Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego

Old Jan 15th, 2013, 01:08 PM
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Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego

Is the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego within walking distance to shops and restaurants? If not, is a taxi necessary or is their mass transit available? Thanks!!
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Old Jan 15th, 2013, 02:53 PM
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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/ma...wn-hotels.html
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Old Jan 15th, 2013, 03:07 PM
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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?
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Old Jan 15th, 2013, 06:30 PM
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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/...st-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/...ts-restaurants
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Old Jan 15th, 2013, 06:33 PM
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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.
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Old Jan 15th, 2013, 06:40 PM
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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/n...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
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Old Jan 16th, 2013, 01:18 AM
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READ ALL the TA reviews about that hotel.
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Old Jan 16th, 2013, 02:43 AM
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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_Rev...alifornia.html
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Old Jan 16th, 2013, 05:24 AM
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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!
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Old Jan 16th, 2013, 05:33 AM
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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.
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Old Jan 16th, 2013, 05:36 AM
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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).
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Old Jan 16th, 2013, 06:46 AM
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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/shop...t-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.
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Old Jan 16th, 2013, 06:52 AM
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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.
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Old Jan 16th, 2013, 06:53 AM
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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/
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Old Jan 16th, 2013, 06:56 AM
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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/
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Old Jan 16th, 2013, 07:09 AM
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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/
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Old Jan 16th, 2013, 07:56 AM
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Hey Nana: One of the gals at "my" Starbucks is moonlighting at Cafe Blue - right next to Brooklyn Girl?

http://www.cafebleusd.com/
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Old Jan 16th, 2013, 08:01 AM
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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.
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Old Jan 16th, 2013, 08:46 AM
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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
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Old Jan 16th, 2013, 01:00 PM
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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.
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