I would not stay at the BW Lamplighter on EC blvd and the Days Inn near Sea World on Rosecrans can be a bit dicey but a lot better location and minutes to the beach..just keep your wits about you because there are homeless that hang out, usually harmless but drug activity.
When are you planning to be here and I take it you are budget minded?
You do not want to stay up in the College area unless you are a student or live there.

El Cajon Blvd is pretty far from the tourist attractions, and I wouldn't say its any better an area than Rosecrans.

Rosecrans does have some "girly bars", but it is also a major shopping area these days, and convenient to everywhere.

I would not stay on El Cajon Blvd if you paid me to. SDSU isn't a long way from anything, but if there are still students around the area can be noisy at night.

Rosecrans is better, IMO, but still not a great tourist area.

What is your budget? Maybe someone can come up with a better idea.

Thanks for the info so far. Three votes towards Rosecrans (Days Inn), but not glowing.

I can spend more than the $67/nt. that each costs, but I don't need fancy because I will be out most of the three days that I will be in town. I don't want to spend more than $70/nt.

Generally, I just need clean and safe, but it's difficult to decipher the information from the hotels and sometimes even the reviews.

I can handle myself and I'm not elitest, but I don't necessarily want to spend my brief time in S.D. in suspect surroundings. It seems that unless one is on the bay at $200 a night, there isn't much out there.

I may keep looking, so I'm open to suggestions. What about Mission Valley? Hotel Circle?

How about the Residence Inn Downtown?
It's a very nice art-deco place.

The Motel 6 in Hotel Circle/Mission Valley might fit the bill for you..its around $65 a night for a single and its minutes to the beach and central to everything..
Also try Comfort Inn & Suites and
Super8 Motels and La Quinta Inn & Suites..
The Residence Inn in Downtown SD is between $110-$179 a night but a decent choice but the train keeps a lot of people up.
The Hotel Circle /Mission Valley is a great central location and the SD Trolley has numerous stops to get around if you don't want to always take your rental car to Downtown SD and Old Town and if you want to go to the border.
The time of year that you are going is key to the price you pay.

Heck you don't have to go to Rosecrans to find the girls the Motel 6 on Pacific Highway is right next door to one. It was clean and actually fairly quiet given the traffic and all. There was a Travelodge I believe a little further west than the Days Inn. Tahiti is it still there?

egret, do you work for Residence Inn?

Nope. Just like them a lot and have tons of Marriott points.

hulajake..Are you from Austin?
Travelodge in Hotel Circle is still there and that might work for you too!
Motel 6 is in Hotel Circle..

Nothing against adult entertainment, but geez, how many strip clubs does S.D. have? I'm from a relatively "big" city, so they are not unheard of, but it just seems like they are near every hotel that I check.

I looked at the Motel 6s, but what about the one on 2nd Avenue? It got good reviews. The one on Pacific Highway was already out due to the air traffic and trains.

It seems like most things on Hotel Circle are okay with many of you.

San diego is a naval town. Enough said.

Hotel circle is fine for what you are looking for.

Thanks, frank_and_beans. I knew that about S.D., but the connection between the two slipped my mind.

So Hotel Circle is a definite possibility; still considering Motel 6 on 2nd or something in Mission Bay (Days Inn, etc.).

I'm narrowing it down.

www.oldtown-inn.com

TahtiTams:
I was kept up by the train at the Residence Inn downtown - I could not recommend that hotel but know it has great reviews on trip advisor - so I am the odd man out.
I would stay in Mission Valley/Hotel Circle as well - that seems to be a good bet - or you could live large and do priceline - I have gotten great rates on hotels the night before I head south - but I live in OC so am not gambling too much .

If you are attending graduation cermonies than Hotel Circle would be closer to the arena. We have a niece graduating SDSU this year but also. For a nice area and a good price you could look at Holiday Inn Express on La Jolla Blvd or right across the street is a Travelodge I think they are both about the same price.
No TT I am not from Austin but you can never be too careful.

Someone mentioned priceline and I did a quick check on betterbidding. Don't see alot of bids for Hotel Circle and Mission Valley. What part of town will you be visiting or will you be sightseeing everywhere? The reason I am asking is because some of the 3* hotels in Del Mar are being accepted for $50-$60 dollars. This is a very nice area but a little further to drive if you are going to be downtown or by SDSU the whole time. So just something to think about.

$50-$60 Hotels in Del Mar on Priceline..What a deal! Del Mar is gorgeous beach town..
Hey hulajake..are coming to SD for the graduation?

TahitiTams-I thought that was a great deal, too. Don't know what part of May the OP is visiting so the price could go up but still a deal. I know that graduation at USD is on Memorial Day weekend as I have friends coming from Arizona for their son's graduation. Talk about finding a hotel room-a holiday weekend and graduation!!

I like Priceline and have done well with using it for the downtown area - the only disappointment was once getting the Holiday Inn on PCH (right by the Residence Inn)- but for the price I was not complaining...

Don't forget the hotels in Carmel Valley refer to their location as "Del Mar". So a Priceline hotel in Del Mar could be the Doubletree or the Marriott there.

We want to and haven't ruled anything out but it looks like we need a pot of gold or close to it. We have three weddings also to fit in one in Boston one here and one in Hawaii. The latter of the three is for sure ( our daughter's ). At least this is inside her younger sister's graduation from San Diego High was outdoors in the football stadium. Between them chasing everything that kept blowing off the tables and the planes coming in it was quite a show. I'll be sure to message you if we can swing it.

It seems you end up driving wherever you stay in San Diego.

I'm sorry I can't comment on the motels you mention, but we just returned from a trip that included two nights at the Homewood Suites near Del Mar--about ten miles north of San Diego. Our one-bedroom "suite" was perfect and breakfast was a big, satisfying spread. Monday-Thursday a light meal and drinks are served in the evening.

This is a really good place which now has excellent I-5 access.

We have been pleased with Homewood Suites in Chicago, Scottsdale, and now San Diego. On the other hand, we never know what we're going to get when we book at Days Inn or Best Western, so we have stopped using them. However, if these were my only choices, I would go for the Best Western.

hula..congrat's on your daughters wedding in Hawaii!
We all will be here for you for SD.
itravelsome,
I think getting a room at the Marriott/Doubeltree would be a great deal at $50-60 and can't beat the location even though it is across the freeway of Del Mar..but sounds like you might want to be downtown.

The Trains/AMTRAK are extremely loud TONIGHT, Downtown/San Diego @ 9:55pm & 10:20pm ... not good. The 1st one was leaning on the Horn at each intersection ... Sheesh ...