m a bit disappointed that our travel agent recommended this as a suitable hotel for our holiday. The location at the side of the motorway makes it feel more like a motel than a hotel but I suppose this is reflected in the rating and price.
We also had a problem with our room in that we could hear everything in the room next door- the tv was blaring all night and it sounded like it was in our room due to very thin walls. Security did thankfully respond quickly and come to get them to turn it off.
Overall, if you’re looking for somewhere basic but respectable to stop over for a night or two, I think this hotel is perfectly fine, but due to the location and the lack of ambience, I wouldn’t recommend for a holiday. There are much nicer places in San Diego that have better views and are closer to the beaches and local amenities.
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Date of stay: August 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
If you’re English/Euro, a lot of hotels, especially out of town of motels from films. This is that place but a fraction better. You need to be aware of USA to understand what they like/see as hotels to those compared in Europe. Ok, the location is off a freeway but by no means can you hear the freeway. The place has more parking than your average supermarket $18 a day. There is a pool and a simple gym to use. Ice in every building and laundry self serve in a central location. Coffee and fridges/TV in each room (our room). What we’ve learned travelling many stops from SF to here is generally breakfast is not included. It can be purchased at the hotel and is good quality and in line with local prices. A 10 min walk to the shopping mall gets you on the trolley (tram) service and $2.50 you can travel for around 2 hours, which from here will get you almost anywhere. There is further retails park another 10mins walk from the hotel.
It’s not central but everything by public transport is 20mins away and we found this convenient for our holiday
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Date of stay: July 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Uber is about $$16 to Central areas
Download ‘pronto’ for public transport (like oyster) $2.50...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Handlery is located in the Hotel Circle area of San Diego. It has a motel look and feel but is actually great value for money. It has a heated pool, very comfortable beds and is superclean. It may not look as modern as other motels in this area, but has virtually the same on offer for a much lower rate. Only downside is that the Hotel Circle area is not very attractive. It has a lot of hotels but no restaurants, bars or even a convenience store like 7 Eleven. Also the Handlery does not offer lunch, which means that at lunchtime you’re on your own (getting crisps from the vending machine is the only option really). Breakfast service may be a bit chaotic at times but the food on offer is good. Bar prices are reasonable but the bar closes early, on some days even at 9PM. So it’s back to your room then. The Fashion Valley mall and trolley station are a 15 min walk away. I did not try the restaurant for dinner. Wifi is fast and reliable, rooms have a bath with shower, flatscreen tv and AC of course. Even though it’s along the highway there is no noise drom the traffic coming in. Highly recommended.
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Date of stay: February 2023Trip type: Travelled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are locals and only live 12 miles from this conveniently located Mission Valley Hotel. The facilities and accommodations and event staff met our expectations for our 50th High School Reunion. The hotel is older and the rooms have been remodeled with new decor. The king size bed was comfortable and the room contained a mini frig in one of the night stands and in room coffee. On a funny note if you sit o. The toilet you can’t close the door, so make certain you close the door first. Our room was basic, but we did observe other rooms are corner suites, and have walk out patios or balcony’s. So if you want to have a little extra room you might request me of these rooms.
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Date of stay: September 2024Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
On arrival at this hotel there was such a severe noise issue caused by a large group of teenagers staying at the property. Several guests were complaining and security were not able to manage the problem. Staff at the hotel agreed we could have a refund for our stay as they were not able to provide a resolution to the issue (the teenagers were staying across all 3 buildings so an alternate room wouldn’t have made any difference). Staff advised this refund would have to be made by booking.com as that is where the reservation was made. However booking.com cannot provide this refund as the staff at the Handlery hotel have not responded to many requests made by booking.com over the past 5 weeks to process this! I have also sent multiple emails to The Handlery hotel which have been completely ignored! It was hugely inconvenient to have to leave this hotel and find alternative accommodation at the time and it is extremely disappointing that the Handlery hotel have failed to acknowledge this and provide the refund!!
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Date of stay: April 2024Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I stayed here over the Thanksgiving weekend with my kids, and I have to say it was one of the most amazing hotel resort experiences I’ve had in a very long time, I lived in Vegas many years so I know resorts, but the service, the care and the attention that I got from the staff at the Handlery hotel was amazing! Rose at front desk was incredible, as well as the other ladies that I spoke with, and the housekeeping even went out of their way to re-wash all my bedding towels and pillowcases each day, because I have an allergy to regular detergent. Also want to mention the pool area is incredible and the whole place is very clean and well kept for being an older resort! Five stars
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Date of stay: November 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We recently stayed at this Hotel, and absolutely loved it. The King Premier rooms were clean nice spacious an offered a balcony or patio. My sister got a poolside room with balcony, must stand up to see over the railing on balcony, we got a room out on one of the outlaying sets of rooms, much quieter. We had a 3 minute nice walk to get to their room and ultimately the pool. the pool/jacuzzi were nice and well maintained. The bar off the pool was great, a bit pricey, but your on vacation so splurge and enjoy. The drinks were great, and the atmosphere was relaxing and fun. The burgers, we did not get one, looked amazing. We did eat breakfast which was great, service was a bit slow, but the food was good. We went across the freeway, to Crust Kitchen, HORRIBLE, stay within the hotel to eat! All of the staff, front desk, housekeeping, maintenance people we ran into were extremely friendly. Overall, we enjoyed ourselves and would definitely return to this hotel in the future. Thanks for the memories!
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Date of stay: August 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Parking is $18.00 per day, which is pretty typical anywhere now a days.
No resort fees here though!!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Staff was friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. The convention price was very good and included breakfast, which was at convenient times with good food and good service. I have only a few negatives: For 635 registered convention attendees, only one restaurant/bar for lunch or dinner was dismally inadequate. The A/C in the room didn't seem to be all that forceful but was adequate; however, the vent vanes in the bathroom were absolutely filthy. Despite the presence of security, several of the same homeless people were seen at the same benches during the day. The "Munchies" room had no munchies at all the first two days of the stay although it did have two small microwaves. Pool area was quite appealing and pool towels and furnishings were ample.
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Date of stay: August 2022
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled on business
Room Tip:Second floor rooms have no overhead noise.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Clean if dated rooms, comfortable bed and great staff. The bad news is they took $200 dollars per room pre-authorised on my travel card and just over 2 weeks after checking out it still hasn't been refunded to the card. They claim to have released it on the day I checked out 15th September. They tried to blame the card provider but I honestly think they're making money og the deposits wby hanging on to it until you kick a stink up!
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Date of stay: September 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:There's a great little Deli based in the offices up the road where you can get a good breakfast...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Love the pool! We stayed here for almost a week. We had a garden view room which had a nice outdoor area. Our room was large and loved all the hanging space. The pool area was great and also included a hot tub. The pool does get quite deep, 3m at the deepest and there are no lifeguards, just as an FYI. This hotel is approx 15mins away for any local attractions, we didn't have a car but were able to get around easily with uber. The Fashion Valley Mall is approx 20mins walk away and has a trolley station that will take you straight into San Diego city. Ensure that you bring some food options with you as it is a little isolated for late night snacks
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Date of stay: October 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Latrice Hall, Guest Services / Front Office at Handlery Hotel San Diego
Responded Nov 23, 2024
Hello, we are so happy to hear about you experience with us. Although we don't have many food options late at night, we are happy to provide guests with their own mini fridges in room and access microwaves so please feel free to bring snacks or head to the nearby Target and load up! Thank you for staying with us.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Adding to this: the public stransport (especially at night) is mainly used by homeless people. I would not feel very comfertable using it when on my own.
If you can google maps the Handlery you can see just about anything that you might want to check out. Old Town is nearby. We eat at a great Cuban/Puertorican restaurant, Andre’s, ask at the front desk. Close to the zoo and Sea World.
San Diego, California4 contributions3 helpful votes
Dear Rishonda; We are within walking distance (10 minutes) of Fashion Valley Mall which is around the corner from the hotel. They have several restaurants (Cheesecake Factory, PF Changs, California Pizza Kitchen,Tender Greens and more) plus they have a food court. The restaurants are open until 10-11pm and the food courts until 9pm.
Those are the only places nearby that you will not need to take an Uber or Lyft. Old Town is 1.5 miles away from the hotel. We do have a bar and appetizer menu at the hotel where you can order food and drinks.
The trolley does not go to Mission Beach. Yes, you can bring a stroller on the trolley. If you use our shuttle we do have a car seat available. If you have to take an Uber, Lyft or Taxi most of them do not have a car seat.
Hoipe this helps!
There are more places to choose from in the San Diego area.
PRICE RANGE
C$163 - C$242 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
the handlery hotel, handlery hotel san diego
LOCATION
United StatesCaliforniaSan DiegoMission Valley / Hotel Circle
NUMBER OF ROOMS
217
Prices are provided by our partners, and reflect nightly room rates, including any mandatory fees. Taxes not included. Please see our partners for more details.
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