I have a meeting for three days in an office building at the Carmel Valley Road exit (south
of Del Mar and slightly north of La Jolla I am told)
off of Highway 5. I will have a car. Am told there is a Marriott and Doubletree right at Carmel Valley Center, but would rather be in a non-mall/office setting for sleeping and restaurant choices. Any suggestions (do not mind a 10-15 min. drive)
in the vicinity? Appreciate help from locals familiar with the area. Many thanks.

There is no mall at Carmel Valley Road. There are offices. The new Marriott is very nice, I would say nicer than the Doubletree, but as I live five minutes from there, I haven't stayed in either. If your meetings are right there in that immediate area, then I strongly suggest you stay in one or other hotel because the traffic on the nearby freeway (I-5), which you would probably have to use to get to your meeting, is horrible in the rush hours. There are good restaurants both within walking distance and a short drive.

Hyatt La Jolla is just off I-5 and has great restaurants right on the premises, Roy's, Cafe Japengo and one other I forgot.

Roy's isn't actually right beside the Hyatt. It's across the road from UTC mall.

above poster is correct that the rush hour can be a bitch but you are probably heading in the opposite direction from the real "rush". if you want to stay in la jolla, tell us how much you can spend or use the search and plenty of suggestions will come up. beware that there are hotel with a la jolla address that are in residential/business areas - the hyatt is one of them. you might as well stay in carmel valley - same type of area.
i totally understand your wanting to stay in a nicer area but, considering traffic, i would probably stay in carmel valley but head out to dinner/evenings to la jolla one night, downtown one night and pacific beach one night (or go up to carlsbad).

You might consider L' Auberge Del Mar. It is not too far from your meetings and you might avoid the Freeway altogether.
It is located in the center of Del Mar and opposite of some shops and restaurants, one of them Il Fornaio, if I remember correctly.
Expect it to be not exactly cheap, though.
Probably Barbara has some input on this...?

L'Auberge Del Mar is very nice, great beach to walk on if you have time, some quite nice shopping and several very good-to-excellent restaurants within walking distance. The best is Pacifica Del Mar, Jakes is right on the beach (but not much to see when it's dark!), Pamplemousse Grill is a little further north just past the race track on Via de la Valle and also on that road is Scalini. And yes, you can get back to the business area in Carmel Valley without going on the freeway.

L'Auberge Del Mar is a very good suggestion.