ragout

Attending a meeting in SD for three days ...wld love suggestions for hotels (say 3-4stars)

Then as my husband I have not had a vacation in over a year we wld like to stay in a charming town in a hotel with a simple pool. We are desperate for dry air!
We want to walk and not drive too much. Need to veg out in comfort but not over the top place.

We have one week to rest up. Any ideas will be gratefully received.

Many thanks dear Fodorites for any ideas.

janisj

When is the trip? Makes a huge difference . . .

dfrostnh

I attended a conference at Town and Country Resort in San Diego and enjoyed the facilities. Although our room was in a high rise, there are various older buildings that also have rooms and restaurants. There's a couple of pools and lots of gardens. It sprawls. I liked the white table cloth restaurant very much, the deli was fine for quick lunches, but I didn't care for the food at the pub. The other amenities are the great mall within walking distance and public transportation behind the resort. You can stay there without a car and not feel trapped. I think this would fit your idea of "charming with a simple pool".

nytraveler

Have been there 3 times - all for conferences of one type or another. This is a place that survives on conferences and usually most of the people there are part of the event - meaning that not all facilities may be available to all guests.

Also - not sure what you mean by "dry air" - SD is not usually dry. In my several visits there - at various times of year we have had everything from drizzles to major rain storms (within palm tree fronds whipping against the door of our balcony room).

It sounds like you probably need to go further inland to find a really dry (desert) town.

janisj

I'm pretty sure the OP is asking where to go for the vacation part after they are done in SD. They want dry air -- didn't say they wanted dry air IN San Diego.

That is why I asked when the trip is . . like Palm Springs would be great in February, brutal in August.

elizzie4000

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ragout - Where in SD is your meeting? If you let us know we might be able to give hotel advice within walking distance. If not, it would still help to know where you are headed for your meeting everyday.

>
WHEN is this trip? If it's before summer Palm Springs, Temecula, Borrego Springs might all be good places for dry air and a pool. If you're coming in the summer, then you don't want to go to those places since they can get to 105 degrees or so.

nanabee

Dry air? I would take elizzie's recommendations.

But, lately San Diego has been having a lot of hot dry Santa Ana weather conditions.

ragout

My apologies for the delay in responding to the question of when we would be vacationing. Had to go out of town on biz for a few days

janisj an excellent question - when we will be in SD? Silly of me not to spell it out. We will be there from April 15th -18th then we are free to vacation for a week!

We have decided to go with the Conference's hotels on offer an have booked on that will work. So now really searching for the perfect vacation location

La Jolla sort of fits the bill. Small town, walkable, hotel with pools, good food. Do you have any more of your great ideas? But gather it can get really busy.

Many thanks in advance for all your help. It truly makes this site the "go to" site for advice worth receiving.

ltt

la jolla is part of the city of san diego. be careful if you book a hotel there that it is in the "vllage" by the coast. some hotels have a la jolla address but are inland many miles. if you want to stay in san diego, that is definitly an option. i'd consider 2 nights on catalina island and a few nights in laguna beach. the desert is fabulous in april. it would be helpful if you gave us a dollar figure on how much you want to spend each night for your hotel. do you want just a room with a bed or more of a suite? kitchen?

elizzie4000

Be careful booking a hotel that has La Jolla in it's name. You need to make sure you stay in the Village of LJ so you can walk to restaurants, art galleries, etc. Many hotels are on the other side of the 5 Freeway and not much to walk to other than a mall.

Coronado across from downtown SD might also be a nice relaxing option. Beautiful Beach and a nice little Village and the historic Hotel del Coronado.

Have a look at Coronado Marriott, Glorietta Bay Inn, La Avenida.

ragout

Thanks you nanabee, janisj, ltt, elizzie4000.
I was looking at Grande Colonial in La Jolla for a few days for our vacation part of the trip. King with kitchenette. Do you have thoughts on this hotel?
Also like the suggestions about other hotels as well. Maybe we will try a few days in another one so we get a variety of experiences.
Now that the Cdn dollar has dropped so much - less then 80c CDN to $1USD, our preferred type of room will cost about USD225-275/nt! Am I in the ball park for the above suggestions?
You are all the best!

elizzie4000

Grande Colonial is a good location to walk around the village and lots of places to eat. When you leave the village to visit any sights you need to avoid rush hour times because the road leaving gets pretty backed up.

If you are going to visit anywhere south and the main road going to the 5 Fwy is backed up take this route;

http://goo.gl/maps/X6qP7

Get on the 5 South Freeway at Garnet

Or you can drive all the way to Downtown SD w/o getting on the freeway
http://goo.gl/maps/978S6