Just returned from San Diego and Santa Monica
 

I received some great information from this forum for our anniversary trip so I want to say THANKS, THANKS, and THANKS again!!! We loved Southern California and will be back again someday!!!

Hotels: Pacific Terrace in Pacific Beach, San Diego. LOVED this small hotel! We had a great view from our balcony overlooking the ocean and Crystal Pier! We were in room 305 which was on a side of the hotel, perfect for privacy!! However, if you have children and want to watch them out in the pool, request an ocean view AND pool view room.

Le Merigot JW Marriot in Santa Monica. Also loved this hotel. It was definitely grander than Pacific Terrace, and our balcony was small, but we really enjoyed our room (332), the location and the hotel overall.

Favorite restaurants: George's on the Terrace in La Jolla and Green Flash on Pacific Beach! Two great, affordable meals (relatively speaking)!! For a fancy dinner, next time we would like to do the fine dining at George's!

Favorite beachtown: Well, impossible to choose just one!! We loved LaJolla, Laguna Beach and Coronado Beach! We also enjoyed the feel of Northern Pacific Beach!

Interesting sights: Venice Beach, Hollywood, Imperial Beach, Santa Monica Pier! Loved watching the funky and diverse populations and sights in each of these areas!

Place we most want to revisit: Laguna Beach!

There is so much to do in this area and we barely scratched the surface, but some R&R was badly needed too!! So, between hanging out on our balconies and relaxing on the beach, with sightseeing sprinkled in between, this was a great 25th anniversary trip!!! :)

Questions? I'll be happy to answer and relive our trip all over again!!

Jayneann-Glad you had a great trip to So. Cal and had some time for R&R. It really is hard to choose a favorite beach. I hope you get a chance to come back to Laguna Beach-that's one of my favorites, too.

Thanks Paula 1470! We had the incredible luck to drive down a side street while in Laguna Beach and happen upon "Woods Cove"! Oh my gosh, this swimming area is breathtaking! We will be back!

Glad you enjoyed your trip and thanks for posting about it! (I am also a big fan of Laguna Beach). Congratulations on your 25th anniversary!
Annika

Jayneann,

It sounds like you had a wonderful trip. Congratulations on your anniversary.

We're staying at Le Merigot in September--I was happy to hear your positive review since some of the tripadvisor comments on this hotel weren't so great. What level of room did you have booked? Any other tips or thoughts about the hotel?

Just returned from San Diego and Santa Monica as well.

Santa Monica Hotel: Sheraton. Decent. About four blocks off the beach. Not sure that it's worth $400 a night though if you could get another one for the same price. Very nice hotel though. Shutters looks like an incredible hotel on the beach.

Activity: Just rent a bike and ride down to Venice and then up to Malibu. It's a quick bike ride. The shopping promenade is fun. Lots of generic shops that you can find anywhere. But the street performers make it great fun.

Food: I'm not very helpful. Great sushi along the beach. Can't remember the name. It has several restaurants in the LA area. Ariake near Beverly Hills is a great hole in the wall sushi place.

San Diego Hotel: Hotel Del Coronado. Not really sure why one would stay elsewhere. It's expensive, but at around $300 a night it's a great deal. It's amazing that a Marriott is able to charge $300 a night.

Other notes: Petco Park is a great ballpark. Gas Lamp District is overhyped. Little Italy district in San Diego has some interesting potential. Filippi's (or however you spell it) is an interesting restaurant.

Thanks annikany! Where does the time go??

Tess,
We lucked out with the room we got because I just booked a basic room with a king sized bed, figuring the hotel doesn't really overlook the water! However, we were upgraded and had a small balcony with a partial ocean view! And, I didn't even ask for an upgrade!!

Staff very accommodating and pleasant, but what I most liked about the hotel was how immaculate everything is! It seemed to sparkle! The bed sheets, pillows and duvet felt so good at night after all the walking we did!! IMO it is not a "fancy resort" but a safe, quiet, and clean hotel with some good features to stay in close the the pier and the beach!

The pool is sort of small, but the water was warm and the people sitting around the pool were friendly. Everyone we talked to really enjoyed being there. One disappointing thing was there is no hot tub! We were told the contractors made a mistake and poured too much concrete in the spot where it was supposed to go.

To get to the beach, you just go out the door by the pool, walk across the street through a small parking lot and the beach is right there. The pier is minutes away and Venice Beach is exactly a 20 minute walk! We had breakfast and lunch there also. Nothing special, but it was nice to be able to just walk out of the room and relax at the hotel a couple of times! The outside courtyard is very pretty and quite comfortable! There is also a good exercise room overlooking the pool! If you have any other questions let me know. I think you'll be happy there! Sorry I'm just getting back to you, I've been away from my computer! Catch up time around home!!!

GoodAdvice,
Thanks for sharing! We didn't stay in Coronado, but if we did, I think we would have liked Hotel Del, too!!

Jayneann,

Thanks for the extra info--I'm really looking forward to our trip!

Your welcome Tess! I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time!! :)