“Working In The City” is The San Diego Sun’s feature Q&A series with downtown San Diego business operators. It’s a way to get to know the city by meeting the people who work here. This is the tenth in an ongoing series.
Company: The Westgate Hotel and AquaVie Fitness + Wellness Club (1055 Second Avenue, Core-Columbia)
What we do: We’re a luxury hotel built in 1970 by C. Arnholt Smith, with a design inspired by Europe and the Palace of Versailles. This is an independent hotel, a family-owned business as a part of Grand America Hotel & Resorts. We offer 12 meeting spaces, Afternoon Tea every Wednesday through Sunday, a restaurant being renovated and reimagined, and our AquaVie Fitness + Wellness Club, which is accessible to all hotel guests.
Local attraction: AquaVie offers memberships to downtown locals that includes: four floors of world-class facilities; a state-of-the-art indoor fitness center; Group X classes with everything from yoga to Zumba to HIIT and spin; access to our rooftop, which has an outdoor cardio and strength training area, a Junior-Olympic sized pool, hot tub, cabanas and pool loungers, and a 1/10th of a mile running track that circles the pool deck; access to AquaVie Spa for massages, facials and body treatments; access to personal training; spacious locker rooms with saunas and steam rooms.
Owner/Manager: General Manager Annie Fitzgerald, on property since 2020. I live in Scripps Ranch and the commute is 30-35 minutes, depending on traffic.
Employees: 200-250, including part-time/on-call.
Finding staff: Not hard, due to the close proximity of the trolley and MTS. For employees who drive, parking can be a pain point but fortunately we’re often able to offer our safe and secure garage.
Company motto: I always say “employees first, guests always.”
Celebrity sightings: Whitney Houston, Meryl Streep, The Spice Girls, Bette Midler, Billy Joel and Sean Penn, to name a few. We have a historic list in our rooms for guests to learn more.
A shout out to regulars: Mrs. Peterson is one of our loyal diners at the restaurant. There are also many AquaVie community members that I’ve been lucky to get to know.
Best aspects of working downtown: Close to everything for business connections and tourist attractions like Gaslamp Quarter, Little Italy and Seaport Village. Close accessibility to the airport, Balboa Park and the Zoo. We’re perfectly positioned near theaters that host Broadway, ballet and symphony.
Worst aspects of working downtown: The unhoused population brings safety and perception challenges to running a business. I know travelers may choose to visit hotels in other areas due to this factor. We work to be respectful and mindful of the population while maintaining a clean and safe environment for our guests and employees.
Most surprising part of working downtown: The most surprising part about working in the Core-Columbia area is how little foot traffic we see outside Monday to Friday working hours and holidays. I’m hoping with Horton Plaza and more business opening in the area that we will see a change in this.
Big event boosts: Working in the hospitality industry, we rely heavily on the city’s efforts to bring large group business to downtown.
How can the city be more business friendly: There are a lot of laws and regulations for new businesses to work through, which can be a deterrent for business owners, especially small and family-owned businesses.
Best tip for running a downtown business: Be tenacious. Get to know your neighbors! San Diego has a large community of professionals that are friendly, highly skilled and have worked throughout the world. You can usually get things done by making friends and collaborating.
If your business was made into a movie, it would be called: Afternoon Tea at the Palace (of Versailles). Marie Antoinette would be played (again) by Kirsten Dunst. SDSun
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