Where to stay in San Diego (wishlist inside)?

[jenjersnap]

We finally (!) booked the airfare for the DL/SD vacation we've been talking about for years. Unfortunately, since we're stretching it out to 12 days we have to go when the oldest is out of school so we will be setting forth on June 1.

I have been researching San Diego and, honestly, I am no closer to choosing one area than I was when I started. So confused. Can you help me by throwing out suggestions?

Our idea is that we'd like to stay somewhere near (on, preferably) a beach so, after spending the a.m. at Seaworld, Zoo, Wild Animal Park, etc, we could spend the post-nap hours letting the kids play in the sand.

The hotel has to allow our family of five, of course.

The sky isn't the limit with price but I do like my resort amenities - nice pool and grounds - and clean, spacious rooms are lovely too. We'd love to be walking distance or a short drive to great restaurants.

Does any location fit the bill best, first of all? Is Coronado too far out to be a base of operations? The Del would be wonderful but I am not sure the "no view" room we can afford there is worth it for us when a less well known place might let us see be oceanfront for less. I know you are paying a premium for the experience at the Del.

How about La Jolla?

Is there any hotel that fits the list I've described that you can throw out? Thanks!

[eduk8r26]

I've stayed at the Holiday Inn on Sports Arena Blvd. a few years ago. I really liked it then. It had 2-room suites and kids ate free at the restaurant on-site. It is only about a 5-10 minute drive from Mission Beach or Sea World or even the zoo. The nice thing about San Diego is it is not spread out. Hotel Circle is full of all kinds of accommodations, all less than 15 minutes from most anyplace.

[eduk8r26]

I forgot--lots of restaurants within walking distance to the HI.

[KimAshton]

Has anyone every stayed in hotels on Shelter Island?

[noryglory]

Hotel Pacific Terrace in Pacific Beach. One of the few hotels actually ON the ocean beach. It's great, we love it.

[Mrs Grumpy]

Hey, we are going to San Diego on June 1st also and staying a week. I have had a horrible time trying to decide on a hotel. I can't believe the prices out there. I have reservations at the Days Inn on hotel circle in one of their business class rooms (reading reviews said these are their best rooms). It is really hard to find something decent under $150.00 a night. I guess being from the midwest I am not used to the prices in California and wasn't expecting it. I hope we picked a good place.

[jenjersnap]

Hey, we are going to San Diego on June 1st also and staying a week. I have had a horrible time trying to decide on a hotel. I can't believe the prices out there. I have reservations at the Days Inn on hotel circle in one of their business class rooms (reading reviews said these are their best rooms). It is really hard to find something decent under $150.00 a night. I guess being from the midwest I am not used to the prices in California and wasn't expecting it. I hope we picked a good place.

I am still without a reservation. Unfortunately, the PGA tournament is driving up prices and limiting availability in La Jolla! I will check out Hotel Pacific Terrace.

It's been very frustrating. At least DH is now seeing that staying on-site in a deluxe at Disney World is a STEAL! ;)

[Monkey Monkey]

I've never stayed on Shelter Island, but friends of mine got married at one of the 2 Sheratons there. It was lovely, although the airport is right across, so there is typical airport noise.

Hotel Circle is a convenient place to stay, with tons of restaurants and shopping nearby, and Old Town and SeaWorld/Mission Bay just a few miles away, but it's not very scenic, and not at the beach.

Carlsbad is nice and while it's around 30 minutes from the zoo/SeaWorld/Old Town/etc., the beaches are much less crowded, and it's less than an hour from Disneyland.

If I was staying at a hotel in San Diego, my location pick would probably be Mission Bay, but I don't know about the prices.

[mjgruber]

Going April 15th..staying at the Laquinta Chula Vista ( use rate code VISIT )

Only 10 miles from SD and a great rate.......

From what I read Chula Vista is Nice :thumbsup2

[jenjersnap]

I hope someone sees this! Still not finding the ideal hotel in La Jolla ... we are running into high rates and limited availability because of a PGA tournament. We have found some good rates for hotels close to beaches in Carlsbad. I understand it's a 30 minute drive to SD ... is it a horribly traffic-clogged drive? We are considering staying up there and commuting down to SD attractions OR doing Legoland and beaches then moving to a hotel in SD (probably something in Hotel Circle) for the Seaworld/Zoo portion of our stay. Which would you vets do? THANKS again for the assistance!

[Monkey Monkey]

I hope someone sees this! Still not finding the ideal hotel in La Jolla ... we are running into high rates and limited availability because of a PGA tournament. We have found some good rates for hotels close to beaches in Carlsbad. I understand it's a 30 minute drive to SD ... is it a horribly traffic-clogged drive? We are considering staying up there and commuting down to SD attractions OR doing Legoland and beaches then moving to a hotel in SD (probably something in Hotel Circle) for the Seaworld/Zoo portion of our stay. Which would you vets do? THANKS again for the assistance!

It just depends on what time of day you plan on driving from Carlsbad to San Diego. If you leave at morning or evening rush hour, you're going to hit traffic.

Your best bet would be checking the traffic online before you leave, or checking traffic reports on the morning news. I wouldn't leave Carlsbad anytime before 9am during the week.

[disneyamy]

Look at the Glorietta Bay Inn. It's right across the street from the Hotel Del, so the beach isn't out your window, but the bay is. It's a nice place with a nice pool and I love the gingersnaps and fresh lemonade in the afternoon. Everything is within walking distance on the island including lots of great restaurants, or you can even take the ferry over to San Diego and have dinner at one of the places over at the Broadway pier. (I love Coronado, can you tell?) We have taken our kids out on the Harbor Cruises and they loved that too. There is so much to do and see in San Diego, and I love that Coronado is a little more relaxed and so beautiful.

Anyway, look into the Glorietta Bay Inn. We have always been pleased when we have stayed there. http://www.gloriettabayinn.com/index.asp

[SnowWhite12]

I just looked at the Glorietta sight. Looks great but way out of our price range!! I am having the same difficulty finding any decent hotels/motels in San Diego area for a normal price.

[c&m]

You mentioned you may want to stay in La Jolla. That is where we always stay. We have been to SD every spring break or summer since 1993 because we love it there. In the past 4 years, we have only stayed in La Jolla, because we finally realized that we always enjoyed it there and we found no problems commuting to Sea World, Legoland, beaches, and our friends in Carlsbad.

We have stayed at the Marriott La Jolla once and the Hyatt La Jolla 3 times. We really enjoyed the Hyatt because of its huge pool area, with the cabanas. In the evenings during the summer, we like to hang out at the pool, order dinner in and relax while the kids play. Lots of places to order food from in that area (CPK, TGI Fridays, or the food court from UTC, or Whole Foods just 5 min away). The Hyatt is just off the I-5 so you have easy access to the freeway when you need to go places. (BTW, no freeway noise in the hotel, very well insulated.) The Hyatt rooms are also a good size for us 4 and the bathroom is huge.

The only problem with the Hyatt is that you are a family of 5 and they may have a 4 person max. in those rooms. You may want to inquire about that. Only negative thing with the Hyatt is their parking fee of $14 per day. But there is street parking available.

The Marriott, while nice, didn't really give us the same feeling as the Hyatt. But take a look at it and decide for yourself. There's also an Embassy Suites across from UTC you may want to check out.

BTW, maybe I missed it, but you didn't give a range for how much you want to spend on the hotel per night.

[jenjersnap]

You mentioned you may want to stay in La Jolla. That is where we always stay. We have been to SD every spring break or summer since 1993 because we love it there. In the past 4 years, we have only stayed in La Jolla, because we finally realized that we always enjoyed it there and we found no problems commuting to Sea World, Legoland, beaches, and our friends in Carlsbad.

We have stayed at the Marriott La Jolla once and the Hyatt La Jolla 3 times. We really enjoyed the Hyatt because of its huge pool area, with the cabanas. In the evenings during the summer, we like to hang out at the pool, order dinner in and relax while the kids play. Lots of places to order food from in that area (CPK, TGI Fridays, or the food court from UTC, or Whole Foods just 5 min away). The Hyatt is just off the I-5 so you have easy access to the freeway when you need to go places. (BTW, no freeway noise in the hotel, very well insulated.) The Hyatt rooms are also a good size for us 4 and the bathroom is huge.

The only problem with the Hyatt is that you are a family of 5 and they may have a 4 person max. in those rooms. You may want to inquire about that. Only negative thing with the Hyatt is their parking fee of $14 per day. But there is street parking available.

The Marriott, while nice, didn't really give us the same feeling as the Hyatt. But take a look at it and decide for yourself. There's also an Embassy Suites across from UTC you may want to check out.

BTW, maybe I missed it, but you didn't give a range for how much you want to spend on the hotel per night.

As I mentioned the rates are very high during our visit and many hotels in La Jolla are sold out. We do run into occupancy limits at the Hyatt - I think the room we fit in was over $500 per night. Even the Embassy Suites is nearly $400 a night - I just can't make myself pay that much for an Embassy Suites. We have friends paying $169 for the same room two weeks before we arrive! I think La Jolla is out of the running.

I am not sure if I want to stay on Coronado. I'd researched the Glorietta and it looks fab but my grandmother lives in RSF and I'd like to be nearer to her (she is in her 80s and hopeless with planning a trip, she knows nothing about lodging. My three kids are not welcome in her UNchild-proofed show palace. LOL)

Sounds like splitting the stay between Carlsbad and downtown SD is the way to go for us? We certainly want to be at the attractions at opening.

[jenjersnap]

Oh, to answer the question $300 a night near the beach or less is what we were hoping.

[c&m]

If you're looking at Carlsbad, look into the Hilton Garden Inn Carlsbad.

[bullockfamily]

Try the Beach Cottages. They have cottages that sleep families, right on mission beach. I think they were in the low $200's/night.

[ptrbryant]

We're going to be in several places...downtown San Diego, Palm Springs for a night and we're trying to find a good hotel near a beach (as someone else posted: clean, well-run, nice area) for (hopefully) under $200 a night. I'm finding a Days Inn for close to that price!

Are we looking too soon? Would there be specials closer to summer? Any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated!

Karla B.

p.s. It's just DH, DS12 and myself

[bonnielynn]

We are staying at the Omni and are using a government rate of $139 a night.. I read (tripadvisor.com) that its nice and is close to alot of things.

Anyone ever stay here?

[SSRJen]

I just looked at The Catamaran Resort quickly for June 1st-4th and saw that they were offering rooms at $189 a night. They also are offering a 450sq foot studio for $229 per night which include a free kitchen. We have stayed here before for a night and enjoyed it. It also has lovely bay beach access.

Another option would be to buy a San Diego Entertainment book. I have owned one for the past couple of years and have been able to get up to 50% off at some hotels in the area. You might want to call up a few and ask if they are offering the entertainment card discount during your planned stay. The times I have used it, they did not ask for the card number, but only wanted it when I checked in. You can purchase the book once you get a discounted room rate. :)

Those books also have great discounts on a lot of dining locations for San Diego.

[hjgaus]

We finally (!) booked the airfare for the DL/SD vacation we've been talking about for years. Unfortunately, since we're stretching it out to 12 days we have to go when the oldest is out of school so we will be setting forth on June 1.

I have been researching San Diego and, honestly, I am no closer to choosing one area than I was when I started. So confused. Can you help me by throwing out suggestions?

Our idea is that we'd like to stay somewhere near (on, preferably) a beach so, after spending the a.m. at Seaworld, Zoo, Wild Animal Park, etc, we could spend the post-nap hours letting the kids play in the sand.

The hotel has to allow our family of five, of course.

The sky isn't the limit with price but I do like my resort amenities - nice pool and grounds - and clean, spacious rooms are lovely too. We'd love to be walking distance or a short drive to great restaurants.

Does any location fit the bill best, first of all? Is Coronado too far out to be a base of operations? The Del would be wonderful but I am not sure the "no view" room we can afford there is worth it for us when a less well known place might let us see be oceanfront for less. I know you are paying a premium for the experience at the Del.

How about La Jolla?

Is there any hotel that fits the list I've described that you can throw out? Thanks!


We own a time share in La Jolla (Casa de la Playa off Coast Blvd across from beach see our ad at www.timesharesonly.com) but our week we will be renting out is for Sept 08 which I see you will be @ WDW. Sorry! Wish I could help you!

Edlyn G.
From Chino Hills, Ca.
New DVC owner
Looking forward to NYE @ BCV this year
BCV Oct. 2007
BCR Nov. 2005
DL/DCA 2 many times to count

[Lowillian]

We stayed on Shelter Island 5 years ago on our honeymoon (pre DL) and stayed at the Bay Club Resort. We loved the location and the views of the Bay and the marina. The free breakfast every morning was good also. The staff was excellent. We'd stay there again if we ever got back out to my favorite city!

[Tink10]

We snagged the Loews Coronado Bay for 3 nights in June for $120 a night on Priceline....I normally don't go the Priceline route, but decided to have fun & give it a shot. It looks like a beautiful resort & I'm excited to give it a try. :hippie:

[buddydecat]

The Bahia in mission bay is reasonable and nicely located. They have rooms with kitchens that makes dinner and snacks easy. After a long day at the parks the last thing I wanted to do was go to a restaurant with whiney, tired kids.

Hotel Circle is a family choice too. If you're looking for a larger property with pools, etc. try Town & Country.

The beautiful thing about San Diego is you're barely in your room. There is so much to do and the weather is great. Everything is easy to get to and it's not that big. If you can, just avoid rush hours.