We stayed at the Beach Haven Inn for a weekend trip. It was one of the less inexpensive hotel on Pacific beach. The area is fun with lots of bars, caters to a younger crowd. But this hotel needed some serious updating.

Our check-in took forever. 50 minutes. The person checking us in was running around doing other things at the same time, and telling us really useless information, like the city wanted to install parking meters on the street in the future. Really? We're only staying a few days.

The rooms were not very clean. The beds seemed ok, but the shower really needed some work. I didn't want to look too closely at the shower seams, because there was some black stuff there. We were with friends who had another room, and they said they had a real gnats problem. We were told our rooms were "updated", so I'd hate to see what the non-updated rooms looked like. FYI, the room did not look "updated" at all, unless what they meant by updating was to paint it and put a new mirror on the wall. However, the beds were comfortable, and seemed clean.

There is no "continental breakfast" as was stated-- it's just hot water and coffee. Most motel places will at least give you a packaged roll or an apple.

When we stayed it was really noisy at night. Not the hotel's fault because it is on Pacific Beach, but something you may want to be aware of.

Our door was broken so we couldn't open it from the inside (uh, fire hazard!). Our friends had to let us out of our own room. They did fix it the next day though.

The rooms are quite cramped. Not much shelving space to put your stuff down.

Obviously, I was not paying for 5 stars, but I did have the minimal standards of cleanliness and efficient service. I don't think Beach Haven Inn met these standards this time.

Great mix of reasonable price for the location, easy access (don't need a car unless leaving the beach area). Off street parking. Clean, well kept - BIG suite. Small pool, but the beach is like 50 yards away. Responsive, friendly, knowledgeable desk staff. NOT a "party" hotel. Bike & surf board rentals nearby. Would highly recommend in the Pacific Beach area.

The hotel has some bad press from the "the past." They have recently rennovated and we stayed in one of the newer rooms. (they lets us see other rooms and they were all nice) It was great- very comfortable and very affordable.
Room- laid out nice. We opted for the add on kitchen for small additional charge (everyone should do this) it made the room larger and we had full kitchen to store drinks/fod and make coffee in the morning/cook. Beds were very comfortable and clean.
Bathroom- Walk-in shower was GREAT. everything in the bathroom is new. lots of space and the products in shower were better than average.
The AC ran cold enough.
TV- flat screen with cable and it adjusts for viewing anywhere in room
LOCATION- amazing. 30yards from boardwalk. Right on edge of La Jolla. Walking distance to crystal pier and shopping/supermarket/bars/everything. (never needed car)
STAFF- they were awesome. totally took care of us and treated us like friends. Mentioned we were running to bfast real quick before getting cab to airport= they had cab waiting for us when we got back- saved us 15min and we didnt ask them to do it. great people

7/11/11 - 7/16/11
My wife and I stayed a wonderful five nights at Beach Haven Inn. Considered a budget priced accommodation, the building is obviously older, though it is quite apparent they take pride in what they have to offer their guests and have made repairs and upgrades as needed. Our room was clean and we slept well on our comfortable bed. The large shower had no problems with hot water or water pressure. The pool and hot tube are well kept and clean. We found all the staff to be polite and friendly. One of our main considerations when choosing Beach Haven Inn was location, and we were not disappointed! It is about two minutes walking distance to the beach and the boardwalk, and is on Mission Blvd. with its shopping, restaurants and nightlife. We found no need to use our vehicle the six days we were there.
We recommend that if you are looking for a clean, comfortable, friendly and convenient place to stay, while visiting Pacific Beach & Mission Beach, that is also well priced for the area, then Beach Haven Inn should be considered.