Courtney

My husband and I are going to be in San Diego for four days in February. We could really use some advice on where to stay. We would like to stay in a nicer hotel (not necessarily a resort, but that type of quality), near/on the beach, and close to restaurants, and nightlife. We will have a rental car to do some sightseeing, but we would love to stay on the beach and within walking distance of nightlife if possible. We have never been to San Diego, so any advice would be great. Some recommendations on restaurants and hangouts, golf courses, great beaches, and so on would also be appreciated. Thank you for your help!

c

I would recommend the Hotel Del Coronado. It's a beach front hotel that offers what you're looking for. Beautiful old historic hotel. You can drive across the bridge or take the ferry over to the downtown area of San Diego. The Gaslamp District will offer you plenty of choices when it comes to dining options.

Eileen

Courtney,

I'd recommend staying in La Jolla. The La Valencia and the Grande Colonial Hotel are both great and located at the La Jolla Cove. La Jolla offers amazing restaurants (try Nine Ten in the Grande Colonial, Sushi on the Rock for great sushi, The Cottage for breakfast, and Brockton Villa, overlooking the cove, for a terrific brunch. The "Coast Toast" is super! There are also several Italian restaurants, seafood, Mexican and even a fondue restaurant all within walking distance!) There's also lots of shopping in La Jolla, from antiques to jewelry and more.

Travelocity.com has some great rates at the Grande Colonial for the winter - I think around $150 a night. There's a beautiful pool and the cove right there too.

For more info on La Jolla, check out http://www.lajolla.com

Also, for some good visitor info for San Diego, visit http://www.signonsandiego.com and head to the Entertainment and/or Visitor sections.

Eileen

Courtney,

Forgot to add this:

http://thegrandecolonial.com

However, travelocity.com has better rates than the Grand Colonial's own site!

xxx

catamaran in pacific beach is nice. on the bay and a block from the beach. there is also the blue sea lodge (best western) right on pacific beach. much younger more casual area then la jolla. hotel del is definitly worth a day's visit but i personally wouldn't want to stay there - planes fly overhead alot, tons of tourists waundering around, no night life.

Barbara

Probably for the easiest access to nightlife, within walking distance, your best bet would be the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina.It's adjacent to the gaslamp district with all the restaurants and clubs there, though not on a beach. Keep in mind that, in February, it's very unlikely that you'd want to sit on the beach - too cold. You might also look at the Pacific Terrace hotel in Pacific Beach.Nice hotel and right on the beach, but the area might not fit your desire to be close to restaurants and nightlife as well as downtown. There are restaurants and a club or two, but not the variety that there is downtown.

Jeannette

I second the San Diego Marriott Marina hotel. I just returned from 3 days there and it was great. It fronts onto the harbor walk which we really enjoyed. The harbor walk takes you by the Seaport Village and other restaurants and sights. The hotel is just a few blocks from the Gaslamp District for great eating and nightlife. We had a car but we walked everywhere except to the Zoo and Balboa Park (about 5 minutes away from the hotel). Our room at the hotel was wonderful. The hotel is new, immaculate and has all the amenities you could want. The trolley is right out front in case you want to take a trolley ride a little further than you can walk but you don't want to use your car. I requested an Entertainment Card rate of $129 through their central reservations but they didn't ask to see my card when I checked in. $129 is a city view rather than a harbor view but we thought it was fine.

Mark K

I lived in San diego a short period years ago and return periodically for business. Heres the scoop for the short stay:
1) Since you want to be on the beach and have a car-take the guy's recommendation for the Hotel Del-its on the best beach in San Diego. If you want to save a few bucks, stay at the pretty Bay side of Coronado at the Marriottt Coronado Resort (my personal favorite). The view of the San Diego bay is great and your in walking distance of nice shops overlooking the bay. the beach is at the opposite end less than a mile away. Coronado also has a warm safe feel to it.
If you astay downtown, you're away from the beach but closer to the nightlife and shops. I prefer the beach resort and drive 15 minutes into the downtown area. Forget Pacific Beach-its surfer dudes and a step down. la Jolla is nice with nice hotels and excellent restaurants, but the area is a bit uppity. Go to Old Town and Casa Bandini's for a taste of Mexican/San Diego-cool place; go to Hillcrest for great Thai food at Taste of Thai. When downtown during the day, go to Dakotas for lunch. I could go on and on...

joe

Stayed at Humphrey's Half Moon Bay Inn and enjoyed it. We also enjoy Del Mar, 25 minutes north of San Diego, very quiet and relaxing, several restaurants within a short distance. It is close to La Jolla. All hotels in Del Mar are probably walking distance to the beach.

xxx

Hotel Del Coronado!

Ronnie

Wow we are a celebrating our 43rd. wedding anniversary (a young 43rd) and made reservations for 5 days at the Blue Sea Lodge because we wanted ocean front. Is this a real mistake. Hotel Coranado looked great but limited rooms and quite pricey. Anyone have a god experience at Blue Sea Lodge or should we cange our reservation. I just found this site... Great site for info,,

lisa

We stayed in a tiny, old room in the grand Hotel del Coronado, where some sort of pick-up or delivery truck made a racket below our windows in the wee hours of the morning....Sure it has character, but, if you do stay there, be wary of which room you are assigned.

Lynette

Ronnie
I have been checking out the Ocean Park Inn on Pacific Beach, for my vacation, and it looks like a nice moderate hotel. It includes continental breakfast and has gated parking. here in Canada, booking with Fun Sun Tours I got a 4th nite free.
Check out www.oceanparkinn.com