Do you see any ARP entries from the host management NIC to the physical switches? Could you try doing a shut - no shut on the Management port on the physical switch and check (ensure your VM's are not using the same NIC though)
Alternate workaround:
Create a separate vmkernel port on the VM network vSwitch (if different to your management network vswitch) and connect the host using that vmkernel port to VC so that you can get the VM's off
You don't need to enable vMotion - just get a vmkernel port IP you can connect with