Family Hotel In San Diego
 

My family (2 adults 3 children ages 16, 14 & 9) will be traveling to San Diego in July. We are trying to find a hotel with large rooms or a suite for $200 dollars or less a night. Any advice on good places to stay that are family friendly and well located would be so helpful. We will be visiting Sea World for sure and any other suggestions for entertaining the kids would be appreciated.
My husband and I were in San Diego 8 years ago and are looking forward to visiting again with our children.

Lisa in NC

Hi Lisa,

We stayed at the Hyatt Islandia a few weeks ago. It is about 2 minutes from Sea World and a very easy drive to the Zoo and Mission Beach. We had a Marina Suite with two Queen Beds and a large foldout couch in a seperate room. The Islandia is a good choice for families: I had my 9 year old with me and my brother was in another Suite with his wife and two boys ages 2 and 4. We all enjoyed the pool and the Baja Cantina on site. Have fun!

The Holiday Inn Bayside on North Harbor Drive in addition to the pool and jacuzzi has a 9 hole putting course, shuffleboard, outdoor pool table,and bikes available. Free airport shuttle and restaurant. Trolley stops by in the morning.

We recently stayed in the brand new Residence Inn in Hotel Circle. We paid $109 for a one bedroom suite which included a pretty decent breakfast for the four of us and two TVs!. The suites also have a small kitchen with fridge combi/microwave and dishwasher. Maybe they do a two bedroomed suite which might still fall within your budget. There is an outdoor pool and a small games room. Also a small gym. The rooms were quiet and the hotel is set way back from the road so we were never bothered by traffic noise.

Hotel Circle is just off the main I5 so whilst it is not especially scenic it is very centrally located for Seaworld, the Zoo and the coast. I wouldn't hesitate to stay in the Hotel Circle area again. All the hotels there are so much cheaper than in Mission Bay or elsewhere. As we were touring CA and staying in four different hotels, we preferred to save $s on accommodation and spend it during the day.

We had wet weather during our stay and found the local (10 mins max in the car)Dave & Busters casino/indoor amusements/reality rides a useful distraction for our boys. The restaurant there is ok too.

There is a small amusement park which may amuse your younger two at Pacific Beach (I think). If you head over to Mission Bay/ Seaworld area and then take the coastal road north towards La Jolla you will pass it. There is a great wooden rollercoaster there. Do also drive up to La Jolla. We loved the coves there and the town is lovely too. Otherwise there is the Zoo, the Wildlife Park, the Museums at Balboa Park. Have fun.

The summer of 2001 we stayed at the Embassy Suites in downtown. Was very nice, definitely under $200. Location was great for access to all attractions.

If you're not familiar with Embassy Suites, they offer a 1 bedroom suite with a separate living room. Bedroom has 1 king or 2 doubles. Living room has pull out Queen sofabed, sm. refrig., microwave and table to seat 4. They have 2 TVs and there's a full, cooked-to-order breakfast each morning and afternoon cocktails, all free. Gee, I sound like a commercial! Anyway, we stay at Embassy alot--perfect for families! Enjoy San Diego!