Fairmont Grand Del Mar

I went to the tea service with my wife. It was an incredible experience. I don’t know a lot about tea, but the staff guided me made me feel secure in my tea choice. It was great. My wife and I enjoyed the accompanying food options. Each one went well with tea and was delicious. The service throughout the service was just as great as the food and tea. We felt very much taken care of. We will be back!

We had the most delightful experience at The Fairmont Grand Del Mar. The vibe was truly a 5 star experience. Our room was immaculate and beautiful facing the pool. We enjoyed the gym the pool, horses and the manicured landscape. The room service breakfast was delicious and promptly and pleasantly served by Egor.
The best part of our trip was the staff. Lots of smiles and eager to assist.
Royal Service phone agent Nafi was unbelievable kind, personable and very knowledgeable. She assisted us throughout our trip and offered suggestions and recommendations.
Front desk check in/out was flawless, Juan and Vlad were engaging and also very professional. Offered lemonade, and Juan walked us to our room, was a nice touch.
Special shout out to the valet team. We met Sage, Eric, Brian, Brayden and Brent.
The entire team went above and beyond.
Thank you all, for a wonderful experience. Definitely will be back!

It’s a great place to visit and relax. The staff at check-in, valet and the lobby bar are all fantastic!

I’d like to give a special shout out and recognition to Diana Cortese, Director of Guest Experience and Kyra Bradley Director of Resort Experience for making our stay as enjoyable as possible. Additionally, Kyra’s magnificent husband and Chef William Bradley for a spectacular dining experience at Addison!

One small concerning negative at the GDM are the size and frequency of weddings at the resort and its impact on regular guests.

Valet parking was a disaster most of the time.
45 minute wait
Small simple adjustments to the valet service could cure the problems and lower valet expenses significantly for the hotel!!!
I can’t believe mgt doesn’t operate this service better!
I’m willing to meet the manager for 15 minutes and solve all the issues.
Mike Talla

Great place for families with young kids. The staff is so kind to the kids and helpful! There is a lot of activities for the whole family you don’t have to leave the property. The service is really outstanding. Neil at the front was especially great- his attention to detail made the trip memorable.

We had a comfortable 5 day stay at the Grand. The entire stay started off well with Neil at front desk. Everyone should take a page from his book on hospitality. We have been to a lot of great hotels over the years and only rarely come across someone like him. Professional and welcoming with genuine warmth.

The property is large. We had a daily agenda away from the hotel but look forward to taking better advantage of the pool, pickleball court, spa and even the driving range next time. We also appreciated its location. It feels removed but still close enough to everything we wanted to be near.

The only real downside for us were the food options. We have a lot of dietary restrictions and found the food options lacking. However, there are plenty of options away from the hotel. There were a few other service/hospitality hiccups but overall a very restful stay. Look forward to our next visit.

Everything was 5 star. Only issue was they allowed a large wedding party to block out the spa and adult pool one day which meant my wife and I were crammed into the family pool which was basically a kid circus. Mgmt should have warned at the time of booking.

We chose the Fairmont Grand Del Mar for a golf getaway to celebrate milestone birthdays in both of the couples comprising our foursome. We were all thoroughly delighted with the experience! Our accommodations were above par—spacious, luxurious and comfortable. The buildings and grounds were beautifully designed and maintained, adding to the sense of being away from it all. The golf course was both eye-catching and challenging. The staff were courteous and attentive, contributing to the sense of luxury and convenience. What we planned as a golf getaway turned out to be an elegant escape that we would enjoy repeating in the future.

We love staying at the Fairmont Grand at least once a year. We love to stay in the signature pool rooms right off the adult pool however those rooms were booked. Our room (145) was in the garden area just a short way from the pool. The only complaint we have is that the outside area just beyond our firepit was nothing but weeds. Please take a look as there are several pot holes that could easily be the cause of a broken or sprained ankle. For such a luxury hotel we expected a nicely landscaped area to enjoy while we were sitting outside.

The room was nice and spacious, however, even though we arrived on time to check in we were told that our room was not ready and we had to wait for 3 hours before we could get into our room! Also they gave us only few towels and the house keeping service was very poor for a 4-5 star hotel! Like Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton

We visited the hotel for dining many times about 10 years ago and loved the food, service and spectacular ambience. The hotel and grounds are still stunning. We ate at Amaya (as we had done many times in the past).It was challenging to find something that we liked on the menu. It was expensive and had poor choices and food preparation. We ate at the Clubhouse Grill the following day for lunch. It was terrible. Service was fine, food awful. The hotel was freezing cold in the hallways. Our room was 64 degrees. We used to love the hotel. Now it is simply awful.

Our three nights at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar were,in a word, marvelous! The rooms are spacious and comfortably appointed. Every single staff member we encountered was well trained, courteous, friendly, & welcoming. The food was exceptional. I was with my son, daughter-in-law and seven & three-year-old grandsons. Each and every one of us cannot wait to return. To illustrate how much we enjoyed the resort: we had planned day trips to the zoo and the beach but we never left the property. On our next visit, I’m bringing my riding boots!

What an amazing hotel. From the minute you arrive it’s like a trip to the coast of europe but better. With some luck, Neil will check you in and set the standard for excellence you will get for your stay. We dream of our next trip back to the wonderful hotel.

The people at the front desk are so helpful.
I had a problem and they helped me resolve it. I thank Vlad, Tristan, and Truit
Wonderful People

I had a great stay with my daughter and dog and our room had dog bowls and a bed for our pup. The grounds were beautiful and the staff were professional and so kind. Our stay was amazing!

I had previously stayed at the grand a few years ago and had a great experience. I will say I was disappointed with our room. The room felt very damp, our room was missing hand towels and enough bath towels for the 4 of us. We had ants in our closet. If you have your do not disturb on they will not knock on the door, they should have explained that at check in. They seemed under staffed in the restaurant. All of our meals took forever. Also the bartender in the upstairs bar seemed annoyed to help us. We did not receive the 5 star level of service that you would expect.

I want to commend the excellent and outstanding service we received from Carson at the Family Pool last Friday. He was so personable and attentive. He led us to our daybed cabana and from that moment on, we had the best service and attention I have ever received. Kudos to the Fairmont for hiring such an exceptional young man!

We booked through American Express Platinum Card holder travel program. The hotel occupies a sprawling area with gorgeous landscaping and a vast offering of activities. Loved having a dedicated adult pool with plenty of chairs + umbrellas away from the family / kid pool. We also were pleased to take advantage of the complimentary car service and applaud how courteous our driver, Oscar, was while dropping us to our dinner destination in La Jolla.

However, there were several areas below expectations that we would have appreciated being privy to prior to booking. First, the hotel is in serious need of an update - interiors scream 1990s with dark cherry wood, old carpet, and rod iron staircase fixtures among other dated design elements. We have stayed in many Fairmont properties featuring modern decor and aesthetics; the Fairmont Grand Del Mar is NOT one of them. Next - we nearly fell out of our pool chairs when receiving the $28 guacamole ordered for a snack. It quite literally came in a tiny bowl sized only slightly larger than a Dixie cup containing no more than 3 tablespoons. While we certainly expect higher than normal food pricing at a resort, $30 for a dollop of dip is a whole new level of insanity. Another note about the pool - there is just ONE restroom in proximity. After waiting 15 minutes one day, I ended up walking back to the room to use the restroom because there didn't seem to be another closer option. Third - any time we approached the front desk or concierge with a quick question, it seemed to require an exorbitant amount of time as the staff were either not prepared to guide visitors (e.g. unable to answer seemingly easy "what's the best place to get fish tacos in town?") or failed to recognize the mounting line of guests forming as they incessantly carried on flirty banter with a young woman checking in (not to mention the staff member volunteered her a 15% discount at the onsite spa following their extended exchange; we were not offered the same generous welcome upon check in). Finally, despite having our "do not disturb" sign on the first night of our stay, we were abruptly woken up by the room phone ringing from the front desk letting us know someone was at our door to drop off a pack of chocolate almonds courtesy of American Express Travel. Truly have never been so exasperated - if a guest has do not disturb on...don't call and wake them up especially at 11pm. Come back in the morning with the non-perishable gift once the DND status has been removed. With the service standard normally exceptional at Fairmont properties, we were flabbergasted when this occurred. Overall based on these and other observations, I do not think it is worth the price and would go elsewhere in the same price range next time we stay in the area.

We booked this hotel for 6 days as part of our stay at San Diego. We wanted to experience a premium stay in USA, and loved the experience. It is a massive property in very quiet surroundings. We got a beautiful room with a balcony. The swimming pools were also very lovely.
The room itself was large and very comfortable. The bathroom was massive and well compartmentalized. Every day, the hotel staff would keep a relaxing perfume that we used before sleeping
Breakfast was great though there is a lack of variety - I guess we are used to lavish buffets in Asia.
The staff was brilliant - right from the parking attendants to reception to the staff at the restaurants, they were very courteous and non invasive.
We went during the world cup and lo and behold, the Swiss football team was camping at the hotel. Unfortunately they were kept secluded without any of the room guests also allowed near them.

The hotel was also not airing the world cup soccer games nor the NBA finals in the rooms - that was a little disappointing considering that we were staying in a premium property.

Everything about this hotel was AMAZING. It was beautiful and extremely peaceful. The atmosphere of the hotel was something I hadn't experienced before. The staff was exceptional.