San Diego Hotels?

[janine]

I did post this in the travel thread so sorry for the repeat, but have procrastinated planning so could really use some suggestions as only 3 more weeks until we head to SD for 4 nights . We plan on usual family stuff, the Zoo, Sea World and are coming from NJ so this is a first time visit. I booked Lowes Coronado as heard it's near everything plus it's full service, lots of pools for the kids (4, 7). However the Lowe's only has availability 3 out of the 4 nights, and Del Coronado is totally booked. Are there any other similar/great options in the area? Thank you!!!

[Ms B]

We had a very nice stay at the Glorietta Bay Inn about 3 years ago. The property is not on the beach, but a short walk away. The included breakfast was bountiful and the pool was lovely. The entire property was well-maintained and located a short walk from the Coronado "strip". We found the drive into San Diego very manageable.

I note that we did NOT like the zoo. It was very expensive and crowded and very hilly. I would pick Sea World over the zoo in a heartbeat. We also liked stopping at "Seal Beach" in LaJolla on the way down from LA.

[janine]

We had a very nice stay at the Glorietta Bay Inn about 3 years ago. The property is not on the beach, but a short walk away. The included breakfast was bountiful and the pool was lovely. The entire property was well-maintained and located a short walk from the Coronado "strip". We found the drive into San Diego very manageable.

I note that we did NOT like the zoo. It was very expensive and crowded and very hilly. I would pick Sea World over the zoo in a heartbeat. We also liked stopping at "Seal Beach" in LaJolla on the way down from LA.

Thanks for the tip - how about lego land? Although seems far out and I have 2 girls so they can take it or leave it. I love the Seal Beach recommendation thanks and will look into Glorietta Bay Inn.

[SnuggleBuggles]

We really loved the Homewood Suites Liberty Station. If you do a search on these boards, you'll see it's a very popular recommendation. We've stayed in other HS and they are fine but this one is just really nice! It's a great home while you are traveling. Yeah, it's not a 5 star hotel but it has everything you need. On our trip, we stayed at a fancy Hilton downtown then the HS and we vastly preferred the HS.

Tagging onto the "seal beach"- make a half day out of it by going to the Birch Aquarium http://aquarium.ucsd.edu/ then lunch at Caroline's Seaside Cafe, right below the aquarium on the water http://grnfc.com/carolines/ (go slightly off times bc it gets crowded!) then go over to see the seals.
We also weren't big zoo fans. We did go on kind of a dreary day but it was low crowds, at least. We just thought it was really $$ and not as amazing as I expected. The Wild Animal park (or whatever it is currently called) was worth the time and $ instead though.

Legoland is good for non-thrill riders. :) My ds1 was 5 when we went and it was too tame for him. He still had fun. DOn't pay full price though- there are free kid coupons all over the place. It's too $$ for what it is.

[mackmama]

No hotel recs near Coronado but thought I'd add some other thoughts. The zoo is very hilly so bring a light stroller for the 4yo if you go. Legoland is fun but far. You might want to spend a day at the La Jolla Shores beach. It's a great family beach. Then you could also go to the Scripps Aquarium right up the hill from the beach in LJ. You could eat at Barbarella's or Piatti's in LJ Shores. Patio seating is fun for the kids and laid back. Just another day idea in case Coronado gets old. Sea World is fun and flat but very little shade so wear sunscreen and be prepared if it's hot out. You could also go on one of the rides where you get wet to cool off. Mission Bay is fun to rent paddleboats although you might be able to do that in Coronado too. Have fun!

[pinay]

Paradise Point might be another good hotel option to look into- it's in Mission Bay so actually closer to Sea World than the Coronado hotel options. http://www.paradisepoint.com/
If you end up deciding to add Legoland, there's an Omni Hotel in Carlsbad that has a great pool area. If you swapped out the Zoo Safari Park instead of the zoo that's in Balboa Park, it would actually be a pretty decent location for that as well. http://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/san-diego-la-costa
The Marriott downtown right by the convention center is nice too, but less of a resort feel if that's what you are looking for. http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sandt-marriott-marquis-san-diego-marina/
The Catamaran is another option you might consider, it's in Mission Bay and many of the rooms have bayfront access. https://www.catamaranresort.com/

Hope that helps- have a great time!

[mom2binsd]

I would not plan on swimming at the beach, it will be very cold. Feet in the water and tidepool's are fine with good water shoes, but March and April are still chilly beach days . La Jolla Shores has some great tide pools, check the tide forecast, if you go to the left of the main beach during low tide you should find them.

Balboa Park is nice and there are a few small museums if the weather isn't cooperating.

I'd stay at Liberty Village over Coronado just for ease of transportation, getting across the bridge can be a pain at times.

[SnuggleBuggles]

If you are members of any museums, check reciprocal deals. Our museum memberships allowed free or discounted admission at the museums in Balboa Park.

[Kindra178]

The Wild Animal Park is amazing compared to the zoo. We love the Sheraton San Diego. It's very close to the airport and a good in between place between downtown San Diego and the attractions away from downtown.

[smilequeen]

http://www.fairmont.com/san-diego/

That is where we stayed. We went to the zoo, Sea World, the Wild Animal park, and Legoland. Our friends drove up for a Disneyland day. It's not on the beach but we are not fans of so cal beaches so that wasn't a priority. We just took their shuttle for a few hours

[Ms B]

Thanks for the tip - how about lego land? Although seems far out and I have 2 girls so they can take it or leave it. I love the Seal Beach recommendation thanks and will look into Glorietta Bay Inn.

We did not make it to Legoland. We went to SD with my parents, DB and the probable future SIL and ended up going to the USS Midway instead because that is where my dad wanted to go (which is how things work in our family . . . the rest of us make plans and then he vetoes the plans when he wants to do something in his area of interest (boats, planes, guns, history)). I do not recommend the Midway unless everyone in the family is very into those types of venues; it is a lot of narrow stairs and reading and I was bored to tears.

I do recommend Donut Bar: http://www.donutbar.com. I have something of a doughnut obsession and can say that their product is competitive with the best of them (Donut Plant, Doughnut Vault, Firecakes, Glazed & Infused, Federal Donuts, etc.). Well worth the wait. We also liked The Mission very much for breakfast - it was both kid friendly and tasty. Website here: http://www.themissionsd.com.

[bw52]

I have no rec on hotels, but am so surprised so many prefer the safari park over the zoo! I much prefer the zoo. My girls (4 and 6) love the skyfari ride there. The safari park is much more spread out and doesn't have much shade so on a sunny day it gets much hotter than the zoo.

Also, we prefer the zoo, beach, sea world over legoland. Definetely find free kids passes if you do go to legoland--they are all over.

[janine]

Thank you for all the great suggestions! I'll look into them all and see what we come up with :).

[AnnieW625]

Love the Homewood Suites Liberty Station, but it books up really quick. Last year I wanted it for the last week in August and it was already booked in April or May.

We have also stayed at the Doubletree Hotel downtown and liked it. It was within walking distance to Little Italy, and there are some other nearby kid friendly restaurants like Burger Lounge. They have a nice simple pool area and a nice workout area. You do have to pay to park, but the trolley is also in walking distance to the hotel as well.

Pre kids DH and I stayed at the Hyatt Mission Bay, and the Hotel La Jolla at the Shore and we liked them both.

I haven't been to the Wild Animal Park in 16 yrs., but my only suggestion is to not go there if it is going to be 80 degrees in San Diego proper because it gets really hot out there, and I wouldn't want to go out there if it was going to be more than 85 there.

Legoland is fun but way overpriced in my opinion. I wouldn't pay full price to go there. Check out Costco for a San Diego city pass.

I haven't been to Sea World since 2008.

[HannaAddict]

Loved the zoo. Took a free bus tour of it to start (not long) and kids loved that and then walked and saw tons of animals (kids were 6,3, 9 mos) and it is a big zoo so once we had made it all the way to the other side, took the sky tram/gondola back and that worked great even with our UppaBaby Vista. I would never ever support Sea World and in our peers no one would so surprised people will still go (check out Blackfish and NYTimes article on their horrific practices). Heard good things about the wild animal park too. Kids loved Legoland too and it can be done in one day. We started our trip at Legoland and stayed across the street from Legoland at the suites hotel (grand pacific palisades I believe) and then moved to the beach in San Diego at Pacific Terrace Hotel and it was a cool place to stay with a pool right on the beach and boardwalk to check out and walk along. I've stayed at Lowes Coronado before and it is a big hotel and has great bathtubs! Fish tacos in San Diego were terrific too, at a little local chain. Have fun. Lots to do we didn't even scratch the surface.


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