My husband and I are taking our 3-year old to San Diego in May 2004 for 6 days. We're hoping to take in a lot including the Zoo, Wild Animal Park and Sea World. We were looking at the Paradise Point Resort as a possible place to stay. Does anyone have any advice on 'kid friendly' hotels with easy access to most of the attractions? Also, should we rent a car there or will the public transportation be sufficient?

definitly rent a car. paradise point gets mixed reviews and if you put the name in the search engine above, you'll get the low down.
you might also want to check out the bahia, pacific terrace and there is one in mission bay park which i can't remember the name of - fancy large chain. but it is located in a park area with a nice sidewalk throughout, some play parks and close to freeway 5 for easy access to other parts of san diego. about 10 minute drive east of pacific beach area.

You really should add Legoland to that list. Sea World was pretty much a bust but our three year old loved Legoland, so much so that we went back for a second day (which Legoland let us do the day we went back by only charging us the $8.00 ticket difference between a one-day and two-day pass). Our daughter also just loved hanging out in the beach. You will definitely need a car. As far as hotels, we rented a condo in Solana Beach (right near Del Mar) for less than a hotel and it was two-bedroom two-bath, on the beach (the complex, not our room), nicely furnished, etc.

Thanks for the responses. We appreciate the advise as we are travelling from Bermuda and have never visited San Diego before. I will look into the hotels suggested including the Catamaran Resort. We will definitely add Legoland to our list.

Does anyone have an opinion about Humphrey's Half Moon or the Dana Inn & Marina?

Regarding Humphreys - no specific knowledge of that hotel, but right down the street (on Shelter Island as well) we stayed at the Best Western Island Palms and Marina this summer. Very good place to stay with kids (we had 2 teenagers with us) because suites come with full kitchen, balcony or patio. Nice grounds, and each suite overlooks either marina or water on the other side. (Shelter Island is a little man-made island very conv enient to most of San Diego - it is right across from airport and we never heard a sound of planes in our 5 days there - not sure what they do with flight patterns to arrange that)

A car is really essential - San Diego is rather sprawling. If you have concerns about traffic, we found roads to be well marked, they made sense, and even during the short time we were there it was easy to get our bearings about where we were. Also, we found parking to be reasonably priced and easy - many places had street parking meters very close to everywhere we wanted to go.

Have a good trip - San Diego made me want to move there immediately (we are from Boston). And Bermuda is also one of my most favorite places - I have made my husband promise to take me back there when our second kid starts college in a few years.

sister stayed at humphreys but it was several years ago. they loved it. nice pool and i seem to recall their suite being a good size (they had a one or two bedroom)

I'd second the ease of driving in SD comments - it's the only part of SoCal I'd drive in. I stayed at Paradise Point a few years ago (right when they were becoming PP) and it was great - the rooms feel very private which can be nice with children but the restaurant on the water was wonderful - and right across the road from Sea World. Still the layout of the property is a bit strung out and could have you running ragged chasing a little one - depends on your fitness level I guess!

The air traffic patterns near Shelter Island by the way are, I was told, the reason why flights into SD are a little wild - they have throttle back intensely and it can sound scary at times - or so our pilot told us the first time we flew in.

Allow tons of time for the zoo - it is so wonderful! I go with business colleagues on afternoons off just to relax - a great break on a business trip.

And your 3 yr old might like the plaza near the train station with the trolleys!

Contrary to a previous post, there are no unusual throttle settings for landing at Lindberg Field-San Diego. It is a standard 3 degree ILS approach. The only reason it seems unusual is because the airport is at sea level and the ground level in the area near the approach is on a mesa about 200 feet above sea level. For that reason, planes are closer to the ground further from the runway than at most airports but it is no more dangerous than any other approach over a populated area.

I think the reasons for not hearing jet noise from Shelter Island hotels are two. 1. The aircraft traffic pattern is parallel to the island so planes don't move toward or across the island. 2. The prevailing breezes are from the bay, across the island, toward the airport, minimizing any noise you might hear.