San Diego Hotels- add your REVIEWS and photos here!

[DSNY4ever]

I thought it would be nice to start a thread of all hotel reviews for people looking to stay in San Diego, since most of the questions are about where to stay. So if you want to add one in please do and if we can all follow this format to keep it the same that would be great!-

Hotel name:
Location: (what area of San Diego or what is it near ex. downtown, mission bay, coronado etc)
Date of stay:
Price paid: (optional..of course you don't have to tell us what you paid if you don't want to, but a price range might be nice).

Your review: (including any photos you might have of the hotel!)

Hopefully this might help people in their decision making! I'll add the few I have soon

 

[DSNY4ever]

Hotel: The Catamaran
Location: Mission Bay
Date of stay: Sept. 2008
Price paid: We booked a package inculding flight and car but I think if I broke it down it was about $120 a night-ish, it was a weekend. But this hotel is pricey usually.

My review: We loved our stay here. We got lucky and since they weren’t full they bumped us up to a better room that was facing the bay with a gorgeous view. The grounds of the hotel are beautiful. They have lots of tropical landscaping and parrots just outside the lobby. It reminded us of the Polynesian. We ate in one of the restaurants that is basically right on the beach and the view was great and the food was good (a little expensive but good). The pool was nice, but it’s nothing spectacular- you do have the bay just steps away and the gorgeous Mission Beach basically across the street. Sea World is minutes away, you can walk to some great dining spots and the service was good. They rent bikes, segways, kayaks, paddle boats etc, but there are other cheaper rental places right along Mission blvd. We would love to stay here again if we can find it or a good price again...and the upgraded room helped too .

The entrance-

The Lobby-

The parrots outside-

Our room-

The view from our balcony- (the balcony was nice and big enough to sit and have breakfast on)-

The beach at the hotel (Mission Bay side, not the actual Mission Beach):

 

[DSNY4ever]

Hotel: The Hyatt Regency at Mission Bay
Location: Mission Bay
Date of stay: Sept. 2009
Price paid: Won a bid of $80 a night from priceline

My review: This hotel is really close to Sea World and apparently they have a ferry that can take you to Sea World (for a fee of course). That was one thing we didn’t like everything at the hotel was pricey. Self parking was $20 per day- yikes! And there is no where else that you can park, they have valet but it is even more $$$. We were really looking forward to the nice room pics and view we had seen online and were a little disappointed to get stuck in one of the small rooms that wasn’t part of the large tower and we were on the ground floor facing the parking lot (she mentioned that we were priceline bidders when we checked in and I knew we were getting a cheap price, but I think that’s why we didn't get a better room). But the actual room itself was nice, clean, very modern. It is on a marina which is pretty to walk around and there are many boat/ kayak rental companies along the marina. The pool area is really nice and they have 3 water slides which I was so excited about, but they were never open when we were there. We went to the pool in the evening around 6 both nights and they were closed, I tried checking in the morning, but they were still closed- I guess they only run during peak swim time? They had some nice looking, but expensive restaurants on site. Our stay was just alright. Be prepared for everything to cost extra, internet, parking... $4.50 if you drink an Aquafina from the mini fridge. But our room was nice, the pool is great and if you are going to Sea World it is very close.

Our room-

Our view- (it looks like we have a balcony but it is the walkway, with chairs on it)- we had to keep the blinds closed the whole time because people can walk right up to the sliding glass door. So it was a dark room and we had to keep the lights on during the day. -

The hotel from the Marina Side (the suites are the low building in the front, most of the rooms are in the tower, and then the “priceline” rooms are in a small building by the parking lot )-

view from parking lot

The pool- (yes of course it is heated)

grounds by pool-

 

[DSNY4ever]

Hotel: Holiday Inn
Location: Rancho Bernardo (about 10 minutes from wild animal park)
Date of stay: Sept 2009
price paid: booked through Hotwire for $70

My review: This is just a simple typical Holiday Inn. The check-in people were nice, the room was clean. Not much to say. It was very close to the Wild Animal park (about a 10 minute drive). It is hard to get much closer because the WAP is sort of out on a windy road near nothing. There was a Starbucks across the street and nearby places to eat. They offered a full breakfast/buffet in the in little restaurant in the lobby for $8.95, but we were in a hurry to get to the park. Parking is free.

Our room-

 

[snickerboo]

Hotel: Best Western Island Palms
Location: Shelter Island
Date of stay:Nov 7th-10th
Price Paid:$135/nt (2 Queen suite)through Ares Travel Sale

Review:This hotel is on upscale Shelter Island. One side faces the bay and one the marina so most rooms will have a great view. Our room was on the second floor in the Island Palms buildings facing the marina. The Casa del Mar buildings are brand new, the Island Palms buildings are older but have been renovated. We had a 2 Queen suite. This was what I would call a full-sized suite with a completely separate living room. It had a huge newly renovated bathroom with double sinks and a double shower (no tub). Kitchen was partially renovated (old cabinets, fridge and cooktop, everything else new). It had bar stools at a counter for eating. There was a little deck off to the side to sit out and enjoy the view. Two heated pools and two hot tubs. Never dined onsite. Shelter Island has many upscale restaurants (Bali hai, Humphrey's Half Moon, Brigantine, etc) but cheaper eats are just up the street on Rosecrans which is a short drive or a long walk. People were exceptionally friendly.