p_cook

Hi! My husband and I are traveling to San Diego in Sept. with our son who will be 18 months old at the time. My husband will be there for a conference and gets a hotel stipend of $110 a night (govt. rate). We want to be close to the convention center so he can walk or shuttle in to his conference each day. We've narrowed down our hotel selection to the Residence Inn Downtown and the Embassy Suites. Both seem pretty close to the convention center (within a mile) and both have suites. The Embassy Suite govt. rate would cost us $70 a night above the stipend while the Res. Inn would be equal to the stipend and we'd save about $400. Can anyone tell me it would be worth it to spend this on the Embassy Suite, or will the Residence Inn be decent enough? Mostly I would like to be in a a location that is nice to be in so my son and I can walk to places during the day. Any feedback will be appreciated.

jlaughs

There are 2 Embassy Suites within a few blocks of each other. My son's basketball team has stayed at the Convention Ctr location on Paradise a few times for various tournaments. It's quite close to the Convention Center, but there really isn't much within walking distance except a gas station, a convenience store and a McDonald's. I can't compare it to the Residence Inn since we've never stayed there, but the Embassy Suites has been great for us. The other location may be better for you if you decide to stay at the Embassy Suites. It's across the street from the Hard Rock and I understand that there are some grounds to walk around.

SandyBrit

p cook

You may find the review posted at www.tripadvisor.com of help on staying at the Residence Inn. The poster also was attending a conference and had his wife and baby along. His review was quite favorable.

It would be very helpful if you report back here and on tripadvisor as to your opinion of the hotel you do stay at. It is so helpful to others.

Best wishes for a lovely break in beautiful San Diego.

Sandy

malvado

A previous post mentioning two Embassy Suites downtown doesn't sound right to me. Look into it for yourself, I could be wrong.

As a local, I can only comment on the locations, as I've not stayed at either property.

Hands down, the Embassy would be a better location. Not that the Residence Inn is out in the middle of nowhere, it is still conveniently located. But when you step out the door of the Embassy Suites, you're right across the street from Seaport Village (a wonderful tourist trap) and the Embarcadero (nice walks along the bay.


Though the Residence Inn is only a couple blocks from the waterfront, the location just isn't as nice.

If you're up at least a few floors, and on the right side of the hotel, you'll likely have a view of the bay at the Embassy, as well.

Your husband will also prefer the location of the Embassy as it's an easy walk to the Conventino Ctr (beware of the pedicabs that hang in front of the property as they're loosely regulated and pretty much (over)charge what they want.

malvado

Jlaugh, I just re-read your post. You must have confused your 411 with the wrong city as you've clearly got the wrong San Diego in mind.

daisee

Embassy suites is very nice. Depending on what your'e plans are-the $70 could pay for a day at Sea World, etc. But if you can swing it, I'd go for the ES

ms_go

I'm not familiar with that Residence Inn, but I have stayed at the Embassy Suites on Harbor twice with young kids -- the first time when my daughter was about your son's age, and the second when my nephews were around that age.

I thought it was a great place to be with kids. You can walk right across the street to Seaport Village, which has a carousel, shops, restaurants and plenty of room for a toddler to run around. Also, the fish ponds and the indoor glass elevators at the ES provide more entertainment than you would imagine for the kids.

Have fun!

Fairway

We stayed at the ES on the harbor and across from the Seaport Village. I am not familiar with the Residence Inn location. I think the ES would be the better location for you to stay while your husband is at conferences. You can take your toddler on the carousel and just have a nice place to walk around, yes, it is touristy, but still there is a lot to see. Also the ships coming/going in the harbor are fun to watch. My vote is the ES near Seaport Village if you can swing the extra money.

p_cook

Wow! Thank you everyone for all of the replies and for taking to time to really understand the lengthy question. I appreciate all the good feedback and I am definitely leaning towards the Embassy Suites. For now we have a reservation at both places and will probably wait until closer to our trip to make our final decision. Thanks again!

rjw_lgb_ca

I think jlaughs gave info for Las Vegas-- there's an ES Convention Center on Paradise....

skigirl

We, too, loved the Embassy Suites and found it's location great. We walked to dinner several nights and I'm sure it would be great with a toddler. The morning breakfast and evening reception are also plusses.

jlaughs

COMPLETELY my error!!! My apologies!!! I was reading so many posts that I got them mixed up and thought I was answering a question about the Embassy Suites in LAS VEGAS! SORRY!!!