The Great 2020 California Road Trip (2/7) – Hotels

While the main destination of our road trip was San Diego, we selected our stops all over California to both break down the drive and maximize stuff to see. We spent the seven nights in seven different hotels across seven cities.

The purpose of this road trip was in part to burn our stash of hotel free night certificates. At the time of planning, we had 3 Hyatt nights (category 1-4) from the Chase cards, 2 IHG nights (up to 40,000 points) from the Chase cards, and 2 Marriott nights (up to 25,000 points) from the Amex cards. The accumulation of so many such certificates was a side effect of COVID-induced cancellations. Thankfully, we were able to figure out a plan that make use of all seven of these, get good-to-great value from each, while still meeting our broader trip objectives.

Separately, we also had 4 or so unrestricted Hilton night certificates that we were going to use at Conrad Tokyo. We’ll have to worry about those some other day.

The following is a really brief review of each hotel.

#1 – Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa on Del Monte Golf Course

This was easily the most disappointing of all Hyatt hotels we’ve ever been.

• It’s akin to a motel where you check in at a tiny lobby and drive to your room in one of the many buildings. The site map was unclear and the buildings had serious security flaws; random unauthorized people could’ve easily reached our room
• An absence of mask and social distancing enforcement by the front desk staff
• Uncomfortably soft beds
• Pigeons nesting on the public ice machine

#2 – Hyatt Centric Santa Barbara

Like much of Santa Barbara, this hotel featured the colonial Spanish style building and decor. It wasn’t exactly our preferred style but we appreciated its charm and the boutique feel. It was being rebranded as “Mar Monte Hotel – In the Unbound Collection by Hyatt” during our visit. We got into a wave of panicky confusion upon arrival because the name at its entrance did not match our booking confirmation.

#3 – InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown

This was the first hotel in the world where we had stayed 3 times… needless to say, we were fond of it. There was prestige in sleeping in a barely three-years-old skyscraper, and the view atop West Coast’s tallest building was unparalleled. All of us enjoyed dipping in the pool above downtown LA, too. I don’t believe we would have been able to afford this hotel using the now-restricted free night certificate, but my guess is that IHG’s variable pricing made its point value lower due to the current low demand.

Aside from the hardware, though, the room and service were somewhat basic, and I wasn’t a fan of the $51 valet parking charge. It troubled me further that valet was still mandatory during COVID.

#4 – InterContinental San Diego

This was another fantastic hotel. Instead of IC LA’s incredible height, it had a nice view of the San Diego Bay from our 19th floor window.

#5 – Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine

This was an okay Hyatt Regency, although it seemed to have aged quite a bit since I came here for work several years ago. The carpet was eerily damp, though, which did not inspire confidence.

#6 – Sheraton Los Angeles San Gabriel

This was a surprisingly nice hotel, which felt a class higher than the average Sheraton. It may have been renovated recently as everything from the lobby to the trims in the room seemed new. Among all seven hotels of the trip, this Sheraton also appeared to have the most rigorous COVID protocols… signs were posted in front of each elevator with specific instructions on how many people can ride and where they should stand, and the buttons were covered in clear plastic sheets. I have no idea how effective they were, but these extra steps were definitely a comforting gesture.

#7 – SpringHill Suites Fresno

This was the one hotel that didn’t offer any sense of excitement or comfort in maximizing the utility of a free night certificate. However, Fresno was a strategic stop to break the return trip into manageable chunks. We could have afforded to stay in San Gabriel for another night, but I was glad not having to do a 7-hour drive.

In the utilitarian sense, the hotel was pretty nice… parking was free, room was a mini suite with a couch and a desk, and there was even free hotel breakfast. On the other hand, however, the manager at the front desk looked like he hated his job, and the sanitation of the room was questionable.

Special note on COVID

Going into public places, including hotels, always carried some risk of disease transmission. We were aware that taking a road trip wasn’t the most responsible thing we could do during a pandemic, so in addition to precautions we were also mindful of potential consequences.

That said, all major hotel chains, along with airlines and car rental companies, have been blasting us with emails since April about how they had completely reinvented cleaning procedures in order to combat COVID. Words like “guarantee”, “peace of mind”, and “promise” got tiring quickly, as did phrases like “your health is our top priority.” Individual hotels more or less sang the same tune, a couple going as far as handing us printed pieces of paper certifying what a thorough cleaning job our rooms had just gone through.

How could we tell if a room was cleaned to the anti-COVID standard? We could not. So we retreated to looking for the common sense cleanliness. Not even including the damp and heavily soiled carpets…

• A table had major water stains all over it
• The kids found a dime on the floor next to a bed
• We discovered a partially-consumed 2L bottle of Coke in a mini fridge
• A big googly eye was stuck to a lamp shade

To be clear, none of these really bothered us, and we were sympathetic of the hotel workers who likely had to do more with less during this time. It was merely evidence that corporate values talking points to retain business did not align with realities on the ground. Staying at a hotel is probably not suitable for people who require fully sanitized environments, be it SpringHill Suites or InterContinental.

The Great 2020 California Road Trip Index

1. Heading Out During COVID
2. Hotels
3. Beaches
4. Zoos
5. Food
6. Other Sights
7. LEGO Family!