Sam

We are planning an 18 day tour of California in August, starting in SF and finishing with 5 nights in SD. We have 3 children aged from 12 to 6. We would like to chill out in a pretty location, preferably near to a beach that is not TOO busy.
We will have use of a car and will tour the area a little also.
We would also like to cycle around.

Is the Catamaran the place for us, or would you recommend a different hotel in the same location or perhaps somewhere else a little further up the coast perhaps. Any help would be really appreciated.

paul

I think that the Catamaran would be a good choice for you as it is located in an area that has easy access to the beach/bay and lots of activities for the kids. Your question about being too busy is so individual that its hard to comment. This hotel is located in popular area and therefore it is not considered a quiet location. Being anywhere at a San Diego beach in August will be busy and the Cat is as good a choice as any for a beach resort vacation. I can't think of any good choices to consider up the coast. Other choices to investigate in the same general area as the Cat are Mission Bay Hilton and what used to be called the Princess Hotel but I believe the name has changed.

travelingmom

A few years ago we stayed at the Catamaran in SD with three boys between 9-14. We LOVED it. The boys could roller blade on the boardwalk and it had a nice pool. W could see the bay and the ocean from our balcony. We upgraded when we arrived and got a room with a kitchenette so the boys could eat cereal in the morning and we could occasionally cook a pizza in the evening. We would get up fairly early every morning, hit a different park every day and then go back to the hotel about 2 p.m. and spend the rest of the day on the beach or relaxing. My husband and I would watch Sea World's fireworks every night from our patio while the kids slept (We never did tell them about that!) This has been some years ago, but we were extremely happy with the Catamaran.

Karen

My daughter and her family stayed at Sea Lodge in La Jolla, adjacent to La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, and they absolutely loved it and the location, right on the beach. They felt very safe and the price was surprisingly low for the high season.

Dawn Cooper

I believe that the hotel that was formerly the Princess is now Paradise Pointe Resort. I have a friend who stayed there and she loved every minute of it. I am looking at a similar trip, only from LA to San Diego for next April.

suzy

We took our 5 and 10 year old to San Diego last june and had a very good experience at the Catamaran. When you first pull up, it doesn't look like much. However, the lobby is very nice and the back of the hotel has a beautiful setting on Mission Bay. You can rent bikes at the hotel. The pool area is also pretty. The hotel is lit up by tiki torches in the evening and there are beautiful birds wandering the grounds. We had a junior suite with a kitchenette. They put us on the 4th or 5th floor and we had a marvelous bayview. I think we paid about $220 per night with tax. I highly recommend eating breakfast at the Brockton Villa in LaJolla which is 10 minutes up the road from the Cat. Ask for a patio table and have the most fabulous pacific view. We also swam at LaJolla Shores beach and watched the surfers. We are big travellers and this is 1 of the best trips we ever took with the kids. Don't miss dinner in the Old Town Mexican area. The Zoo and Seaworld are also nearby. I heard the Hotel Del Coronado is also very nice but even more expensive than the Cat. The Cat was super and I think your kids would love it.