Heavens

I have been to San Diego many times, and stayed on the beach at the Catamaran (it is nice, great location, expensive), Bahia, I think, is kind of run down, but good location, and Blue Sea Lodge is OK, but not as nice as Cat.

What about Coronado. I know the Del is on the beach, but is the Loews? I mean right on the beach? Looking for a few days in August with two teenage kids, so room and queen beds are a must.

And then there is La Jolla, Tennis Club and the other one next to it.

And do you all know anything about Carlsbad? Any nice hotels on the beach up there?

Just thinking ahead. We would love to get a condo, but that would be a weekly rental and not sure we have that kind of time, with sports and jobs and all with the teens. Any info would be helpful. Thanks.

TahitiTams

Hi..
Bang for the buck for Oceanfront in SD is the Sea Lodge Hotel in La Jolla next to the LJ Beach & Tennis Club.(same owner)
Rates can go for as low as $219 and you can go to there website at: ljbtc.com
or Expedia you can maybe get a better deal..With teens they can learn to surf, go bodysurfing, snorkeling and kayaking..The water is gorgeous very clean and great to be a family out on the beach..Your teens will love it!
Quaint restaurants in a block or two and the Sea Lodge has a pretty good restaurant too..
Also, the Hotel La Jolla is 2 blocks off the beach..High rise with views with rates around $169 in August and the La Jolla Cove Suites across from the cove go for about $200+
Love Coronado and the Del is wonderful.. Loew's is on the bay..
I used to be a fan of the Cat but PB and Mission Beach are just a bunch of drunks and bums everywhere and it is just out of control..
August is our busiest month so I would book now..
Have fun!

Barbara

Hi Heavens,

The beach at La Jolla Shores, where the Sea Lodge is, is a major favorite beach amongst teenagers in SD. Your teens will love it. The Beach and Tennis Club is probably already booked, it tends to have the same people very year from Texas and Arizona.

Hotel La Jolla is more than two blocks from the beach and is on the busiest corner in La Jolla. The restaurant does have great views, as do the rooms on higher floor. All the rooms face west to the ocean.

While my current experience of Pacific Beach and Mission Beach is limited, My kids go down there occasionally and they are neither drunks nor bums. Lots of tourists stay there and I'm sure most of them are not drunks. And, a lot of people live there and I even know some of them and they're not drunks or bums. IMO, it's not as nice as La Jolla, but don't necessarily write it off. People here often recommend the Pacific Terrace and the Ocean Park Inn, both in Pacific Beach.

The Loews is not right on the beach. It's on the Bay side of the road and the beach is on the other, ocean, side. (obviously!) I believe the hotel has a golf cart or something that takes guests to and from the beach.

TahitiTams

Barbara,
Being a SD native and living at the beach (LJ) I can tell you that PB and MB are full of bums, drunks and tattoo parlors.. I have friends who have homes and condos there and it has become a mess! Maybe you should come down and really check out Pacific Terrace(NorthPB and nicer) or Ocean Park Inn.. One of the local news station just did a big story about tourists and their opinion of PB and the Ocean Park Inn was one of the hotels you they had mentioned and the tourists were aghast at the transient population that congregated in front of the hotel and boardwalk and how the tourist couldn't stay out on their balconies because of the actions from the bums..
As far as Hotel La Jolla goes it is 2-3 small blocks and for $169.00 a night it is a bargain.. Friends of mine do own the LJBTC and yes, it does have the same families from Dallas every year but I am talking about the Sea Lodge and if you can get into the Club, Go for it..
I have homes from La Jolla,Poway, Del Mar and rental property in Pacific Beach so I feel I can speak with authority on this without going by what my teenage kids say..
I am not saying that every single person that lives in PB or MB is a bum or a drunk but the problem is so bad that the AZ tourist trade was down significantly from last year because of the transients running the show and the SD Police are overwhelmed.
I have good friends who are police officers(SDPD) in the beach area, bike patrol and atv's and they cannot keep up.
I don't know where you live but you need to get out more if you are going to start giving advice about San Diego!
The City of SD wanted to put in a drunk tank in PB but the residents stated that there is already enough drunks in there town and didn't want anymore..

hsv

Tahiti,

I don't think any personal attacks around here are called for.

Barbara as a resident in the area has been an authority on San Diego at this board for quite a while. I am only a visitor to the area, but her advice has been very valuable for me as for others, I am sure.

Nobody here questions the legitimacy of the advice you are giving, especially since you are obviously living in the area, too, and seem to know quite a few people. It just doesn't come across too well if you try to validate your advice while berating other's.

Especially so, as you aren't that far apart from Barbara in assessing the situation: Hotel La Jolla should be quite nice (it is from my experience at least a 10 min. walk from the beach), and Pacific Beach is not as nice and orderly as La Jolla.

So why the stir?

TahitiTams

Hi hsv..
I only berate one who states they know a subject but go on their kids advice.
I am sure she, Barbara is a lovely woman but if I were a tourist and took the advice to stay in Pacific Beach or Mission Beach and to say it is nice without letting this forum know that it is filled with drunks, bums and tattoo parlors, I would be doing a major disservice to this forum.
Demographically, if you are in the age group of 14-29 then probably PB and MB are for you.
Being proud of SD and knowing it very well, I want tourists to see the good of SD and recommending places that you visible see urination in public, puking and tons of bums with carts doesn't reflect well of our wonderful city!
I don't want to make a stir, I just want people to be informed and then decide.

Barbara

hsv, thanks very much.

tahiti,I've lived in San Diego for thirty years, My kids are no longer teens and, yes, I can rely on what they say. Oh, they are "native San Diegans" too. MB and PB are not their favorites either.

I was not criticizing LJBT for having its regulars, it's just a statement of fact, and it makes it difficult to get in there in August. I mentioned it because Heavens did.

The City didn't want to put its "drunk tank" in PB, the charitable organization which runs a recovery program for alcoholics wanted to relocate there as their current space in the downtown area is being redeveloped. PB residents do not want it in their neighborhood because they didn't want the drunks it inevitable attracts being drawn to PB. I don't disagree with them, but at no time did I read or hear they have enough of their own.

Your contributions border on a lack of accuracy which is disturbing because strangers to San Diego read it and, as you constantly tell us that you are a "native San Diegan" and you drop names, they believe you.

I have no idea why you felt the need to attack me.

Tess

I stayed at Pacific Terrace two years ago with my pre-teen daughter. I have to say that at no time did we see the type of people decribed by TahitiTams. That's not to say they're not there but we didn't see them and felt perfectly safe the whole stay. LOVED the Pacific Terrace and would stay there again if the opportunity came up.

TahitiTams

Barbara..
Wow, I thought you were a better person than that to state that my contributions border on inaccuracies and your statement alone is disturbing..
I am proud to be a native SD because there are very few of us around that can claim that title and second as far as my contributions to this forum they are concise and truthful.
The people who claim they come here yearly have no idea the problems that we face everyday with the vagrant situation. The Hotels are good at masking the problem so when you get up they have shooed the bums off the doorsteps and hosed off the urine and puke..
As a tourist, I would want to know this information. that is why we come to Fodor's!

SandyBrit

I am not a San Diego native but visit yearly so I'll speak as a tourist. I have stayed at the Ocean Park Inn and enjoyed it very much. Yes there were some scruffy people hanging around in front of the hotel but they in no way bothered us. The mix of guests at the hotel was mixed including many young families with children. Poster Heavens is familiar with the area because of her reference to the Blue Sea Lodge.

Lots of people on this board do like The Pacific Terrance in the same area but costs more $'s.

I agree with the comments made by hsv pertaining to Barbara and feel that is no need for such a personal attack.

Heavens posted a good question. Can we get some more recommendations from others.

Sandy

ksucat

Hello to all,

I have been using and reading Fodor's forums for a long time and have never posted, but I wanted to get in on this one. As a short timer in the San Diego area, only 17 years (3 in Pacific Beach), I may not be as familiar with all parts of the city as Barbara and Tahiti, but I have to agree that a full vacation in Pacific Beach is not the ideal place to stay. I would recommend day trips with the kids to Pacific and Mission Beaches but stay in La Jolla, Del Mar, Coronado, or even downtown.

One of the reasons I left PB was the large number of bars, drunken college kids and incredible number of homeless alcoholics. My car was constantly being broken into. It's a place for young adults who enjoy the bars and loud entertainment.

I don't want to offend those who live in PB and Mission Beach, because there are nice parts of both areas, but it just isn't the place for a family not familiar with San Diego to spend their evenings and nights.

Heavens

Woops, didn't mean to start an arguement among San Diegans. It is possible to live in the same city and have two very different points of view, both valid.

I have many, many friends who own second homes and condos in PB and have for years. YES, it can get seedy and crowded, and crazy, but with two teenage kids, that is a draw. They can go off on their own, in groups and find each other and feel safe. There are areas that I tell them NOT to go, but it really is pretty safe, for older kids, IMO.

But then I have friends who own second homes in LJ, and they would not be caught DEAD owning anything in Mission Beach. So, it is a matter of opinion... Please, Fodorites, kiss and make up and let's help each other out with our travel plans, OK?

I am not SD ignorant, just wanted to find out a little more info before I book something. Both La Jolla Beach and Tennis and the Sealodge are booked for the dates we were looking for.

I think I have narrowed it down to a few other options. Everything else is booked or very expensive. The Terrace is about $400. and both the Cat and Bahia do not have queens. So, I'll keep looking around.

BTW, I do not recommend Mission Beach on the fourth of July or Sundays in the summer. I have heard horror stories of people getting stranded and not getting out of there until 2 am bc of the crowds and traffic.

Thanks all. Let's get along and help each other out, OK? You all have been great for advice and tips in my very favorite city in the world, unless you tell me to eat a meal at the Cheesecake Factory, LOL...

Heavens

ltt

have you looked into capri condo's - it's on pacific beach.

sunbum1944

The original question asked about Carlsbad- which happens to be my favorite beach town. I have never stayed at a hotel there because I had family to stay with - but I know there is a BestWestern Beach Terrace Inn right on the beach in Carlsbad - walking distance to downtown and all the restaurants and shops. I have only walked through the lobby and checked out the beach access so no details - just know it looked OK from what I saw.
I also like the Mission Beach/ Pacific Beach area even though it gets a bad rap - I have stayed there several times at the Blue Sea Lodge because I like staying right on the beach -