Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa

It’s so close to beach 7 min walk and just so easy to walk back and forth along w great amenities and extra things to do in the evenings at the resort.

Great location

Catamaran Resort and Spa – Average at best, and a real letdown given the price and location
We stayed at the Catamaran Resort and Spa expecting a solid San Diego beach experience. What we got was disappointing.
Check-in was basic they just handed us a key. Then came the $55 parking charge, which felt steep. The rooms themselves feel old and dated and are in desperate need of a full refit. We were placed in a tower room that faced the car park. If the room descriptions had been clearer about views and building type, we would have booked a proper beach-facing room outside the tower. Paying premium rates for an outdated space with that outlook felt like a waste.
Beach facilities were also underwhelming. Beyond roughly 20 wooden deck chairs (all taken by 11 a.m.), there was nothing special available. Like others have noted, it almost feels as if they expect you to bring your own beds and umbrellas. The pool is tiny and constantly crowded, so that wasn’t much of an alternative either.
The location itself is excellent — that’s the one clear positive. You’re right by the water in a great spot. Unfortunately the property doesn’t live up to it. The rooms are too expensive for what you actually get, and the overall experience never rose above average.
Would only recommend if you can lock in a confirmed ocean-view room outside the tower and go in with very modest expectations. Otherwise, look elsewhere.

Good location

The beachfront access is great rom the rooms. Beachfront Room smells musty.
Restaurant was mediocre on a good day. Can’t believe they have an OpenTable rating of 4.5.

Brunch was ok, dinner, absolutely terrible. Wine list is bad too. Good mixed drinks, the only redeemable quality.

Very relaxing and comfortable grounds, great staff. Easy access to beach, bay, and yummy restaurants nearby.

Visited with family while our friends were there. The rooms are updated, but they are just in theme of the hotel. It’s a beautiful property and well maintained. Very Hawaiian esque atmosphere. The parking garage is convenient and the location is great too.

The one thing I have beef about is when you are dining at the restaurants on site they have a 5% surcharge for rising costs at the bottom of the invoice. If you are going to do that, you should just charge the price you want to charge on the menu. It’s ridiculous to assume you’re advertising food at one price then charge a surcharge at the end.

I don’t remember seeing the surcharge on the actual menu which is required but I could have missed it.

I’ll start with the positive, the location is great. You are seconds from the iconic mission beach. But if you want a vacation with a little special touch or some luxury do not stay. We were told we had the best room. View was great of the bay. But the room was outdated , dark and had a level of grime. The pool is like a disney low rent vibe, there was diaper next to us the whole time that wasn’t removed. The service at the front desk was terrible / they have no personality or care. They do the bare minimum. All the pavements and stairs are so dirty needs a deep power wash. For the price it’s robbery. We left early to have a more plush setting. We stayed due to plans and location! Free cookies if you are able to score one.

Loved it!

NONE! I'm so unsatisfied with the room! it smelled like mildew, there was moisture in the room. The couch felt damp, my clothes felt damp. We as Mexicans were judged. Coffee shop girls had attitude. We were sitting on the mission bay in the hotel chairs and got kicked off!! Spending what I spent to stay there 4days was so not worth it!! I regret staying!!

The location and activities offered at the resort

Our experience at the Catamaran was absolutely unacceptable and honestly one of the most disturbing hotel experiences I have ever had.
We had a major sewage backup in our room where the toilet overflowed and approximately two inches of sewage flooded the bathroom and spread into the hallway. There was sewage throughout the bathroom, including feces in the shower. At that point, the room was clearly not sanitary or appropriate for us to continue using.
What made the situation significantly worse was how management handled it.
We spoke with Liz G., the manager, and despite the severity of the sewage backup, she did absolutely nothing to accommodate us with another clean, sanitized room. We were not offered a room change or a credit for the room that had been contaminated. Instead, maintenance was brought into the room with what appeared to be a spray bottle of disinfectant to try to clean up the sewage contamination while we were expected to remain in the room.
We simply wanted access to a clean, sanitary bathroom and shower after having raw sewage flood ours. Rather than providing reasonable accommodations, we were told we would need to pay for another room just to have access to a clean shower.
The way management treated us afterward was equally upsetting. While I was discussing what had happened, Liz G. threatened to call the police if I did not stop talking to other guests near me about our experience. I was not asking for anything unreasonable—I was trying to address the fact that our hotel bathroom had just been flooded with sewage and we were being denied another sanitary room.
A sewage backup of this magnitude should have been treated as a serious sanitation issue. At the absolute minimum, I would have expected management to immediately relocate us to a clean room, professionally address the contaminated area, and make an appropriate adjustment to our bill.
Instead, we were left feeling as though management was more concerned with minimizing the situation than taking care of their guests.
I would strongly caution anyone considering staying here. The sewage backup itself was horrible, but the response from management—particularly the refusal to provide a sanitary replacement room and the threat to call the police while I discussed the situation—was what made this experience completely unacceptable.

My son and I stayed at catamaran for one night. We were scheduled for four nights. The resort itself was nice. The food was excellent. The location great. The outdoor areas nice and clean. The gym was well equipped and clean. The problem was the room. It was dirty. The rooms are extremely outdated. The bed sheet smelled. There was trash behind the bed and under the bed had not been vacuumed in what looked like years. The shower curtain was falling apart. The curtains were yellowed. It’s was gross. We managed one night and then switched hotels. If they would up grade their rooms the resort would be near perfect.