Hard Rock Hotel San Diego
Making my reservations for the Hard Rock San Diego, I was a little scared I wasn’t cool enough for the property. My style is more relaxed than rock-n-roll. However, I was cheerfully welcomed to the property’s sleekly Spartan lobby – white marble floors, mirrors, modern leather sofas, a Technicolor light wall — by an usherette in a uniform designed by the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am, I was no longer scared. I was sure. A playlist designed by the hotel’s resident Vibe Manager played in the background as I walked past one of Madonna’s bustiers. Without a doubt this place was much cooler than I.
Thanks to the “Love All, Serve All” Hard Rock motto, which every employee had obviously been indoctrinated with and, better yet, had taken to heart, No one made me feel like anything less than rock royalty while I was there, even when I wore yoga pants to one of the property’s two nightclubs.
The concierge explained what I had to do to get on the lists at the hotel’s two clubs (cover charges are waived for hotel guests who arrive before a certain time). When I neglected to do it, she still made sure I got in without paying. The spa receptionist gave me lunch recommendations. The valets took the time to give me directions I could follow.
Opened in October 2007, Hard Rock San Diego is right at the entrance to the historic Gaslamp district and across the street from the Convention Center. Little Italy, the San Diego Maritime Museum, Amici Park, and the Embarcadero are all within walking distance. It’s a great location for those vacationing in the city. You could be excused for limiting your vacation to the hotel though.
Nobu, the Michelin-starred Japanese chef who really is genius enough to deserve to be known only by his first name, opened his first San Diego restaurant in this hotel. (While the food here – black miso cod, scallop tiradito, yellowtail sashimi with jalapeño – is every bit as good as at Nobu’s other restaurants, the atmosphere is much more, um, raucous than refined. Nobu seems to be the place for San Diego bachlorette parties.) Pinkberry, the gourmet, tangy frozen yogurt chain that made froyo cool again, opened its first San Diego location in the Hard Rock. The hotel’s Maryjane’s Coffee Shop serves sticky buns the size of a small child. The outdoor pool has private cabanas with walnut-toned leather loungers, flat screen TVs, and mini bars. The ground-floor bar – heavy with wood and white crocodile upholstered bar stools — is a great place to catch a game or dance early into the morning (not at the same time, obviously). The Rock Spa, with purple suede walls and five treatment rooms offers services, including a facial that incorporates real crushed pearls (to illuminate the skin), lasting from 30 minutes to six hours. They also do Sun FX spray tanning.
Almost half of the hotel’s 420 rooms are suites. But even if you don’t spring for the Rock Star suite designed by the Black Eyes Peas – they picked everything from the furniture to the linens and artwork – the suite with an outdoor fire pit and a deck big enough for 20 of your closest friends, or the suite with 270-degree views (from a private hot tub) of San Diego Bay, the 244 studio rooms are hipper than anywhere else in town. Why? Jetsons-inspired furniture, halo-illuminated beds, custom-designed desks, 300-thread count linens, green-room inspired refreshment centers, and ceiling-mounted rain showers in spa-like bathrooms. Some rooms look out on Petco Park, one block away.
Hard Rock Hotel San Diego earned AAA’s Four-Diamond Award only a year after it opened.
You can make reservations online or by calling the property directly.
207 5th Ave.
San Diego, CA 92101
619-702-3000