Another hotel option for SDCC 2016

30 JULY 2015




If the brief flurry of excitement over Hotel Z this week got you thinking about next summer, here's another option you may want to keep in mind. That would be the Pendry San Diego, a massive hotel that's going to rise up on 5th Ave, J Street and 6th Ave and no doubt play a role in the future 120,000 future hotel nights allotted to SDCC.

When you were at Comic-Con a few weeks ago, did you walk by what looked like a mass grave site or archeological dig in the middle of the Gaslamp? That would be the womb of the future Pendry. So here's what we know about our newest SDCC hotel option.

Rooms: 317, including 36 suites.

Hotel Motto: Know Thyself.

Amenities: A rooftop pool, 2 restaurants, an "ultra-lounge," a spa and "energizing fitness facility." Also a beer hall, which sounds as if it will feature dime-a-dance girls from the 1930s. Oh, and there will be 22,000 square feet of meeting space so you know CCI is eyeing this place for future panels.

Branding: Pretentious. Pendry was raised on the confidence that service doesn't have to be sacrificed for edifice, because somewhere along the way, your experience has occasioned you to expect both. I'm not sure what this means but I do know it doesn't apply to Comic-Con attendees.

Opening Date: Ah, here's the rub. Summer or fall 2016. So it could be open for Comic-Con 2016 - but maybe not. No doubt the developers are probably anxious to accelerate and collect all that sweet SDCC revenue. But construction is always such an iffy business, so who knows?

Travel Planners Status: If the opening date is still murky by February/March, that suggests that Pendry will not be part of Hotel Day. And thus could be up for grabs for those of you desperate and diligent enough to stalk its very first reservations.

I'll post more when I have a firmer opening date forecast. For now, add this to your playbook of San Diego Comic-Con strategies if you're looking outside the system for housing next summer. Maybe it will be available, maybe not - but it's worth keeping an eye on.