I guess it depends on your concept of walking distance - but I would say it is within walking distance of the downtown Gaslamp district(restaurants and night spots) - and also the shopping at Horton Plaza.

And you are close to a trolley stop which can take you to Fashion Valley which has 7? Majors - or to Little Italy or Old Town for more restaurants.

see: http://hotelguides.com/california/map-san-diego-ca-downtown-hotels.html

Thanks Tomsd. We will be on a $50 a day per diem and like Mexican, Italian, burgers, and steak. Do you have any restaurant recommendations?

Our favorite Mexican restaurant now is Casa Guadalajara in Old Town - http://www.casaguadalajara.com/ and they also have a great happy hour with full/complimentary/hot H' or D'oeuvres and bargain Margaritas.

But in your immediate Hillcrest area - you could go for a month of good dining - and still have some options left, and there are also a number of different cuisines - including Thai. http://www.urbanspoon.com/n/27/2625/San-Diego/Hillcrest-restaurants

One small/authentic "hole in the wall" Mexican place - within walking distance - is El Zarape on Park Ave. Very inexpensive and love their fish tacos.

http://www.urbanspoon.com/n/27/2674/San-Diego/University-Heights-restaurants

And for reasonable - classic old style Italian in Little Italy - try Mona Lisa http://www.monalisalittleitaly.com/ - or a block down the street - Fillipis - which also has good pizza.

Steak places might be a bit more expensive than the other types of food mentioned - but if you really want some - let me know and I will give you a couple possibilities.

Oops. My bad. I thought you were the one staying in Hillcrest.

However - you can still catch the trolley to Little Italy or Old Town if you choose.

Downtown has a lot of dining options - and you will have to price them accordingly. Most of them are very good - and charge for it. http://www.sandiegorestaurants.com/neighborhood.cfm/neighborhood/4/GaslampQuarter

Actually - had a decent steak at an Irish Pub - the Field - and they had other choices too, plus they usually have good entertainment. http://www.thefield.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/events.woa

READ ALL the TA reviews about that hotel.

Have had friends stay at the Manchester Grand Hyatt and they liked it - another friend who was married in a banquet room with a great view overlooking the marina - and I/we also enjoyed the tremendous view from the bar on the 40th floor. http://tinyurl.com/all7nmb,

Now owner Doug Manchester has been rebuked for comments he has made - and I think there was a smear campaign of sorts following that. Even so - the reviews I just read on Tripadvisor - at least the initial ones - seemed favorable.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60750-d80219-Reviews-Manchester_Grand_Hyatt_San_Diego-San_Diego_California.html

As far as comments made by the owner of the Grand Hyatt I think Doug Manchester came out - saying he opposed gay marriage. He is also extremely (EXTREMELY) conservative and a big supporter of conservative causes. He recently bought the San Diego Union Tribune (our only local newspaper) and has turned it into a mouthpiece for his conservative causes. He only writes about the Republicans as good and Democrats as bad. We cancelled our subscription after 35 years!

As far as being within walking distance... The hotel is within walking distance but it is a fair hike from the Embarcadero, GasLamp, Downtown, and Little Italy (which are the areas you'd want to go for shopping and restaurants). You'd probably want to take buses or taxis. Depending on how long you'll be there, and if you'll only be in the downtown area you be fine without a car.

But if you plan to go to the Zoo, Balboa Park, Old Town, La Jolla, or other areas for sightseeing then you'll need a car for sure.

Check at the hotel but there is also a Trolley that serves downtown and Little Italy (it won't help for the Gas Lamp area).

Now now Nanabee: Some of us don't think Doug is all bad (he has done a lot for some charitable causes) - and hey - the local paper - the SD Union Tribune - at least IMO - was nothing to brag about before he took it over.

And it is a little walk from the hotel to the Gaslamp (you can always grab a taxi back if it's cooling off) - but I think it's manageable.

Also forgot - Seaport Village is right there - http://www.sandiego.org/members/shopping/seaport-village.aspx and they have some fun places to explore, as well as maybe walking up the Embarcadero (along North Harbor Drive) - and maybe having some fish and chips at Anthony's "fishette" - and sitting outside on the deck and looking across at Coronado.

Actually - for seafood - it doesn't get any fresher than at the Fish Market - right next to the USS Midway/Museum. http://www.midway.org/

In any event - the trolley stops across the street and you can hop it to Little Italy or Old Town - or to go shopping in Fashion Valley.

All good advice tomsd. I still don't agree about Doug Manchester! But, I don't think it would stop me from staying at his hotel.

The SD Union (he now calls it the UT) was becoming a rather good paper (still conservative) and received a Pulitzer Prize for their breaking report on the corrupt Congressman (R) Duke Cunningham.

And for decent burgers - and BBQ - you might try out Kansas City BBQ - where they filmed part of the movie - Top Gun - with Tom Cruise as "Maverick".

They also have a pretty lively bar. http://www.kcbbq.net/

Actually - I thought they also served burgers - but maybe not?

Anywho - here is more about the bar where they filmed scenes for Top Gun: http://www.kcbbq.net/topgunbar/

If you get up to the Hillcrest area (about 10 minute drive north of downtown San Diego) there are some fantastic restaurants & cafes. Our favorites are Burger Lounge, Bread & Cie, Peets Coffee, and my new favorite restaurant is in Mission Hills (about 5 minutes from Hillcrest) and is called Brooklyn Girl.


http://brooklyngirleatery.com/

Hey Nana: One of the gals at "my" Starbucks is moonlighting at Cafe Blue - right next to Brooklyn Girl?

http://www.cafebleusd.com/

i checked out the cafe bleu link tom and it is on washington street around the corner from brooklyn girl still very close. will have to check it out.

For Cafe Bleu - she recommended the Sunday eve - 3 course Prix Fixe meal - now on special for $17.95 and says the Coq Au Vin is very good: http://www.cafebleusd.com/menu/prixfixe.pdf

We were deciding where to go for lunch today and I said why not try Cafe Bleu as it sounded really good.

So here is a mini-trip report on the restaurant. The service was good, although I had to ask for a soda drink refill. The food was exceptionally good. I just had the Kobe beef hamburger with blue cheese and fries. I compared the hamburger to the one I had last week at Brooklyn Girl and Cafe Bleu's is much better by a long shot.

As far as ambience goes, Brooklyn Girl is a much better place to hang out with a group of people. The decor and design is modern, new, and very trendy & hip. Whereas, Cafe Bleu is clean but seems very dated. It's a little darker - the paint is a dark color and the furniture is dark and non-descript.

But by far I like the food at Cafe Bleu. It is someplace I would definately recommend! And thanks for telling me about it.

Holy fastest foodie in San Diego? Very impressive Nanabee and will pass this on to my friend. Hope to also try their Coq Au Vin.

Thanks for all the great recommendations!! Our trip is at the end of February. What can/should we expect regarding the weather?

One never knows for sure when a storm could blow in - but by and large - especially toward the end of Feb - pretty good weather. Here is one page: http://www.smartertravel.com/travel-advice/Destination-Month-Diego-February.html?id=289694

Feb is one of my favorite months because it's usually cool but sunny and there isn't the gray marine/fog layer. The skies are blue and clear.

Nanabee: Talked with my Starbucks friend again - the one who also works at Cafe Bleu - and she said that yes, it's a good hamburger alright - made from Kobe beef.

And in addition to the Coq Au Vin - she said the Pan-Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops are very popular - served on a bed of coconut risotto cake with a lemon beurre blanc sauce.

http://www.cafebleusd.com/menu/dinner.pdf

I'm planning to take DH soon. I am allergic to sea scallops so I am definately planning on the Coq Au Vin. Can't wait.
Will keep you posted.

We have been to California but never to San Diego. The information provided by fodorites is amazing!! It makes planning very easy!! Thank You!!

Happy to help japw82.

And ditto Nanabee. Now I/we really want to get over to Cafe Bleu in Hillcrest/Mission Hills. We love Scallops - so will probably try that - and glad you can enjoy Coq Au Vin, and Kobe Beef burger.

BTW - we just found a new - small Thai place last night - J & T - by Napa/Morena - at the bottom of Linda Vista road - and it was quite good and amazingly inexpensive. Had a decent Salmon/Thai style for $8, good small soups for $3 (veggie or with Chicken - $4 for meat) - and the normal price was $6 per entree (again - with veggie or Chicken - and for Pork/Beef - $1 more).

It may not be convenient for you but here is the info: http://www.yelp.com/biz/j-and-t-thai-street-food-san-diego

Thanks Tom - we will definately put it on our 'to try soon' list. It's very close about 15 min. by car.

Yo Nana: We were going to go to the Gonzaga pre-game party at USD tonight - but spent too much time pruning back the roses - so we just ordered Tahi takeout from J & T.

Was doggone good again - and oh so reasonable: $8 for the red curry Salmon, $6 for the marvelous Basil Spicy Chicken - and we split an order of Tom Ka soup - with chicken - for $3.

We are also babysitting - the "boys" - my cousin's Pug and French Bulldog - as they take their 3 year old twins to the SF Bay Area to watch the Super Bowl game at his sister's place.(Their dad/my 1st cousin - was a United pilot who used to fly the 49er charter) - so that also made ordering out an easy decision.

GO NINERS.

nanabee--

In upper Mission Hills, Café Bleu (used to be on University between 5th and 6th) is underutilized but nice at what it does. The Red Door, very close by, is better IMO, and Brooklyn Girl is quite nouveau but very noisy.

Our faves in Hillcrest (we live there and can walk to all of these) are Arrivederci, Kous Kous, Lotus Thai, Amarin Thai, 100 Wines (the new Cohn restaurant), Huapengo's, and Osteria Origano. Two very new informal dining places we will try soon are Sloppy's (health food burritos, etc.) and Project Pie (design-your-own pizzas), at the corner of University and Fourth.

In Bankers Hill? Barrio Star, Hexagone, and Avenue 5.

Good pizza in University Heights at Bruno's and in North Park at URBN.

Thanks d claude bear!

Great recommedations to add to list of places to try out. I've talked to several friends about Brooklyn Girl and they (like me) found the found to be just okay and not worth the fuss reviewers have made over it. I might give it another try for dinner because the ambiance is very nice.

tomsd

hubby & I went to J & T Thai on Linda Vista Road off Morena Blvd. I had the Pad Thai with beef - which was very good, very filling, and only $7.00. My hubby had the Fried Rice with Shrimp which was the BEST I've ever tasted. He is very picky about his fried rice dishes and he LOVED it. We will definately be back!

ttt