Southern California Ask your San Diego questions here

[poohj80]

Prices are kind of steep but the SpringHill Suites has a decent rate. It is at Scripps Poway Parkway at Interstate 15. Is that an okay area to stay? Is it located in a good area as far as being near tourist stuff or is it too far out of the way?

I would consider that too far away from the things you would like to do. You wouldn't want to get caught in rush hour traffic trying to get back to your hotel.

 

[zakerdog]

Has anyone stayed at the Best Western Blue Sea?

appreciate any comments on the place.

 

[mitymott]

Does anyone have any info on the best western hacienda suites-old town? We booked it for the end of april and were wondering what is't like.
Also how is the location? Thanks,

 

[marley]

we staid at the Loews Coronado resort Labor Day weekend. It is a great resort and only a 10 minute drive to the Old Del hotel. There is plenty to do at the resort for kids. The pool is great. You can rent surry bikes at the Old Del Hotel and ride around Coronado. I will warn you that the traffic to get on and off the island was enough deterent that we just staid around the hotel and enjoyed its facilities.

Has anyone heard of the Harbor Vacation Club? We have reservations there for this June. It sounds awesome and I found it recommended in several travel books. You actually rent a houseboat or yacht and stay on that. I think my kids are just going to love it and it was cheaper than most of the hotels in San Diego!

Marley

 

[spendleb]

Hi, we are staying at Humphreys Half Moon in early May, it's on Shelter Island, has anyone stayed there or know how close this is to the 'main' shopping/dining areas?

 

[MrsMud]

I have been looking for the same. I am leaning toward the Days Inn Hotel Circle, in Mission Valley. It is close to Seaworld and the Zoo, and in fact offers free shuttle service to both as well as the airport. It gets pretty good reviews on Trip Advisor and Travelocity. They have a rate of $89 for our trip in early Oct.

 

[MrsMud]

Ha! I posted a reply and forgot that I wanted to ask a couple questions, too.
We will be driving from Anaheim to San Diego (Th. mid-morning). Is there a route that will take us along the ocean? Even if it takes a little longer, I would love a coastline mini-trip! Also I would love to stop at La Jolla Coves for a couple of hours before driving to our hotel (proabably in Mission Valley), checkin is not until 4:00. Is this doable? Thanks!

 

[Cathy K.]

Hi,
We just got back from a 10 tour of California from San Francisco to San Diego and we loved the San Diego portion of the trip. We only spent 1 night but in hindsight we wish we had cut LA short and spent an extra day here.

We stayed at the Balboa Park Inn which I thought was great. It's so convenient to the Zoo and the museums. It's a converted apt. complex so all of the suites are actually apartments with kitchens. It would be a great place to stay if you wanted to have some meals in. We had a living room with cable tv and a pull out sofa, a bedroom with a queen bed, and a full kitchen. The delivered a continental breakfast to us in the morning. We just called when we were ready for it. It was delicious, bowls of fresh fruit, fresh oj, cinamon rolls, croissants, and mini muffins. All of this for $129 a night.

The other place we loved was the Corvette Diner. Just a real fun place to have dinner. Great food and reasonable prices. My husband loved the Rory burger too like a poster above mentioned. They also had fantastic shakes.

I just posted a 3 part trip report of our entire vacation on the trip report board. The San Diego part is at the end of Part 2 and the beginning of Part 3 if anyone wants to take a look.

Cathy K.

 

[geffric]

I have been looking for the same. I am leaning toward the Days Inn Hotel Circle, in Mission Valley. It is close to Seaworld and the Zoo, and in fact offers free shuttle service to both as well as the airport. It gets pretty good reviews on Trip Advisor and Travelocity. They have a rate of $89 for our trip in early Oct.

I booked the HoJos hotel circle for $ 72 per night in July.

 

[poohj80]

The other place we loved was the Corvette Diner. Just a real fun place to have dinner. Great food and reasonable prices. My husband loved the Rory burger too like a poster above mentioned. They also had fantastic shakes.

So glad you enjoyed one of my favorite places! I miss SD SO much!

 

[LUVCINDERELLY]

We will be heading to DL May 21-28 and have tickets and transfers booked to spend a day at Sea World. While there, is it worth it to take in a 'Dining with Shamu' or Shamu picnic meal? Can these be booked at Sea World the day we are there or should I book them on-line before we go? Our DD's are 16, 12 and 8...not sure if their ages will make a difference or not as they are all very excited about doing the character meals at DL!

 

[jewetts5]

Yes it is definetly worth the extra $ to do a Dine with Shamu lunch. I've never done the Picnic with Shamu, but have Dined there many times, usually for birthdays or mothers day. You get up close and personal with the whales, sometimes they blow water on you, but not to an annoying extent of course, just enough to add excitement! The food is awesome, a buffet with several options for entree, all you can eat and the desert tray is the best! You can book this lunch right at the main gate, once you get in the park. You should also go to the lunch place about 15 -20 min before your scheduled lunch time, since they seat in order of firstcome/first served. There are no "bad" seats since all are really close and have great views, but I like to have a choice of tables. Be sure to bring your camera since you'll get better pictures of the whales there than you can get during the actual show.

 

[jewetts5]

I am attending a conference at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort in May and will be bringing my family - wife, 2 kids (2 and 11).

Would love any feedback on the hotel as well as places my wife can take the kids while i'm at the conference. We will have a rental car.

Thanks
RamblinRed

Depends on what time of year you go there. Loews is one of the best places for families. They have a great pool area (good in warm weather), and in the summers have a kids club with arts/crafts/games. Loews also offers gondola rides over to the Seaport Village. You can also take a water taxi to seaport village, where there are lots of touristy shops, a terrific toy shop, ice cream shops and an old vintage MerrygoRound, plus just walking along the boardwalk where you'll see clowns, and other performers. The Hotel Del Coronado has a great beach access and is a historic hotel, fun to walk thru on your way to the beach. If they have access to a car, they should drive the 20 minutes to Balboa Park where they'll find not only the ZOO but also the Marie Hitchcock Puppet Theater, which has shows daily at 10 and 11 and 1:00 on weekends. The admission is about $2 per person and its really alot of fun.

 

[jewetts5]

Hi, we are staying at Humphreys Half Moon in early May, it's on Shelter Island, has anyone stayed there or know how close this is to the 'main' shopping/dining areas?

There are lots of shops in the Point Loma/Shelter Island area, but most are not boutiques or shopping malls. The shopping malls with fancy department stores are at Fashion Valley, about 20 minutes drive, and/or Horton Plaza-downtown.

You are near the best seafood restaurant thought. Don't miss Point Loma Seafoods, which is an actual fish market, with a cafe-style restaurant counter which cooks amazing fresh fish to be consumed while seated at outdoor tables overlooking the harber. There is always a line out the door of this place! Price is reasonable, about $10 per person for food and drink, depending on what you order.

 

[LUVCINDERELLY]

Thanks for the info! We'll definately add this to our day at Sea World!

 

[Eeyorecln]

Thanks for the hotel info. We'll check those out. As for the person asking about Dine with Shamu. We did the one in TX and my boys loved it. I just wish we had remembered our camcorder the whales did special tricks and were closer than any show or zoo experience. It's definitely worth it and a great experience. We are actually looking at the animal spotlight tour this time around.

 

[msteddom]

I would not reccomend staying there unless the price is truely right. IT is right near my house, and it is a very residential area that is about 15-30 mins. by car away from most of the local tourist attractions. The only reason the hotle is even there is becase there is a large Nokia facility right up the street and it caters to the buisness travellers. Legoland is about 45 min. away from San Diego depending on traffic and from what I hear the drive is worth it if you have young children. Hope this helps!

Melissa

 

[karylrocks]

I was thinking it would be nice to be away from Hotel Circle and found what looks like a nice place; Staybridge Suites Sorrento Mesa, Mira Mesa Blvd. & Viper Way (2-bed 2-bath under $200). I don't mind a 20-minute drive to Seaworld and the zoo, and we will be visiting these on the weekend. I would appreciate any opinions on this arrangement. Is this a good area, not too far from attractions?

 

[msteddom]

I was thinking it would be nice to be away from Hotel Circle and found what looks like a nice place; Staybridge Suites Sorrento Mesa, Mira Mesa Blvd. & Viper Way (2-bed 2-bath under $200). I don't mind a 20-minute drive to Seaworld and the zoo, and we will be visiting these on the weekend. I would appreciate any opinions on this arrangement. Is this a good area, not too far from attractions?

If it is where I am thinking it should work alright for you. The only drawback I can think of is that it is in very busy buisness park area (hence the need for residentail hotels), so rush hour in the mornings and evenings are unbelievably busy, but if you can work around that you should be fine. You will have good freeway access to the 5, so commuting to all tourist destinations shouldn'y be too difficult.


Melissa

 

[34Angels]

Everyone seems to be forgetting Soak City (a Knott's Berry Farm's water park) in Chula Vista. Though I never managed to get down there myself, everyone I know said they had fun when they went. I'd imagine kids will love it one a warm day!

As for driving between Disneyland and San Diego, if I remember correctly, the 5 takes you right down the coast for most of the way. I think you can take the Pacific Coast Highway for the rest of it but I've never taken it so have no idea how long it takes or how easy it is to get to/from Disneyland from there.

Wow, I miss San Diego (and the sun!!).........Have fun and safe trips!!