California San Diego area lodging
 

Planning a trip to San Diego in Sept for our 40th anniversary. Going to be there for about a week. We are a little touristy and a lot, beachy. Looking at Coronado, La Jolla, Del Mar.......any suggestions for lodging? Thanks in advance.

Budget?

Up to $400 per night

We have stayed many times at the Grand Colonial in LaJolla.

Del Mar is nice but is a bit north of San Diego proper, pretty sure horseracing is over by September. Have stayed in La Jolla but not Coronado. Have fun.

I assume you'll have a car to get around? I think Del Mar is a bit north for everyday sightseeing but can be done when avoiding rush hour traffic.

Hotel del Coronado
http://hoteldel.com/

In La Jolla also look at La Valencia

glorietta bay - coronado - close by the del but less expensive
la jolla - very nice, a little more hilly for walking then coronado. if booking there, make sure it's close to the village...some hotels have la jolla postal codes but are miles away from the coast. haven't stayed there but la valentia gets good reviews.
a lot of people like the pacific terrace on pacific beach. younger crowd then la jolla or coronado

Del Mar is a bit far from the city. I'd stay in La Jolla or see if you can find a rental in Pacific Beach.

http://www.lavalencia.com/

The La Valencia is in the heart of La Jolla as is the Colonial Inn.

La Jolla has a lot of stuff to do and see. Del Mar is beautiful but is further away from a lot of tourist sights and traffic on I-5 in and out of Del Mar is terrible during rush hour.

Which area or city you decide on depends on what you want to do and see, what kinds of activities and sites you are interseted in.

I'd definitely stay in LaJolla or Coronado -- both beach towns but with a completely different vibe. Coronado is beachy, with people walking around in bathsuits and coverups, riding bikes, having an ice cream cone. LaJolla is beautiful, upscale, with great shopping and dining. (I've not been to Del Mar but I wouldn't want to be that far from the city if sightseeing were on my agenda -- I'd rather stay closer in and go to Del Mar for half a day).

Both Coronado & La Jolla are upscale places. I don't think their vibe is all that different. I worked on Coronado for 6 years and spent a lot of time in the Village near the beach. Yes, you'll see some people in beachy attire but not exclusivly. Lot of working people, military, residents, kids coming and going to school. I don't think I ever saw anyone walking around in a bathing suite. And you can't ride bikes on Orange Blvd which is the main road in the Village. You will see people riding around the Coronado Ferry Landing but not on the main street.

So both Coronado and La Jolla are very nice places.

Lot of working people, military, residents, kids coming and going to school.

Which to me is not the vibe given off by LaJolla at all.

Well, there are a LOT of offices in the village of La Jolla with business people out and about. That is a big given. And there are schools with kids coming and going in and near the village. Lots of residents going about their daily life including the post office, grocery store, hardware store, etc. I lived there as well. So the only thing that might be a little different fron Coronado is the military. But, in all my years working in Coronado the military personnel generally changed into plain clothes before going out. So, no, you don't generally see a lot of uniforms but you can come into contact with military when you are out and about. At least the ones that live on base.

Having lived / worked in both places I don't find a significant difference between the two Villages as far as any more upscale feel. La Jolla has more art galleries and restaurants with a view of the ocean. Coronado doesn't. That's the biggest difference.

It is nice that you have a plan for the trip. I visit about all places in Albany. All places are thrilling and exciting... Adventurous places, museums, Aquariums all are very good to see. So if you wanna go like these places then you have try it once.