Visitors to America’s Finest City will find the selection of boutique hotels wide ranging. There are many true boutiques with around 100 or fewer rooms, and then there are the boutique-style hotels with up to 200+ rooms. Hotel Solamar is one of these larger boutique-style hotels at 235 rooms. The independent hotel, managed by Kimpton boutique hotels, reflects the coastal culture of its Downtown East Village location. Contemporary design, upscale amenities, one-of-a kind ambiance, and its complementary Jsix Restaurant give Hotel Solamar the look and feel of a classic urban boutique hotel.
Rooms and Suites
Guestrooms at Hotel Solamar continue the hotel’s coastal vibe in five styles. Deluxe Guestrooms are standard at this hotel. Choose Deluxe King, Deluxe Skyline King, or Deluxe Two Queen. Each is 340 square feet and has a spacious work desk with ergonomic chair, LCD flat-screen TV, Italian Frette bed linens, a laptop safe, and a fully stocked in-room honor bar with organic options. Bathrooms feature Gilchrist & Soames spa products and soft animal print robes (including child-size on request). Skyline rooms are on upper floors and have San Diego skyline views. Spa Guestrooms and Spa Corner Guestrooms are 420 square feet with the same amenities and the addition of Fuji soak tubs. Corner rooms have East Village views.
Guest suites at Hotel Solamar come in three styles. Virtuoso Suite is a 450-square-foot junior suite with King bed. The suite has a full-size sleeper sofa in a separate sitting area and offers views of East Village. It has all the same luxury amenities as Deluxe Guestrooms plus a DVD player and a jetted tub. Honor bars are fully stocked including gourmet and organic treats.
Masters Suite is a larger corner suite at 570-square-feet. It has a King bed, full-size sleeper sofa in a separate living room, and offers Gaslamp Quarter and city views. It includes all the amenities of the Virtuoso, plus a second LCD flat-screen TV, and a Fuji soak tub and separate shower.
The Choreographer Suite is 725 square feet and overlooks Solamar Terrace from the fourth floor. It features a 42-inch plasma TV, spacious patio with outdoor furniture, sitting room with plush sofa and chairs, and a wetbar. It also has the same amenities as the Virtuoso. The Choreographer can connect to either a Deluxe King room or a Spa Guestroom to become a two-bedroom suite.
Accessible rooms and suites come in four styles. Deluxe Two Queen Guestrooms and Choreographer Suites have roll in showers with grab bars and handheld shower heads. Deluxe King Rooms and Masters Suites have accessible tubs with grab bars and handheld shower heads. Communications features are available in all accessible rooms and suites.
Hotel Solamar guestrooms and suites also include Wi-Fi, which is complimentary with Karma Rewards; a pillow menu of eight choices from hypoallergenic to down; in-room spa services; and yoga, Pilates, and core strengthening exercise programs on the TV. Complimentary essential travel items go beyond toothpaste and deodorant in the Forgot It? We’ve Got It! program, which includes a long list of items from device chargers to sewing kits to collar stays.
Hotel Solamar is a San Diego Platinum Level GreenLeader. The hotel uses nontoxic cleaning supplies, minimizes water consumption, extensively recycles – including an in-room recycling effort, and serves organic coffee. They’ve won green awards from Condé Nast World Savers and National Geo Tourism. The hotel also offers booking codes that donate a portion of your room rate to The Trust for Public Land (code: TPL) or The Nature Conservancy (code: TNC) – your choice. You also receive a 15% discount on your room for participating.
The pet-friendly program at Hotel Solamar is one of the most generous in San Diego with no restrictions on size, number, or breed of pets. All pets are welcome at no charge and receive pet beds, water bowls, and welcome treats. Conversely, guests who have allergies or are not fans of pets can request a room or suite on a pet-free floor during booking.
Tip: Cribs are complimentary; rollaway beds are available for a fee. Many guests recommend signing up for free Karma Rewards prior to booking to get complimentary in-room Wi-Fi and other benefits. (Be sure to read all the rules.) Some guests suggest rooms away from the pool are quieter.
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Solamar is a kid-, pet-, and eco-friendly boutique hotel, what more could you ask? This boutique-style hotel leaves nothing undone from their Forgot It? We’ve Got It! program to their Sunday morning poolside yoga sessions. Guests can enjoy complimentary morning coffee and tea, and complimentary evening SoCal hour with local beer and wine in the living room lobby.
The third-floor rooftop Solamar Terrace, pool, and LOUNGEsix bar offer guests relaxing entertainment from morning to night. You’ll find an outdoor heated pool surrounded by chaise loungers to soak up that Southern California sun. You can also rent adjacent cabanas with bottle service for more privacy. The terrace provides guests with skyline views in a tropical paradise. Palm trees, tropical plants, and comfortable shaded seating areas offer a relaxing place to sit back and enjoy a signature cocktail and savory bite to eat from LOUNGEsix. At night fire pits and strings of overhead lights add a romantic vibe to the terrace.
At Hotel Solamar, there is a distinct emphasis on wellness. The hotel provides a small fitness center with aerobic and strength equipment, or discounted day passes to Fit Athletic, a neighborhood gym. All rooms and suites have yoga mats and yoga programming on TVs; guests staying over on Saturday nights can indulge in poolside yoga sessions on Sunday mornings. Complimentary bikes are available for short rides, or the concierge will help arrange for bike rentals from The Bike Revolution. Ask the concierge for Downtown running/walking paths for another way to enjoy the fresh coastal air.
Under the direction of Executive Chef Christian Graves, JSix Restaurant serves artisan dishes from organic local produce, sustainably-sourced seafood, and whole butchered animals. Diners indulge in the freshest menu, right down to the house-made condiments and breads, and house-cured meats. There are also a number of gluten-free menu items.
Other hotel amenities include a full-service business center with computer and printer that is available 24 hours, an on-site ATM, full concierge services, valet parking on site, express check-in and check-out, and laundry and dry-cleaning services.
Note: Parking at the hotel is pricey, even with a discounted rate for hybrid cars. You can get far better rates at 6th & K Parkade if you don’t mind walking a block. You can contact them through their website for rates and information.
Neighborhood
Hotel Solamar’s East Village location is at the edge of the Gaslamp Quarter. Guests are within walking distance of the best of both neighborhoods. Across 6th Avenue is the new, glamorous Las Vegas-style Omnia nightclub, and past J Street on 7th Avenue is Moonshine Flats, a country-western dance hall. The hotel is surrounded by great restaurants too. The Blind Burro is just across J Street from the hotel on 7th Avenue. Burger Lounge, serving organic beef burgers is a block down Island Avenue on 5th Avenue, and Searsucker, at 5th Avenue and Market Street serves a trendy New American menu created by celebrity Chef Brian Malarkey.
The Chuck Jones Gallery, which is home to 60 years of Loony Toons artwork, features Bugs Bunny, Wile E Coyote, Daffy Duck, and friends at 5th Avenue and K Street. Petco Park, the San Diego Padres baseball stadium, is a seven-minute walk from the hotel at Tony Gwynn Drive (7th Avenue) and K Street. “Park at the Park” where visitors can catch the games on a grassy hillside for an old-time outside-the-fence experience is on K Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. The new San Diego Central Library is an architectural wonder at 11th Avenue and K. Another neighborhood architectural beauty is the nautically-themed Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge, one of the longest pedestrian suspension bridges in the world. It connects East Village to the San Diego Convention Center at its opposite end.
Promotions
Hotel Solamar offers its Karma Rewards Program, which is very generous and provides lots of exclusive perks. Many promotions are tied to area or seasonal events like Bowl Game, No Tie New Year’s Eve, and Stay Crafty packages. Find these and other promotions on their website. The hotel also offers AAA discounts and a Kimpton Global Business Program with special rates.