Hotels in San Diego---UPDATED---BW Island Palms, pg 3

[redsox721]

We are planning our first trip (without the kids) to California on May 1, 2009. We are flying into San Diego then driving to Anaheim. We are looking for a nice but not overly priced hotel in a good area close to the zoo and the wild animal park. HELP!

 

[Leash]

Whenever DH and I go to San Diego we stay at the Old Town Inn. It is a nice little motel with free breakfast and a pool across the street from Old Town State Park and a public transit hub. The prices are great and it is right off the I5 which makes getting around by car super easy.

 

[tylerdavis88]

I suggest www.hotwire.com - I have used them dozens of times and always get an affordable rate and great hotel!

 

[redsox721]

Whenever DH and I go to San Diego we stay at the Old Town Inn. It is a nice little motel with free breakfast and a pool across the street from Old Town State Park and a public transit hub. The prices are great and it is right off the I5 which makes getting around by car super easy.

Someone where I work told me that Old Town is not a nice/safe place to stay. What are your thoughts on this? We are not familar with California at all. We are from the east coast. Thanks.

 

[Leash]

Someone where I work told me that Old Town is not a nice/safe place to stay. What are your thoughts on this? We are not familar with California at all. We are from the east coast. Thanks.

We have stayed there 3 times now and have never had a problem. The area around the hotel is not very pretty, just a typical city area with no "beautifaction improvements" like you might find around Disneyland, but I have never felt unsafe. That being said the grounds of the hotel itself are lovely with very nice plants all around. We like to walk across the street to Old Town for dinner and it is never a problem and I am a fairly jumpy person, honestly I have felt more unsafe at night downtown than around the hotel.

Another place that my parents like is the Dolphin Motel, it is right near the water and very inexpensive. They don't have breakfast and I don't think it is accessible to things in the city but my parents had a very nice stay there last year.

 

[oc_tony]

FYI the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park are not close to each other. The Zoo is close to Balboa Park and Downtown SD. The Wild Animal Park is 30 miles north (and a few miles east) of the Zoo. I just checked it out on google maps-be careful. They have the Zoo and the Wild Animal Park in the same place. I had to do some extra work to find the real location. The Zoo is in San Diego. The Wild Animal Park is in Escondido.

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

FYI the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park are not close to each other. The Zoo is close to Balboa Park and Downtown SD. The Wild Animal Park is 30 miles north (and a few miles east) of the Zoo. I just checked it out on google maps-be careful. They have the Zoo and the Wild Animal Park in the same place. I had to do some extra work to find the real location. The Zoo is in San Diego. The Wild Animal Park is in Escondido.

The reason for that is that they are managed by the same zoological society.

there are different driving directions and maps available.

If you go, the zoo is built on several canyons, and have some serious hills (if you are pushing a stroller/wheelchair, but they do have a bus the drive around and oyu can see most of the exibits.

the Wild Animal park is a lot different, be prepared to walk a lot, as it is spread out!

both are great places to visit if you are on vacation, but each is a days worth!

Don't forget that if you have little ones, that Lego Land is in the north county of San Diego.

(edit: just saw that you are not taking kids, forget lego land, just go to Disneyland!! hehehe)

 

[redsox721]

The reason for that is that they are managed by the same zoological society.

there are different driving directions and maps available.

If you go, the zoo is built on several canyons, and have some serious hills (if you are pushing a stroller/wheelchair, but they do have a bus the drive around and oyu can see most of the exibits.

the Wild Animal park is a lot different, be prepared to walk a lot, as it is spread out!

both are great places to visit if you are on vacation, but each is a days worth!

Don't forget that if you have little ones, that Lego Land is in the north county of San Diego.

(edit: just saw that you are not taking kids, forget lego land, just go to Disneyland!! hehehe)

We would like something in a nice area not to expensive. We looked at the airport area, Hotel Circle Rd. area and Rancho Bernardo area. Someone here on DIS recommended the Old Town Inn but people we have talked to advised us against staying in Old Town because of safety. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[oc_tony]

Old Town is hit and miss. Hotel Circle has a great location for shopping and proximity to Sea World and the Zoo. I have stayed in Rancho Bernardo before when I went to the Wild Animal Park. There is not much to do around there, but you are basically in the middle between San Diego Zoo/Sea World and Wild Animal Park 20-30 minutes max either way (except rush hour). In Rancho Bernardo, you are already on the I-15 to go North to Wild Animal Park. To go to Sea World/Zoo you head on the I-15 south for about 20 minutes and hit the 8-west. So it depends on whether you want a middle location or an active location.

Hope this helped.

 

[c&m]

Some places that we have stayed in and felt perfectly safe were:

Marriott La Jolla
Hyatt La Jolla
Hilton Del Mar
Sheraton Carlsbad
Hyatt Mission Bay

We have used Priceline.com to bid on the hotels. The best deal was getting the new Sheraton Carlsbad (4*) for $130 last July.

Having a rental car, we drove to all the places we wanted to visit without problem. And don't forget to get a GPS!

 

[yngsj]

What about the BW Lamplighter? It's 13 miles from the zoo but much more affordable then most San Diego lodging.

 

[NWTmagic]

Homewood Suites by Hilton San Diego Airport-Liberty Station. We booked this place and I didn't notice anybody recommend it. What do people think about it?

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I've stayed at the Comfort Inn near the I-8 & I-5 intersection, and I've stayed at the Residence Inn at Hotel Circle - I thought both were fine, and both offered breakfast (hot breakfast at Residence Inn). They are also centrally located, which makes it easy to get around San Diego.

 

[labattblue]

Homewood Suites by Hilton San Diego Airport-Liberty Station. We booked this place and I didn't notice anybody recommend it. What do people think about it?

We also booked this Homewood Suites for a stay in August. Good rate...$169(at least by San Diego standards), convenient location, free breakfast buffet & evening reception(no evening reception Fri - Sun), plenty of space in the room, etc...

The only downside for some would be the number of beds. In a 1 bedroom or studio suite, you can only get a king+sleeper sofa or a queen+sleeper sofa. This works okay for us, but I know some prefer two beds in a room without jumping up to a 2 bedroom suite which costs more money.

 

[redsox721]

Thanks for all the advice. We ended up getting a great rate at the Best Western Island Palms. Even though they don't offer breakfast as some of the other hotels, we aren't big breakfast eaters anyway. Coffee and a bagel/mufin work for us.

 

[ScooterL]

Homewood Suites by Hilton San Diego Airport-Liberty Station. We booked this place and I didn't notice anybody recommend it. What do people think about it?

It's a very nice location - close to the airport and downtown but NOT in the flight path. Liberty Square has tons of shops and restaurants - but it's a very large complex, so not everything is walking distance. Down in the area of Homewood Suites there's an Oggi's Pizza, and that's pretty good, and I think I've heard good things about the Thai place. The hotel is fairly new, so I think it should be just fine.

 

[NWTmagic]

Thanks for the feedback on the Homewood Suites. We have booked a family suite because we're a family of 6. We'll be there mid April. One day at Seaworld, one day of relaxing and one day of not sure what yet?

 

[labattblue]

Thanks for the feedback on the Homewood Suites. We have booked a family suite because we're a family of 6. We'll be there mid April. One day at Seaworld, one day of relaxing and one day of not sure what yet?

I couldn't figure out what the NT stood for until I googled Hay River. Enjoy the warm weather!

 

[NWTmagic]

I couldn't figure out what the NT stood for until I googled Hay River. Enjoy the warm weather!

Your name is labattblue and don't know what NT stands for? Thanks for the good wishes. It was -43 C here two mornings ago!! I just hope it's not too hot when we're there.

 

[labattblue]

Your name is labattblue and don't know what NT stands for? Thanks for the good wishes. It was -43 C here two mornings ago!! I just hope it's not too hot when we're there.

I'm in Western New York.