Best Western South Bay Inn

Decent little dive hotel, good location. Right by the freeway, close to everything. It’s nothing fancy, but clean and comfy and great for a cheap nights stay. If looking for fancy with amenities this isn’t your place. Looking for a quick weekend of over nighter for cheap? You’ve found it. Friendly service.

I stayed here the last time I went to visit my mom in Chula Vista and I will book here in the future when I am looking for a cheaper room in the area. The location is a little sketchy (as people have stated) but the hotel itself is clean and well maintained. Cleanliness is my biggest concern when booking budget rooms and this place was very satisfactory. The front desk staff was very friendly and helpful. Continental breakfast had make your own waffles which was cool. The only thing I didn’t like is that they open the parking lot for the restaurant located in front of the motel, Aunt Emma’s Pancakes. I was staying for 4 days and needed a place to park in the day as I came and went. Most times I would have to park on the other side of the hotel and walk to the room which can be difficult when you have a baby and a toddler and all the stuff they need. But it wasn’t too huge of a deal when considering the price and cleanliness.

Overall I had a good experience here & definitely recommend it. It’s conveniently located right next to trolley, although if your a light sleeper the railroad crossing may bother you, I am not. Good place to stay if wifi isn’t important to you.
Pros: The room was always clean, well furnished, provided shampoo/​conditioner/​shower gel, breakfast was on point. Area wasn’t too shady. Lots of options to eat at. For the most part personnel were very helpful & polite. Check in & check out was easy.
Cons: The in room Wifi is the major downfall for me, it was absolute crap!!! Couldn’t watch a 2min video on Fb, long loading between internet pages! Bed felt hard, didn’t really sleep comfortably. AC seemed over worked and didn’t work too well. Room service kept leaving my shades open for all to see what I had in my room after she cleaned. Breakfast could’ve used some eggs or proteins. Had a low battery in smoke detector which caused it to chirp every 2 mins, took me talking to 4 different front desk & me removing the battery myself to get new battery.

Check in was quick because I paid online thru Expedia. Stayed here for 4 days, Thursday to Sunday. There’s free breakfast, and they give you 1 meal voucher per room per day. Make sure to ask for the vouchers when you check in because they ask for the stubs when you go to the breakfast room. Breakfast starts from 6−9am weekdays and Saturdays, and from 6−10am on Sundays, with food choices of oatmeal, make your own waffles, which tasted so good, variety of cereals, cup-​a-​noodles, biscuits and gravy, variety of fruits, variety of breads and pastries, coffee, hot chocolate, nice variety of tea, orange juice, cranberry juice, and yogurt. I stayed at room 229 with my husband, while my parents stayed at 227. Both rooms are on the second floor. And we had to climb the stairs, a flight of about 10+ steps. No elevators. i think. Each room had 1 queen sized bed, flat screen tv, free wifi, phone, refrigerator, microwave, thermostat, coffee maker, hairdryer, clothes iron with ironing board, plenty of closet hangers. The shower tub was clean, with strong water, the sink counter was clean. I didn’t see any chipping or peeling paint like the previous reviews said. I guess we got lucky. There’s a dispenser for soap, shampoo and conditioner by the shower wall, and another dispenser for hand soap and lotion by the sink counter. The bed was comfortable and clean. They do housekeeping in the morning usually around 9am onwards. You can opt out of this service if you want. I opted out for security reasons. My parents had theirs cleaned twice during that 4 day stay. I regretted not getting the service. The staff were nice and very helpful. The parking is packed when you get there late nights to dawn. During the day, there’s plenty of spaces. There’s a pool but I never saw anyone use it during my entire stay but it still gets cleaned during the day. The place was quiet, at least we had good night sleep throughout the stay. There’s a lot of places to eat around the block– Denny’s, Black Angus, a pancake place, etc. And the inn’s near freeway I-​5. I think this sums up everything. I have included every detail I can remember. We’ll surely stay here again the next time we visit San Diego.

My family and I stayed in room 132 & 133 which is the conjoined room. We stayed for five days at a fairly decent price. (Around $ 700) The rooms were very clean. No bugs, pubic hair or stains on the beds. The microwave and fridge were very clean and they offered good cable channels. Oh, and they have free wifi! Breakfast was very delicious. Fresh coffee, waffles, cereal, eggs, biscuits, and yogurt to oatmeal. Kitchen staff was very friendly which was very nice. The downfalls is that there is limited parking space. Breakfast ends at 9 so you have to wake up super early. Other than that, our stay was pleasant.

This place is nasty. There is cum on the bed skirt, the tub literally has a hole in it. The bedding doesn’t smell fresh at all (like I was surprised about that) I actually slept on the towels they supplied and froze my ass off. Don’t walk to any of the restaurants after dark. I was approached walking to and from dennys by guys asking for money. Not clean and not a safe place either.

got a king bed above the front desk — loved the balcony. Loved the bed. Best sleep I’ve had in awhile. Good location, lots of food places nearby. Pretty quiet place. Parking isn’t great but it’s not horrible either. I’d stay here again

Arrived late and while pulling into lot had to wait for the tweeker to stop talking to himself and move out of the driveway. Received a room by the pool upstairs and was put to sleep by the soothing sounds of emergency vehicles rolling code 3.
The room itself was a decent size but not real impressed when I went to close the open window and found a tiny twist type window lock since the windows themselves didn’t lock. The restroom was very small and as you can see in the photos there was some interesting features. The bugs stuck within the housing of the overhead light, the shampoo dispenser in the shower and best of all the light switch that is nearly within the shower.
To make a long story short, pay a bit more and avoid this place. Your security and safety is more important.

Stayed here for 1 night for a concert down at Sleep Train Amphitheater; 18 min drive to get there.
Not enough parking for the hotel guests when we got back around midnight.
Room was clean and the bed was comfortable. Fridge and microwave worked great.
Location was right off the freeway so perfect for us. Across the street from McDonalds and Denny’s.
The bathtub is peeling and the counter had a weird dark mark on it.
Breakfast was good. Waffles, oatmeal, pastries, toast, yogurt, etc… wish they would have included more hot food like advertised, but otherwise pretty good.
Could have been a bit cheaper for what it looks like but I did overhear the manager say they are redoing rooms a few at a time because it takes about 5 days to complete them.

The 2 stars are going to Vanessa, the front desk gal, she was sooo pleasant and helpful she deserved something… otherwise I wouldn’t have given this place anything. The room was in such disrepair it wasn’t funny. The tub was peeling from what looked to be some kind of sprayed in glaze? Whatever it was it looked as though they tried to use it in different areas of the shower and it looked horrendous… especially the soap dish! The bathroom window didn’t close and with even cranking the ac down to 60 the bathroom stayed around 85! Sweatbox! Speaking of the ac it was positioned right next to the bed so the person in that bed got all the air and the other bed got none… so it was really poor set up… plus we happened to stay on the weekend of extreme heat advisory and hottest days on record! The counter where the sink is outside the bathroom had what looked to be a fungus from constant dripping of the soap on the wall. Make sure you bring your own pillow unless you like them extra firm and overstuffed. For people who are light sleepers this might not be the best place to stay because you can hear the commuter trains and the announcement of their stop. So as great as Vanessa was… I don’t think I will be returning to see her again.

We were here for a wedding. Nervous about staying on Chula Vista. Ask around. This was actually a decent neighborhood. Right next to the freeway with easy access to everything. The rooms weren’t amazing, but they were clean. The down side is the towels and sheets all looked dingy. Continental breakfast has a nice spread. All around a nice place to stay for a good rate. Would definitely stay again.

We stayed here 07−03−15 through 07−05−15. When we first arrived we noticed the hotel is located in a sketchy area. The staff were very friendly and helpful. We got room 224. The keys worked fine. The room was great & very clean. Nothing incredible but decent. The beds were very comfortable, as we slept great both nights. The bathroom is small, but was very clean as well. They have dispensers with shampoo, conditioner and shower gel if you didn’t bring your own. The room has a window ac unit, which we haven’t used in years. We turned it down to 60 and we were perfect. The noise levels were pretty minimal but I believe it depends which building you are staying in. There is a transit station directly behind the hotel so keep that in mind. I think this place is a priced a little high but overall it wasn’t bad at all. We’d stay here again.

Great service here. The lady, (who I believe to be the manager) working the front desk was totally helpful, friendly and informative. Extremely thorough and explained everything perfectly. The room was ok, but it did the job for the duration of my stay.
NOTE TO THE BEST WESTERN MARINA GATEWAY: You need to hire the manger from this place to come train your staff. She is as professional and courteous as can be. The Marina might be fancier and newer, but the front desk staff is horrible.
Only reason I didn’t give this place 5 stars is because the price is a bit too high for the actual quality of the room.

I’m not sure why this hotel has so many negative reviews. I just stayed 2 nights and didn’t really have any problems. The bed was very clean & comfortable, as was the bathroom. The breakfast was good for a free meal (they’ve added scrambled eggs, not just hard boiled). The only bad thing is breakfast ends at 9am which is a bit early. There’s plenty of parking and it’s a block from Highway 5 which takes you to just about everything. There is a train that’s only a block away & can be loud. Overall it was a good place to stay.

It’s ok and the price of $ 55 should be TOPS of what you should pay for this type of room.
On one end of the spectrum the staff is super nice and the room amenities look great when you first enter the room. However the desk chair was weeble wobble «hope» it don’t fall down. It needed to be thrown out.
Door keys repeatedly not working which got frustrating.
Refrigerator was a decent size and climate control was ok but not amazing.
This place is in an excellent location for food and public transportation and the rooms are more plush than lets say Motel 6 but they probably haven’t been updated in a while. Time for a makeover ?
Would I stay again? YES if I needed a room with a refrigerator.

DISGUSTING Hotel! I had a crew of 7 manly men staying there for only 2 nights, these are hard working Ship Yard guys and they were so disgusted their first night they REFUSED to stay a 2^nd night. There were stained sheets, «oddly stained» towels, bugs, and rude desk clerk aka ‘manager’. These issues were not just in 1 room but multiple issues in each of the 4 rooms. Hooker Hotel is what they nicknamed it!

I’m torn about whether to give it 3 stars or 4 to be honest. I’d probably say 3.5 stars.
Everything was relatively clean. When we got in, there were 3 flies flying around the room which was annoying, but I don’t know if I can really blame the hotel for that lol. The random turning on and turning off of the light switch was kinda weird. Sketchy area. but it’s right off the 5 fwy, so it was convenient for going into downtown San Diego. Complimentary breakfast was what you’d expect from a motel, but make your own waffles is always fun. The bathtub wasn’t really draining so we called the front desk and they sent a maintenance man pretty quick & our problem was solved. A 2 queen bed room was a good size for 4 people, not too small. and it only cost about $ 135ish. Overall, it’s a perfectly fine place to stay if you’re just lookin for a cheaper way to stay in SD.

Reserved my one non-​smoking room online sometime last month and put in a request that my room be available somewhat earlier than the 3 pm check in time since I would be flying into SD somewhat early in the morning and didn’t want to have to lollygag around until my room was ready. I called as soon as I landed at 9:30 am to see if my room would be ready by the time I got there and the woman at the front desk said she saw my request and that the maids don’t start cleaning the rooms until 9:30 am and said that I should call back at 11 am to see if it was ready. I indeed called again at 11 am and she said that it would be ready in 30 minutes. When I got to the hotel I was able to check in and head straight up to my room.
My room was clean and smelt good. The sheets and pillows also felt clean and smelled freshly washed.
The area this hotel is in is right near the trolley station and for the people who have grown up in Chula Vista, you all know what it is like by a trolley station! The area is what some people would call low class or «ghetto». There are a ton of restaurants near by so that is a huge plus.
The complimentary breakfast that is included with the price of the room is below average. They had toast, bagels, mini muffins, danishes, make your own waffle, apples, yogurt, granola and hard boiled eggs. No scrabbled eggs or sausage or bacon.
The air conditioning, the refrigerator, television and microwave were all in working condition.
A few small annoying details about the room were the light switches that are attached to the walls. They are motion sensor so they go on and off even when you don’t necessarily want them too. They are also somewhat hard to manually turn on because we had to press the button a certain way. Another strange detail about the room was the soap and lotion dispenser by the sink. I am all for saving the environment by not using those individual bottles but at least get a dispenser that is somewhat attractive and not so old looking. Same goes with the shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner dispenser in the shower. Ladies, bring your own conditioner! I cannot stress this enough! The conditioner that they have here makes your hair even harder to de-​tangle.
I wouldn’t mind staying here again since it isn’t too bad and it is convenient as well as cheap.

I have stayed in this hotel two times, second time being today.
First visit: We stayed in a room on the west end of the property and was kept awake all night by the trolley. Also, an overgrown bush located at the east corner of the exit driveway completely blocks the driver’s view of the sidewalk and we almost hit a street vendor who carelessly walked in front of our car while we were watching for traffic in the other direction.
Second visit: I was allowed an early check in (10:45 am), and the hotel was even able to accommodate my request for a first floor room away from the trolley. Score, right? Wrong! I arrive at the room to find it occupied by 2 young Hispanic men who look like they were still asleep and recovering from a long night of partying, which is surprising that they were still asleep at 10:50 am being that checkout is 11:00 am. So, I had to return to office, and was given another room, second floor but away from the trolley. Then, I get to the room and find that the porcelain bathtub is cracked and peeling, which makes for a lovely environment for bacteria and fungus growth. Hope I don’t catch athletes foot!
Overall: The continental breakfast is nothing to rave about, coffee is mediocre. The location is not in the best part of town. But hey, the rates are great for the amenities and location (if you book the online only rate), they don’t charge incidental holds if you are paying with a credit/​debit card, there is no fee for parking (Hilton’s in San Diego charge upwards of $ 20/​night/​car), the beds are super comfortable and the wifi is decent.
All in all, I will probably be back again seeing as I travel here often.

I’m very surprised at such negative reviews and agree with the positive reviews. It may have been a different place prior to the renovation however, I’ve stayed here several times in the past month (business related) and have to agree with BL’s review.
It’s obvious upon driving in that it’s not a new building. However, just as quck I noticed that the grounds and buildings were spotless and landscape maintained. The parking lot has also been resurfaced recently, along with the renovation.
There’s also a touchless car wash across the side street, in the same parking lot as the laundry, IGA grocery store and Denny’s. The car wash is actually a very good one for a touchless.
In the past two weeks I’ve stayed in Best Western, Best Wester Plus and Best Western Premier hotels in five different states and none of them have beds as comfortable as Best Western South Bay Inn, Chula Vista! The fact that you can park near your room instead of walking down 100 yds. of hallways is a bonus of this hotel!
To find lodging of this caliber of interiors (granite counters, desk tops, etc; tile bathroom floors, two tone paint, stainless steel refer and microwave, etc.) for under $ 100 is rare. To find all of this in a hotel where the entire hotel staff is very, very nice and the fact that they «care» and is genuine is also rare. That’s one of the reasons I prefer this hotel over some of the much larger Best Western hotels that I’ve stayed in recently.
Parking is free and very close to your room is another added bonus.
My photos speak for themselves in representing this hotel in mid Nov. 2013 as it really is.