500 West
This urban hotel is a converted YMCA building hailing from San Diego’s sailor days. Featuring modern amenities inside a massive work of classical-style architecture, 500 West features in clean, traveler style rooms and 5 dorm style rooms for very affordable hostel-style accommodation.
This hotel is located in the heart of downtown San Diego, walking distance to the Gaslamp Quarter and Little Italy; the original Santa Fe Station where where you can still catch the Amtrak train and the MTS Trolley; the Greyhound bus depot; Seaport Village; harbour excursions, the USS Midway aircraft carrier museum and Maritime Museum; the Museum of Contemporary Art; and Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres and host of International Sevens rugby, international soccer, the World Baseball Classic and the occasional rock concert.
A very short taxi ride from 500 West gets you to the San Diego International Airport; the museums of Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo; and the hip neighborhoods of Hillcrest and the 30th Street corridor bridging North Park and South Park.
Longer rides from here get you to Coronado Island, Ocean Beach, SeaWorld, Pacific Beach, Fashion Valley and La Jolla.
A useful opinion from their page on Yelp!:
4 star rating10/12/2008
This is a hotel aimed at people who like to travel on the cheap and don’t need all the extras(which cost extra, extra!). I had a great time at the 500 Hotel. I wish I could have stayed longer. It was exactly what I was looking for. Small cozy room right in the middle of the action.
Why do people feel they have to complain about something that is stated right up front (Shared bathroom and small rooms)? FYI- You aren’t sharing the bathroom with anybody, when you’re in it. It is a private locked bathroom. The money I saved($300 over 3 nights) allowed me to eat at some very nice restaurants. The 500 is aimed at people who travel like Europeans.
