Palihotel San Diego Review: Inside the 1913 St. James

The Sixth Avenue facade. The storefront marked FRENCH DINER is the restaurant at number 828, and the hotel entrance is 830. This building was once called the Hotel St. James.Photo courtesy of Fora Travel

Palihotel San Diego Gaslamp Quarter sits at 830 Sixth Avenue in the Gaslamp historic district, with 122 rooms, and it opened in May 2023. The building is much older. A century ago it was the Hotel St. James, the tallest building in San Diego when it went up, with an observation room on the eleventh floor. That floor is now a roof deck reserved for guests, and the original sign still stands beside it.

This piece walks one place per page, from the green awning on the street to the eleventh floor. Along the way it covers the century-old elevators still in service, the 165 square foot entry room, and a rate table with no resort fee anywhere on it. About twenty five minutes.

The last page carries a checklist of twelve things. Three of them cost nothing, most guests never get around to them, and all of them are inside the building or within five minutes of the door. Take your time.

1 / 12 A 1912 building holding 122 rooms 3 min

中文版：聖地牙哥 Palihotel，一頁一個地方走完 →

01 · THE BASICS

A building from 1912, now holding 122 rooms

Palihotel San Diego stands on Sixth Avenue in the Gaslamp historic district behind a green awning and white tile, under a sign that reads 830 PALIHOTEL. The building is part of the historic district itself. When it went up it was the tallest structure in the city and it was called the Hotel St. James. The room count went from 146 then to 122 now. The floors did not change.

Position	Palihotel, part of Palisociety, and the only one in San Diego. Owner Dovetail + Co, which bought the building in 2021. Design by Palisociety, with PGAL as architect of record. Opened May 23, 2023
Building	Formerly the Hotel St. James. Sources disagree: the Palisociety site and the booking systems say 1912, the San Diego Architectural Foundation says 1913, and the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation dates completion to 1911. All three numbers are in circulation
Floors	Sources disagree: the press release places guest rooms across 10 floors with the roof deck on the eleventh story, both foundations describe an 11 story building, and the historical marker on the street calls it ten stories
Size	122 rooms, including two accessible categories, the Queen ADA and the King Suite ADA. The original count was 146
Address	830 Sixth Ave, San Diego, CA 92101, United States. The restaurant is number 828, and heritage listings record the building as 844 Sixth Avenue
Phone	+1 619-870-8986
Check in / out	Check in 3:00 PM, check out 11:00 AM. Early arrival is not guaranteed; call on the morning of arrival, and bags can be stored if the room is not ready
Getting there	San Diego International Airport 3.5 miles, about 10 minutes by car. Petco Park 0.5 miles, Seaport Village 0.7 miles, USS Midway Museum 0.9 miles, Balboa Park 1.3 miles, San Diego Zoo 1.6 miles. The beaches are about 15 minutes by car
Parking	Valet only, $65 plus tax per day, with in and out privileges. Short-term dining valet is $15 for two hours. There is no self parking
Fees outside the rate	No resort fee, no destination fee, no amenity fee. The breakdown and the arithmetic are on page 7
What is not here	No fitness center, stated plainly in the official FAQ. No pool. No rollaway beds. Cribs are complimentary, subject to availability
Booking channels	On the Fora Reserve list. See page 8

The scale needs stating up front, because this is a different animal from the big waterfront hotels in the same city. It has 122 rooms, no gym, no pool, no meeting floor and no garage of its own. The resources sit in three places: the restaurant on the ground floor, the original material in the public spaces, and the roof on eleven. Whether you stay comes down to whether those three are what you want.

HOW TO PLAN IT

• From the airport3.5 miles and about ten minutes. A car ride is the simplest option, and you do not need a vehicle in this district.
• Driving inKnow first that valet is the only option, at $65 plus tax per day. Guest reports mention cheaper municipal garages nearby, though locations and prices move, so confirm before you arrive.
• For a workoutThere is no gym in the building. The official FAQ points to the neighborhood guide, and there are several studios within 200 meters on Sixth Avenue.

02 · PUBLIC SPACES

The ceiling was uncovered. The elevators were kept.

Walk in and the front desk is on your right. Look up and there is a thirteen foot pressed tin ceiling. Look down and there is hexagon tile. Farther in there is a marble staircase. All of it is original. The renovation stripped away the drywall and carpet added later, and what sat underneath was largely intact. The building's most talked about feature is on this floor too: the original elevators, still running.

The elevator lobby. Two brass doors with stained glass transoms above. Official material describes this as the restored original elevator bank.Photo courtesy of Fora Travel

Lobby	Ground floor, front desk on the right as you enter. A complimentary candy bar sits in the lobby and the selection changes
Original fabric kept	Pressed tin ceilings at 13 feet, hexagon tile floors, a marble staircase, stained glass, chandeliers, and the two story Hotel St. James sign on the roof
Elevators	Two. The press release calls them the restored original elevator bank and gives no year. Advisor and guest accounts consistently say 1913 and describe birdcage metalwork with double doors
How they actually run	Advisor reviews and public platform reviews agree closely here: slow, small, and frequently only one of the two is in service. It is the most repeated sentence about this hotel anywhere
Stairs	The marble staircase is original and doubles as the alternative when the elevators are backed up. Several accounts conclude that walking is faster than waiting
Wi-Fi	Complimentary throughout. Reviews mention an unreliable signal, with the front desk handing out a backup network
Concierge	No separate concierge desk. The front desk handles recommendations and there is a neighborhood guide
Private spaces	A private dining room seats up to 30. Weddings are hosted for up to 279 guests
Smoking	Smoke free throughout, indoors and in communal outdoor areas, including vaping

The lobby. Dark walls, rattan chairs, plaid upholstery, and pressed tin overhead. The floor is hexagon tile, lifted out from under carpet during the renovation.Photo courtesy of Fora Travel

HUMAN FACTORS REVIEWIn a 1912 building the elevator shaft dimensions were set in 1912. Each of the two cars holds a few people and one suitcase, the speed is a century old, and maintenance has to respect the restoration scope, so parts cannot simply be swapped out. That makes "one of them is being serviced" a normal state rather than an incident. It lands hardest on three groups: people with large luggage, people on high floors in a hurry, and people with mobility needs. Page 4 handles the last of those on its own.

A FEW TIMES OF DAY

• On arrivalLook up at the ceiling, then down at the floor. Those two are the most valuable things in the building and they cost nothing.
• In a hurryTake the marble stairs. Guest accounts reach the same conclusion: waiting takes longer than climbing.
• Departure dayStart downstairs fifteen minutes earlier than you think. Both cars are busiest around eleven.

03 · ROOMS

Palihotel San Diego room types: the entry room is 165 square feet, and that is the headline

Put the number on the table first. The Queen runs 165 to 190 square feet, which is 15 to 18 square meters. The King is a touch smaller at 165 to 175. This is not a matter of marketing language, it is a matter of a 1912 floor plan. For deciding whether you will be comfortable, this page matters more than any other.

A guest room. Custom millwork folds the wardrobe, the minibar and the work surface into a single piece of furniture, which is how every function fits into a small floor area.Photo courtesy of Fora Travel

The Queen	165 to 190 square feet (15 to 18 square meters), one queen bed, sleeps 2. Rain shower
The Queen ADA	210 to 220 square feet (20 square meters), one queen bed, sleeps 2. The official spec reads "accessible bathtub or walk-in shower", the only mention of a tub anywhere in the room list
The King	165 to 175 square feet (15 to 16 square meters), one king bed, sleeps 2. Rain shower
The Grand King	260 square feet (24 square meters), one king bed, sleeps 2. Adds a sofa and ottoman
The King Suite	340 square feet (32 square meters), king plus sleeper sofa, sleeps 4. Double vanity
The King Suite ADA	400 square feet (37 square meters), king plus sleeper sofa, sleeps 4. ADA walk-in shower with a seat
The Deluxe King Suite	410 square feet (38 square meters), king plus sleeper sofa, sleeps 4. The largest category in the hotel
In the room	Bellino linens, Diptyque bath products, robes, a Nespresso machine, a SMEG mini fridge, a fully stocked minibar, a laptop safe, and a rotary style telephone
Extra beds	No rollaway beds. Cribs are complimentary, subject to availability
Storage	Public platforms and advisor reviews line up here: storage runs short and there is nowhere to open a suitcase. The minibar stock takes up the fridge and the shelf
Daylight	Varies by room. Advisor reviews mention some standard rooms getting little light, while other guest accounts describe a large window and good light. You can ask for a bright room when booking

Another room layout. The hanging space is open rather than a closed wardrobe, which is one of the costs of 165 square feet.Photo courtesy of Fora Travel

WHAT FOLLOWS FROM THE STRUCTURE165 square feet is roughly the bedroom of a small city apartment. The size was not trimmed to save money, it came from the 1912 drawing: 146 rooms sat on these same floor plates, and the corridors, risers and elevator shafts have not moved in a century. The answer here is millwork, one built piece that absorbs the wardrobe, the minibar, the desk and the television. The cost of that answer is that a suitcase has no home. Two nights fits. Five nights starts to press. For space, step up one level: the Grand King at 260 square feet is nearly double the entry room.

HOW TO PLAN IT

• Two nights plusBook the Grand King or above. 260 square feet and 165 square feet are two different ways to live.
• Four peopleOnly the three suite categories sleep four, and all of them do it with a king plus a sleeper sofa. There is no two-bed room and no rollaway.
• For lightWrite "a room with good natural light" into the booking notes. It varies by room, so asking is the only way in.
• Big luggageDecide in advance where the case will lie open. Rooms at this level have no luggage bench.

04 · BATHROOMS AND ACCESS

Does Palihotel San Diego have bathtubs? Only one category says so

The short answer first. The only category whose official spec mentions a tub is The Queen ADA, and even there the wording is "accessible bathtub or walk-in shower", meaning the same category can go either way. Every other category is listed with a rain shower. If a bath matters, it has to be assigned room by room and confirmed in writing.

Standard fit-out	Rain shower, single vanity, brass fittings, striped tile. The King Suite has a double vanity
Products	Diptyque. Robes and Bellino linens
Sources disagree	The official room pages list every non-accessible category with a rain shower, while photographs published by guests show a tub with a shower over it. The two cannot be matched to the same category. Confirm in writing if a bath is required
Vanity	Several guest accounts note a small counter with little room for toiletries, which follows from the size of the bathroom
Accessible categories	The Queen ADA at 210 to 220 square feet, and the King Suite ADA at 400 square feet with a walk-in shower and a seat
The official line	The FAQ states accessible features at registration, in guest rooms, along pathways and in public spaces, and directs detailed questions to info@palihotelsd.com. Palisociety also publishes a group-wide accessibility statement
The limit to know	Advisor reviews reach one shared conclusion: the century-old elevators are a real barrier for travelers with mobility needs, one of the two is often out of service, and client accounts include a guest with a cane finding it hard going
Not published	Any list of braille signage, assistive listening devices or visual alarms, and the accessible route to the roof deck

This section deserves the extra length, because it is the part of this hotel most easily buried under good photography. The official wording is complete and the lived accounts are consistent, and the two describe different things: the building received an accessibility fit-out, and the vertical circulation is a hundred years old. Both are true at once.

THREE THINGS TO ASK ON THE PHONE

• For a tub"Please assign a room with a bathtub and confirm the room or category in writing." The spec page will not answer this.
• For accessSay whether you use a wheelchair or a cane, then ask directly whether both elevators are currently running. That question matters more than the room type.
• For the roofAsk how the eleventh floor deck is reached and whether an elevator serves it. The route is not published anywhere.

05 · FOOD AND DRINK

Where is breakfast at Palihotel San Diego? The French diner downstairs, open at seven

Saint James French Diner occupies the ground floor at 828 Sixth Avenue, next door to the hotel entrance. The concept is the frame of an American diner with the cooking of a French bistro, under chef Casey Lane. It trades to the public and it is the only restaurant in the building. Breakfast starts at seven, which is early for this district.

Location	Ground floor, 828 Sixth Avenue, next to the hotel entrance and also reachable from the lobby
Breakfast	Monday to Friday 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM, Saturday and Sunday 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Lunch	Monday to Friday 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Brunch	Saturday and Sunday 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Happy hour	Weekdays 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM, with its own menu
Dinner	Daily 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Bar	Daily until 10:00 PM
The cooking	Official copy names French classics: shared mussels, ratatouille, burgers. Plates to share plus a drink
Reservations	Walk-ins welcome, and reservations through OpenTable
Dining parking	Short-term valet, $15 for two hours
Where reviews land	The restaurant is the steadiest thing in this hotel's reviews. Cocktails and food draw praise on all three platforms, with only scattered reservations about breakfast

Weekdays, three to six

Stack the hours and the best window in the building is a weekday afternoon between three and six. Happy hour runs downstairs during exactly that stretch, and bar service on the eleventh floor roof deck starts at three as well. The two floors offer completely different prices and completely different air, and they are open at the same time. If you have to choose, go up when the weather is good and stay down when it is ordinary.

HOW TO PLAN IT

• First morningThe seven o'clock stretch is the calmest. Weekends open an hour later, and this district wakes up late on weekends anyway.
• Weekday PMHappy hour from three to six has its own menu. It is the best value hour the building offers.
• DinnerService ends at nine. Gaslamp gets going much later than that, so eating in first works well.
• Driving to eatShort-term valet is $15 for two hours, far below the overnight arithmetic.

06 · THE ROOF

The eleventh floor, and a sign written backwards

The roof deck is for registered guests only, open daily from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM, with bar service from 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The most prominent object on it is a two story steel and neon sign reading Hotel St. James. It was built to face the street, so from the deck side you read those words in reverse.

Hours	Daily 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM, registered guests only
Bar service	Daily 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Food service sits with the restaurant, and the roof carries a short guest-only menu
The view	Official copy says 360 degree city views. Guest accounts describe the downtown skyline and the bay direction
That sign	The original two story steel and neon Hotel St. James sign, kept through the renovation and standing beside the deck
Seating	Outdoor sofas, scalloped umbrellas, potted olive trees, checkerboard paving
Worth knowing	Public platforms and advisor reviews both note that the roof closes early or goes private for events, weekends included. Do not make it the only plan for the day
Getting up there	The route is not published. The advisor review summary says stairs only, and the guest elevators serve ten floors. Anyone needing an accessible route should ask first

WORTH TAKING SLOWLY When this sign went up, the building under it was the tallest in San Diego. Today everything around it is taller, the sign is still in place, and the letters still face the street. It was never put there for the people sitting beside it, and you are now sitting beside it. Between nine in the morning and three in the afternoon there is no bar service, which means nobody comes to ask what you want. Those six hours are the quietest place in the building.

HOW TO PLAN IT

• MorningIt opens at nine with no service until three. Bring a cup from the Nespresso machine in the room, and the deck is usually empty.
• Late afternoonBar service runs three to nine. The hour around sunset fills first, so arrive early for a seat.
• Before you go upAsk the front desk whether the deck is booked for an event today. This comes up repeatedly in reviews.
• For photographsThe reversed side faces you. To shoot the front of the sign, go down to the street and look up.

07 · COSTS

Palihotel San Diego rates: $213 for the night, and the bill is only tax

This page takes one night apart. The sample is October 1 to October 2, 2026, one night, two adults, checked on August 23, 2026. Every figure is a native US dollar quote from a booking system with no currency conversion.

Published opening rates and totals with tax

The Queen	165 to 190 square feet, sleeps 2. From $184 per night, $213 for the night with tax
The Queen ADA	210 to 220 square feet, sleeps 2. From $184 per night, $213 with tax
The King	165 to 175 square feet, sleeps 2. From $202 per night, $235 with tax
The Grand King	260 square feet, sleeps 2. From $221 per night, $257 with tax
The King Suite	340 square feet, sleeps 4. From $247 per night, $287 with tax
The King Suite ADA	400 square feet, sleeps 4. From $247 per night, $287 with tax
The Deluxe King Suite	410 square feet, sleeps 4. From $247 per night, $287 with tax

Charges outside the room rate

Resort / destination / amenity fee	None of them. The official FAQ lists no such charge, and none can be found in the arithmetic
Tax	The total with tax equals the room rate multiplied by exactly 1.1599. That multiplier matches an Accommodation Tax of 13.75%, a San Diego Tourism Assessment of 2% and a California Tourism Assessment of 0.24%, for 15.99%, the same combination another hotel in this city discloses officially
Valet	$65 plus tax per day with in and out privileges. No self parking
Dining valet	$15 for two hours
Dogs	Under 30 pounds, $100 plus tax per stay. Bed, bowl, toy and treats included. One dog per room, and dogs cannot be left alone in the room
Cribs	Complimentary, subject to availability. No rollaway beds
Minibar	Charged separately. Accounts describe a wide selection at fair prices, and note that it occupies the fridge and the shelf

Check the arithmetic yourself

Take the entry room: $184.00 multiplied by 1.1599 is $213.42, and the system shows $213. The King: $202.00 multiplied by 1.1599 is $234.30, shown as $235. The Grand King: $221.00 multiplied by 1.1599 is $256.34, shown as $257. Three categories line up, and there is no room in between for a fixed fee of any kind. That is what "no resort fee" looks like on a bill.

WHAT FOLLOWS FROM THE STRUCTUREThe big waterfront hotel across town adds a flat $58 per night outside the room rate. This one adds nothing. The difference is not generosity, it is product: that $58 buys a pool, a gym and a food credit, and this building has neither a pool nor a gym. Parking reverses the comparison. Valet is the only option here at $65 a day, which is more than most hotels with their own garage. People who arrive without a car do well. People who drive do not.

Why this is the price

Early October in San Diego is the tail of the warm season, with settled weather and the summer families gone. October 1 in the sample is a Thursday. What moves rates in this district is the Convention Center calendar and the Padres schedule, and when the two overlap the whole Gaslamp Quarter climbs together. Checking the Convention Center calendar for your dates beats any comparison-site technique.

HOW TO PLAN IT

• Before bookingLook up the Convention Center calendar. Gaslamp rates follow it.
• ComparingNo fixed fee needs adding here. The total with tax is the rate times 1.1599, which is quick mental arithmetic.
• Driving in$65 plus tax a day. If you are staying downtown throughout, leaving the car at the airport keeps things simpler.
• With a dog30 pounds is a hard line. Above it, look elsewhere.

08 · BOOKING

No points to redeem, so a channel brings something else

Palisociety runs no loyalty program that redeems for free nights, and the official FAQ answers the question about the best rate by pointing at the offers page on its own site. Collecting points toward a free night does not apply here. What can be negotiated is the condition of the day you arrive. This hotel sits on the Fora Reserve list.

Fora channel amenities	A welcome amenity; a room upgrade subject to availability; extended check-in and check-out subject to availability
Loyalty	No group points program that redeems for free nights
What guests report	Client feedback includes upgrades to a suite, drink vouchers for the restaurant handed over at check in, and a welcome gift through the advisor channel
Direct	The official FAQ recommends checking the offers page on the hotel site for direct booking deals

Where the advisor channel actually earns its place here

Not in the welcome amenity. The three things listed earlier all have to be written down at the time of booking and then confirmed with the hotel by somebody: whether the room has a tub (page 4), whether it gets good light (page 3), and how the elevators and the roof work for a traveler with mobility needs (pages 4 and 6). A room upgrade also means more here than at most hotels, because the gap between 165 and 260 square feet is the largest difference this building has to offer. Tommy is an independent advisor with Fora, and the package above is what that channel provides.

Extended check-out is unusually useful here. This building has no gym and no pool, so once you check out there is nowhere to be. Bags go behind the desk and the rest is the street. Two extra hours is the difference between packing calmly and packing in the corridor.

WHAT TO DO WHEN BOOKING

• Write it downTub, daylight, floor. All three in the notes, with written confirmation requested.
• Ask one thingWhether both elevators are running on your arrival date. With mobility needs or heavy luggage, that is the practical question.
• Departure dayNegotiate late check-out in advance. There is nothing in this building to fill the gap.

09 · REVIEWS COLLECTED

3.9 and 4.4, the same hotel

Tripadvisor gives it 3.9 across 154 reviews, ranking it 154th of 260 San Diego hotels. Inside the Fora system advisors give it 4.4 across 12 reviews and their clients give it 4.4 across 34. Booking.com carries more than a thousand reviews. Same hotel, half a point apart, and the reason for the gap can be stated plainly.

Praised repeatedly

• Location. The middle of Gaslamp, Petco Park 0.5 miles, restaurants and bars on foot
• Design and historic character, the most mentioned item, with words clustering around personality and the absence of a chain feel
• The eleventh floor roof deck and the city view
• Food and cocktails at Saint James French Diner
• Friendly staff, with individual employees named
• Cleanliness, which a century-old building does not usually win unanimously
• Comfortable beds and well regarded linens

Criticized repeatedly

• The century-old elevators are slow and small, and one of the two is frequently out of service. The single most concentrated complaint on every platform
• Small rooms and short storage, with nowhere to put luggage
• Street noise through single pane windows, in a district that runs late
• Loud air conditioning units, one account comparing them to an engine
• Heavy corridor doors that bang shut
• The roof deck closing early or going private for events
• Housekeeping is not automatic daily, and has to be requested in advance
• Wi-Fi dropping out, with the front desk offering a backup network
• Valet at $65 a day and no self parking
• No fitness center

HOW TO READ THE TWO SCORESAdvisors and their clients arrive briefed. They know the rooms are small, the elevators are slow and dinner is a walk away, and they pay for the design and the location anyway. Public platform scores mix in another group, who walk into a 1912 building carrying the expectations of an ordinary four star hotel, and the gap goes into the review. Both numbers are honest, they are simply measuring different things. It also explains why cleanliness, staff and design score high on both sides while elevators, room size and noise only detonate on one.

WHAT FOLLOWS FROM THE STRUCTUREThe criticism splits in two. The part that cannot be fixed comes from a 1912 plan and 1913 machinery: the size and speed of the elevators, the floor area of the rooms, single pane windows, and the absence of any floor plate to put a gym on. All of it was settled on the day the building was bought. The fixable part is the air conditioning noise, the housekeeping cadence, the Wi-Fi and the window cleaning. That part moves, so a review from two years ago is not today.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN REVIEWS

• DatesThe hotel opened in 2023, and early operational details have largely been adjusted since. For food and drink, read only the last year.
• Room typeMost people complaining about size were in the 165 square foot tier. Check which category they had.
• Day of weekNoise complaints cluster on Friday and Saturday. Sixth Avenue on a weekday is a different street.

10 · THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Sleeping in the middle of the nightlife

The Gaslamp Quarter is sixteen blocks with the highest concentration of restaurants and bars in San Diego, and the hotel is on Sixth Avenue inside it. That is the single biggest thing in its favor and also the source of the noise line in every review. A great deal is walkable. The price is Friday and Saturday night.

Petco Park	0.5 miles. Home of the Padres, and on game days both the crowds and the rates move
Seaport Village	0.7 miles. Shops on the harbor
USS Midway Museum	0.9 miles. An aircraft carrier launched in 1945
Balboa Park	1.3 miles. Seventeen or more museums
San Diego Zoo	1.6 miles
Coffee	Blue Bottle 0.4 miles
Gyms	None in the hotel. Pure Barre and a CrossFit box sit within 0.2 miles on Sixth Avenue
Airport	3.5 miles, about 10 minutes by car
Beaches	About 15 minutes by car. This is not a beach hotel
Worth knowing	Advisor reviews note a visible unhoused population on these streets in varying states of distress. That is downtown, and knowing in advance helps

Other options in the same district

• Pendry San Diego: also in Gaslamp, 317 rooms, a design hotel at a much larger scale with a pool and a gym. The most direct substitute for someone who wants this location without giving up facilities.
• InterContinental San Diego: on the waterfront, 400 rooms, 19 stories, opened 2018. The two are opposite ends of one city: that one has a pool, a gym and a club lounge and charges a flat $58 a night on top, this one has none of it and charges nothing on top. There is a separate piece on the site.
• Hotel Republic San Diego: north of the district, a few blocks from Gaslamp, and quieter.
• Hotel del Coronado: an 1888 wooden seaside hotel reachable by ferry and shuttle. If the point is a beach rather than a bar district, it is a completely different trip.

HOW TO PLAN IT

• When bookingFor sleep, ask for a high floor away from the Sixth Avenue side. Single pane glass does not stop the street.
• Fri and SatBring earplugs. Multiple guest accounts reach the same solution and all of them say it works.
• DaytimeThis district is restaurants and bars, with little to browse. For shopping, walk to Seaport Village or ride to another neighborhood.
• For baseballPetco Park is 0.5 miles, about ten minutes on foot. Book early for game dates.

11 · HISTORY AND DETAIL

One street, two St. James hotels

The building you are staying in is not the first St. James. In 1885 an Italian-born surgeon named P. C. Remondino built a five story, 150 room St. James Hotel near this spot, its upper three stories clad in round tin plates that glittered like thousands of mirrors. That one slid into a rooming house after the land bubble burst and was demolished in 1912. The building here now is the second one.

The first one: 1885, built by a doctor

Remondino was a surgeon and a Civil War veteran. His St. James had 150 rooms, brick on the two lower stories, pine sheathing clad in round tin plates on the three above, and a mansard roof on top. An annex went up at Seventh and F Streets in 1887 because the place kept filling. Those were the years of the San Diego land boom, and the hotel displaced the Horton House as the best in town, with railroad companies formed over deals struck in its bar and dining room. When the bubble burst the customers vanished, management changed hands repeatedly, and the building ended as a rooming house. The Hotel del Coronado took what was left of the clientele.

The second one: the tallest building in the city

Architect	Henry Harms Preibissius
Developers	Morris E. Meyer and Isaac T. Davidson
Construction	A little over one year
Size	146 rooms. The tallest building in San Diego when it was finished
Structure	Steel reinforced concrete throughout, advertised at the time as absolutely fireproof
What it had	An observation room on the eleventh floor, Turkish baths, a billiard room, a barber shop, electric elevators, and hot and cold running water in every room
The marker outside	Gaslamp Quarter historical marker number 73, standing across the street at 861 Sixth Avenue. It quotes the San Diego Union of 1914 calling the hotel "first class in every respect, with excellent service"
Sources disagree	The year appears as 1911, 1912 and 1913. The height appears as both ten and eleven stories. Three street numbers, 830, 828 and 844, all point at this building

Today's roof, and the observation room of a century ago

This is the neatest coincidence in the building. Promotional material from 1912 describes an observation room on the eleventh floor whose selling point was the best view in San Diego. The roof deck today is also on the eleventh floor, and the selling point is still the view. A hundred years apart, the use of that floor has not changed. What changed is the skyline around it: nothing blocked it then, and everything is taller now. Both facts are documented, but no official source states that today's deck is that same observation room, so this page sets them side by side and draws no conclusion.

What the renovation found

The building changed hands and finishes many times over a century, most recently under a chain flag. After Dovetail + Co bought it in 2021, much of what the first half of the century had left behind turned out to be sitting under drywall and carpet. The drywall came off the ceiling and there was pressed tin. The carpet came up in the lobby and there was twice-fired ceramic tile in close to perfect condition. The list of what was kept includes the pressed tin ceilings, the hexagon tile floors, the marble staircase, the stained glass, the chandeliers, and the two story sign on the roof. The project went on to receive an Orchid from the San Diego Architectural Foundation's Orchids & Onions program, in the historic preservation and adaptation category.

WORTH TAKING SLOWLY A century at this address is a century of the hotel business changing hands. One building in 1885, another in 1912, a demolition in between, a chain flag later on, and a new name again in 2023. And the sign on the roof still carries the earliest of those names. You ride a hundred-year-old elevator to reach a set of letters that does not belong to the hotel you are staying in. It is simply still up there.

FIVE MINUTES DOWNSTAIRS

• In the lobbyLook up for the pressed tin and down for the hexagon tile. Both were dug out from under later coverings.
• At the liftLook at the stained glass transom above the brass doors. Waiting for the elevator gives you the time.
• Across the street861 Sixth Avenue carries Gaslamp Quarter historical marker number 73, and it is about this building.

12 · ROUTE AND VERDICT

How to spend one night, and who this building is for

The good parts of this hotel sit at the two vertical ends: the restaurant and lobby on the ground floor, the roof on eleven. The ten floors in between are for sleeping. One night reaches both ends, and the rest of the time belongs to the Gaslamp Quarter outside the door anyway.

ONE NIGHT

• 3:00 PMCheck in. Through an advisor the tub, the daylight and the upgrade are already settled. Otherwise confirm at the desk which side the room faces.
• 3:15 PMDo not go up yet. Look at the ceiling and the floor in the lobby, then the stained glass above the elevator doors.
• 3:30 PMGo up to eleven. Bar service starts at three and the seats before sunset are the good ones.
• 5:00 PMDown and across the street to find historical marker number 73 at 861 Sixth Avenue. Five minutes.
• 6:00 PMSaint James French Diner on the ground floor. Weekday happy hour runs until six, so hurry if it is close.
• EveningGaslamp starts at the door. Before heading back up, remember the street runs late on Friday and Saturday.
• 7:00 AMThe restaurant opens. The first hour is the calmest.
• MorningThe roof opens at nine with no service and almost nobody on it. Bring a cup from the machine in the room.
• Before checkoutStart downstairs fifteen minutes early. Both elevators are busiest around eleven.

TWELVE THINGS None of these is required. Do the ones that fit and leave the rest for next time. Items 2, 3 and 11 cost nothing, and most guests never get to them.

• Check whether the bathroom has a shower or a tub, then check which street the window faces
• In the lobby, look up for the pressed tin ceiling and down for the hexagon tile
• Look at the stained glass transom above the brass elevator doors
• Ride the century-old elevator once, then take the marble stairs, and see which is faster
• Go up to eleven and sit beside the sign that reads backwards
• Go up again between nine and ten in the morning, when there is no service and no one there
• Take a weekday happy hour downstairs, between three and six
• Eat breakfast in the first stretch after seven
• Use the rotary style telephone in the room, even if only to hear the dial tone
• Take something from the lobby candy bar, then check the next day whether it changed
• Walk across to 861 Sixth Avenue and read historical marker number 73
• Walk to Petco Park, 0.5 miles, about ten minutes

Suits

• People who care about buildings and design and will accept 165 square feet for it
• People coming to eat and drink in Gaslamp. It starts at the door
• People who would rather not drive. Ten minutes from the airport and everything major inside 1.6 miles
• People staying one or two nights. This room size suits a short stay
• People who would rather not pay a nightly fee. The bill here is only tax

Does not suit

• Light sleepers. Single pane glass over a nightlife district, and Friday and Saturday make the point
• Travelers with mobility needs. The century-old elevators are a real barrier and one is often out of service
• Anyone who wants a pool, a gym or a club lounge. None of the three exists here
• Anyone with large luggage or a stay of five nights and up. Storage is a hard limit in this building
• Anyone driving who would rather not pay $65 a day for valet
• Anyone who wants to be at the beach. That is a fifteen minute drive

The St. James of 1885 was built for a land boom, and people came to talk business. When the 1912 building went up, the pitch was the tallest in the city, absolutely fireproof, hot and cold water in every room. What it sells today is a pressed tin ceiling, an elevator that will not hurry, and a sign that no longer belongs to it. One address, a hundred and forty years, and the building has been doing the same job the whole time: keeping visitors overnight. Whether you stay comes down to whether this trip will trade floor area for a house with something to say.

This article is written in the anticipatory second person, describing what you will encounter. Facilities, hours, room types and costs are compiled from the hotel website and its official FAQ, group press releases, published material from the San Diego Architectural Foundation and the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation, the San Diego History Center journal, the historical marker on the street, advisor channel material and booking platform reviews. The author has not stayed at this property and this article contains no first-hand experience. All figures are native US dollar quotes from a booking system, sampled for October 1 to October 2, 2026, one night, two adults, checked on August 23, 2026, with no currency conversion. Four points where sources disagree are presented side by side in the text: the year of construction, 1911, 1912 or 1913; the number of stories, ten or eleven; the street number, 830, 828 or 844; and whether any non-accessible category has a bathtub. In addition, the route up to the roof deck and its accessibility, the braille and assistive listening provision, and the year of the Orchid award are not available in public sources. Dining hours, rates and advisor amenities change often, so confirm with the hotel or your advisor before booking. This site operates as an independent advisor with Fora Travel. Seller of Travel registration 2151995-50.

What the advisor channel changes →