mdmom

We are planning a vacation this summer with our 16 y.o. daughter and 13 y.o. son, and would appreciate any suggestions for hotels in San Diego (3 nights), LA(3 nights) , Carmel (1 night), and SF(3 nights0.
I have heard good things about the Loews Santa Monica in LA, the Monaco in SF and the Argonaut in SF. We are trying to look at hotels in good locations - safe and "fun" for our kids with a budget of up to about $250 per night. Thanks in advance for your help!

TahitiTams

Hi..
For the San Diego Hotel, I would suggest staying in La Jolla..great places that would work for you and your family in LJ would be
Hotel La Jolla, Sea Lodge Hotel or
The Grande Colonial Hotel..
LJ Shores is a gorgeous beach to swim, boogie board and kayak..
Have a great time!

hotellajolla.com
sealodge.com
thegrandecolonial.com

TTess

In Santa Monica, the Hotel Oceania has suites with small kitchens that would be ideal for a family. If you call the hotel directly, you can get a less expensive rate than they're website. The hotel is beautiful, by the way.

In Carmel, you ought to check out the family cottages at the Green Lantern. You can walk to town and the beach from this location.

In SF, you may want to check out the club suite at the Prescott. I like that location better than the Monaco's.

kimamom

I would highly suggest the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. It is a very family-friendly resort situated right on the beach with surf camps, a nice swimming pool area for sunning, a spa, jacuzzi and several nice restaurants. We can't wait to return here again.

Have you considered Monterey for your family or are you set on Carmel? The Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa would be ideal for your family. Very luxurious and walking distance to the aquarium. They also have a nice rooftop spa, two great restaurants and gorgeous views of the Monterey Bay from the entire property.

Happy Travels! ***kim***

Lexma90

In San Diego, I would also recommend staying in La Jolla. Several years ago, we chose La Jolla over San Diego because it seemed to us that La Jolla offered an oceanfront location and many interesting restaurants that were all within walking distance. I've never stayed in San Diego, but in my searching, it seemed like you could get one or the other of those options (oceanfront OR many interesting restaurants in walking distance), but not both. Obviously, not everybody has those criteria! We (including our kids) really enjoyed La Jolla, the restaurants, the beaches and tide pools. The hotel (motel) was not one I'd really recommend, though it was ok - I don't even remember the name.

In SF, we've always stayed in the Union Square area because one of us adults is always there for a meeting. We're not into shopping, so in that respect it's not the best choice for us. But we're also not into the touristy areas by the wharf, so in THAT respect, Union Square is better. And it's very easy to catch the cablecar or a bus to other parts of the city. We stayed at Hotel Monaco once. Its public areas are gorgeous, but I found the rooms just average. More recently, we stayed in a suite (just a room large enough for a double/queen bed and a sofabed) at the Hotal Triton. Very fun, but a little over your budget at $299/night. Check out their website. I also love their location so close to the entrance to Chinatown, which for me is one of the best things about SF.

We've stayed in Carmel with our kids, chose it over Monterey, and are glad we did so. We visited Monterey, and went to the fabulous aquarium, but to me, the city seemed a bit run-down. In Carmel, we stayed at Dolphin Inn, which is a fancy motel (our kids were pretty young at the time), but it worked well for us. The kids loved the basket breakfast outside our door each morning (I was less impressed than they were with the selection).