We will be going to San Diego and Feb. and are looking for recommendations on where to stay. We will be bringing our 3 yr old son and will try to hit the zoo or Sea World but would also just like to walk around and see the city a bit. Thanks

What is your approximate hotel budget? Downtown San Diego is a great place to stay, but rates vary widely by establishment and day-of-the-week.

We'll probably be in San Diego Sat-Tue or Sun-Tue and would like to spend under 200$ per night if possible. Thanks Julie

We are English and have been to San Diego once (2 yrs ago). We stayed at the Handlery which is on Hotel Circle (where there are lots of hotels). We thought it was good value and are staying there again this year.

You'll need a car of course (but you'll need one wherever you stay in the San Diego area).

It has a nice pool although the other hotel pools are in a leisure complex down the road. I'm fairly sure you get free membership of that - which is OK if you're feeling energetic. The cost for a room with 2 beds is about $100 per night.

As long as you don't mind not being close to the beach, I think it's quite good value.

It's quite close to 2 large shopping malls and to the Old Town.

Wherever you stay, have a nice time,

Steve

Julieh:

If you do not plan to have a car during your stay: If it were me, I'd stay downtown, as close to the waterfront as you can get. From there, one can walk to the Gaslamp District, the Coronado ferry, the Harbor cruise, and to the various modes of transportation to Balboa Park (and zoo) and Old Town. I've stayed at the downtown Hyatt several times. It's great, but a little pricey. Right next door is a Marriott that is right around $200. Up the street a little way is a Holiday Inn (Holiday Inn On the Bay) and there's another Holiday Inn on the north edge of downtown. Both Holiday Inns are about $150. There's a nice Wyndham downtown for about $150. There's an Embassy Suites across the street from the Hyatt; about $200 for a large suite and a huge free breakfast. Anyway, I suggest getting a good guidebook at the local bookstore. About $15-20. With that you can get a feel for where the hotels are relative to the downtown waterfront (three of the six mentioned above are on the waterfront; all six have views).

If you do have a car: you can save a lot of money by staying inland--east of downtown and Balboa Park. San Diego is compact. Nothing takes very long to get to by car.

Hi, Julie.

If you're coming to San Diego, the waterfront is definately the place to stay. The Hyatt and Marriott right next door to each other, as mentioned one of the previous emails are close to just about everything you would want to visit in San Diego and the setting is wonderful.

Kim.

I live in San Diego. Most of the sdvice here is pretty good. I definitely would not stay at any hotel on Hotel Circle. The are is oK but there is nothing to do or see in the immediate vicinity. There is nowhere to walk.

Downtown is always what I recommend unless the person wants to be near the beach. There are many fine hotels in downtown that will fit your price range. The Embassy Suites would probably be my first choice. Make sure the you pick the Embassy Suites Downtown. A real neat place to stay is the Gaslamp Plaza Suites right in the Gaslamp area. It is acutally a timeshare resort but they do rent to the public on a daily basis. I own a timeshare there. I am not purshing it because I own there. It makes no difference to me. It is a really neat place though and the nightly rate should be less than $150.00. It is an old historic landmark building that was converted to a timeshare. Great views form the pation on the roof and a free deluxe continenatal breakfast.

The Westgate is very nice but could bust your budget depending on the time. The adavantage to the Embassy Suites is that it is close to the waterfront as well as everything else. You can walk everywhere.

Agree, Hotel Circle really doesn't have any personality, however it is centrally located to all freeways and there are a number of restaurants/shopping areas. With a 3-yr old, I would not recommend downtown, I would recommend Bahia on Mission Bay as you can rent bikes, stroll along the bay or cross the street to the oceanside. I don't think they have an indoor pool, which could be a problem for entertainment on your son. You must have a car, San Diego is not mass transportation friendly unless you are on the very limited trolley line. If you want to walk around, suggest you drive, park and then walk. Have fun and enjoy San Diego.

SDSam's advice is very good. Hotel Circle is absolutely last choice for us. But if you don't want downtown or are on budget etc. than the Old Town area is better than Hotel Circle. It is just as convenient to expressways etc. and you can walk around at night with the 3yr. old too. (Area is quaint with original buildings and some historical interest.)
We enjoyed the restaurants in Old Town better also. Stayed at the Ramada Inn Old Town with rental car and I'd say it was about a 3 star. No beach but if you have a car, it is very accessible to expressways.

I think you would be much happier at the beach with a three year old. I would pick the Catamaran Hotel as it is right on the bay within walking distance of the ocean, the boardwalk. restaurants and a park for kids about four blocks away. They also have a beautiful pool.

We just stayed at the Catamaran on Mission Bay in June. Our 2 young children loved the resort because of the wandering animals and beachfront location. You must drive everywhere when you stay here so be prepared. We especially loved trekking up to La Jolla which is only 10 minutes up the road. The resort is very nice and we got a small suite with a kitchenette and 2 double beds. I've heard the Hotel Del Coronado is beautiful on Coronado Island but I don't have any personal knowledge.

Thanks for all who responded to this post. This information will help us a great deal as we try to make some decisions this coming week.

Julie