I've stayed there. Nice pool, cool history, but I agree, not very tourist friendly, and many of the rooms in the main building are very small. If people think DLR is a somewhat sketchy neighborhood, this will have them running.Probably not what most tourists are looking for, but my favorite is the Lafayette in North Park (poolside room).
The Del is also our favorite & we also don't go into SD when we stay. We liked the Grand Hyatt near the convention center. Close to the Gaslamp, ferry to Coronado and plenty of restaurants. It is just DH and I , but we have seen plenty of families when we have been there along with business people.My personal favorite is probably the Del, but I usually just stay at the hotel or on the island and I don't do anything in SD at all when staying there. US Grant is nice too, if you're looking to be downtown but not in the center of Gaslamp.