Empress Hotel La Jolla

Reviews

• AB

  Audrey Brooks

  2 days ago
  5.0
  This place blew me away! The location is perfect! Walking distance from the beach and shops, not too far but not too close. The beds are so comfortable and the rooms are well decorated that feel at home. The garden room was a very pleasant surprise, I loved having my breakfast outside in the beautiful weather. The staff is very friendly and welcoming. The restaurant downstairs is such a unique plus! This place deserves way more credit!! If I could give 10 stars I would.
• PD

  Pete Dahlberg

  5 days ago
  5.0
  Great location, easy secure parking, walking distance to shops and restaurants. The staff was fantastic.
• AV

  Andrew Vaysman

  6 days ago
  1.0
  DO NOT STAY HERE! The room, while spacious, was extremely hot, the AC not functional, and the air extremely humid and thick. The staff were not helpful in getting this resolved and it made our stay extremely uncomfortable. I would avoid and choose an alternative option.
• MC

  Megan Chapman

  Sep 16, 2026
  3.0
  Was unfortunately disappointed by the empress. The hotel is in the perfect location, walking distance to shops, restaurants, the beach - doesn’t get much better. I wanted to love it! Also super safe surrounding area. The hotel itself is equivalent to a motel 6. Super old, outdated. The first room I was in was like a dark cave with mold around the bathroom, super dated flooring and a sunken bed. The second room thankfully was nicer brighter and clean and appeared to be without mold. By the elevators downstairs there’s moldy ceiling tiles. Not to mention the AC does not work. I had trouble sleeping in the humid muggy room. I had the room set at 65 the whole time and the AC actually went up to 73 while I was there. The front desk staff was very friendly and nice, would not stay at again despite the great location.
• SF

  Stephanie Freeman

  Sep 15, 2026
  4.0
  The Empress was clean, crisp and quiet with a fantastic location and the beds were super super comfortable. Manhattan restaurant was expensive but extremely enjoyable and the jazz was fantastic. It’s a sweet boutique hotel with a nice breezy feel and hits all the right notes breakfast could’ve been a little bit better and although they advertise that they would Caterer to people’s dietary needs they seemed to completely flustered by my request for sugar-free yogurt.. And the woman who was supervising the breakfast buffet, kind of yelled at me for using two paper cups of coffee for installation instead of one which was kind of funny but a little bit surprising at 7 AM…, but otherwise everything was fantastic.

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