Trip report: San Diego 1/8 - 1/12, 2006
Jan 17th, 2006 | 04:52 PM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 49
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Trip report: San Diego 1/8 - 1/12, 2006
1/8: Left Columbus, Ohio
We booked our flight with Continental (through Expedia), got moved to NWA at airport, which was fine, I guess, since we had no problems. Parked in airport parking lot ($6 per day), which I was kinda nervous about but worked out alright. Our hour layover in Minneapolis was as expected, not much to do but sit and wait.
Arrived in San Diego at 11am local time, hopped on Advantage Rental Car shuttle (waited about 15 minutes for shuttle to arrive) and got car with no problem. We had previously had a hard time with Advantage in Phoenix, so I was expecting problems this time too, so I was pleasantly surprised.
Drove to hotel on Mission Beach, Pacific Coast Inn. I now know why no one on this board knew which hotel I was talking about, as it is a little hole in the wall. However, the hotel is literally a few steps away from the boardwalk of Pacific/Mission Beach, but that's about the only thing going for it. Other pluses: Room was clean, except for the carpet; water heater worked extremely well; adequate drawer and closet space Minuses: Paper thin walls; room was either extremely hot (during the day) or extremely cold (at night); housekeeping staff had to get someone to translate when I asked for washcloths; no alarm clock, TV remote, blowdryer, or iron; an outlet without a cover, nightstand missing a drawer, floor with a broken tile; BED EXTREMELY HARD. But all in all, I guess it was about what I expected from a 1.5 star hotel...
We hung out in the hotel, relaxed a little, then walked the Boardwalk and explored the area. Seems to be a nice area, lots of college-aged people (like ourselves) walking around. Didn’t make it down onto the beach, as we knew the water was freezing anyway.
Ate late lunch at Tony Roma’s in Mission Beach. Good place to eat, prices average. The baked potato soup wasn't very good, but the ribs were... Service was pretty good, although we waited about 10 minutes for someone to notice our drink glasses were empty. Check for 2 people came to about $25 during lunch time, not too bad. The highlight was a guy attempting to climb a fence across the street to get some oranges off a tree.
Then we went down to find the Convention Center, so we knew where we were going for our business part of the trip the following day. After finding it, we ended up at Ghiradelli’s in the Gaslamp District, where their Berry Berry Sundae became the first Sundae I have ever not been able to finish! We spent about $15 for 2 sundaes and neither of us could finish them. Ice cream is very rich and REALLY sweet! Typical soda shoppe atmosphere with free chocolate samples at the door. Good, quick service and friendly staff, open pretty late to provide that late night sugar rush!
1/9
After our meeting, we walked over to Horton Plaza, which I was disappointed in. I thought it was an open-air market, like a farmer’s market, and I was mistaken: it’s an open-air MALL. Had lunch in the food court, typical mall food.
Drove out onto Coronado to see Hotel Del, didn’t go in but it was very pretty. Took scenic route past Naval Base and beaches, didn’t stop there either even though I wanted to – I’ve heard there are sand dollars everywhere and I wanted one…
We then drove out to Viejas Center, a Native American casino and outlet mall. Pamphlet says it is 15 miles from downtown, but it took us almost 40 minutes to get there and traffic wasn’t congested at all, so I’m guessing it’s more than that. Fiance drove about 80 most of the way, proving to me that he DOESN’T need a sports car like he insists.
Mall was typical, kinda dead on a Monday. Didn’t hit the casino since we just returned from Vegas a few months ago.
Had Coldstone Creamery on the way back to the hotel (Mission Beach location). Was great, but I love ice cream…
Later that night, we went on a Harbor Excursion dinner cruise with our business group. Was a great cruise up the harbor and back, dinner was great (salmon), fiancé liked his steak as well. 2 drinks came with ticket price ($50, I think), drinks were weak as expected. A little dancing and view from the top level helped turn this into a somewhat romantic event.
1/10
After the business stuff (again), we walked the Gaslamp District again and ate at Croce’s. Was very disappointed. Restaurant and staff are extremely nice, were seated immediately and waitress was asking us for our order as soon as we sat down. The food was good - overpriced but good. However, they allow no subsitutions or other changes to menu items, which means we had several items on our steaks that we don't like. I am allergic to one item I was forced to have on my plate, and when I requested they leave it off, I was directed to read the fine print on the menu telling me this was not possible. Overall, it was a good experience except for that, but we would not have paid these prices for dinner had we not been using a business expense account.
Took a bike taxi, or pedi-taxi, back to out car since my attempt at dressing up for a romantic dinner left my feet aching in my high heels after walking the hill from the Convention Center to Croce’s. "Driver" was very nice – cost $20, a well-spent $20 in my opinion.
1/11
Got up early, took the trolley to the Mexican border. I was very surprised at how dirty Tijuana is. It’s very run down and to be honest I felt like I needed a shower when we got back. Kids shove cups into your face and don’t remove them until you give them money, peddlers yell at you from balconies and the ones that do get your attention don’t leave you alone until you buy something. I came back with both a bracelet and a necklace I don’t really want just to be left alone! Ate at some place (I got lost) that had average food, I thought it should have been better for being "real" Mexican food. Spent $15 on lunch, fiancé didn’t want to eat $.25 tacos in fear of our health. Got some churros, those were the best! Reminded me of school lunches as a child, lol. Had no problem getting back, didn’t even have to show our IDs after saying yes when asked if we were American. Long trolley ride back through not so safe looking areas of San Diego…
After getting back to our car, we went out to Cabrillo National Monument to see the whales and dolphins, which I heard you get a really good view of from there. Didn’t see anything but ships, but it might have been foggier than normal. Still really pretty view and very scenic drive.
Drove out to find the cove in La Jolla to see the sea lions, but I had forgotten my map and couldn’t find it…
Ate dinner at the House of Blues in the Gaslamp (by far our favorite part of town, can’t you tell?). Food was average, everything about it was average, but no complaints.
1/12
Checked out of hotel, arrived at airport expecting long wait time, had virtually no wait, so we ended up waiting 2 hours in the terminal.. fun. Flew Continental, food served on plane was gross, which was expected. Our planned hour layover in Houston turned into almost missing our plane, since our arriving plane had to wait 45 minutes (the gate was being used). Food on flight to Columbus was considerably better looking, but we were not hungry… Arrived in Columbus early (!) at 10:12 and shuttle was waiting!
Overall, it was a great trip and I love San Diego. Next time (already planning a trip back for next year), we are going to the zoo and LegoLand and are definitely swimming in the ocean since I’m planning to return at a warmer time. I’m also planning to book a whale-watching cruise and stay at a hotel downtown since we liked the Gaslamp so much. Thank you everyone for all your help and I’ll try to make my next trip report a little shorter.
We booked our flight with Continental (through Expedia), got moved to NWA at airport, which was fine, I guess, since we had no problems. Parked in airport parking lot ($6 per day), which I was kinda nervous about but worked out alright. Our hour layover in Minneapolis was as expected, not much to do but sit and wait.
Arrived in San Diego at 11am local time, hopped on Advantage Rental Car shuttle (waited about 15 minutes for shuttle to arrive) and got car with no problem. We had previously had a hard time with Advantage in Phoenix, so I was expecting problems this time too, so I was pleasantly surprised.
Drove to hotel on Mission Beach, Pacific Coast Inn. I now know why no one on this board knew which hotel I was talking about, as it is a little hole in the wall. However, the hotel is literally a few steps away from the boardwalk of Pacific/Mission Beach, but that's about the only thing going for it. Other pluses: Room was clean, except for the carpet; water heater worked extremely well; adequate drawer and closet space Minuses: Paper thin walls; room was either extremely hot (during the day) or extremely cold (at night); housekeeping staff had to get someone to translate when I asked for washcloths; no alarm clock, TV remote, blowdryer, or iron; an outlet without a cover, nightstand missing a drawer, floor with a broken tile; BED EXTREMELY HARD. But all in all, I guess it was about what I expected from a 1.5 star hotel...
We hung out in the hotel, relaxed a little, then walked the Boardwalk and explored the area. Seems to be a nice area, lots of college-aged people (like ourselves) walking around. Didn’t make it down onto the beach, as we knew the water was freezing anyway.
Ate late lunch at Tony Roma’s in Mission Beach. Good place to eat, prices average. The baked potato soup wasn't very good, but the ribs were... Service was pretty good, although we waited about 10 minutes for someone to notice our drink glasses were empty. Check for 2 people came to about $25 during lunch time, not too bad. The highlight was a guy attempting to climb a fence across the street to get some oranges off a tree.
Then we went down to find the Convention Center, so we knew where we were going for our business part of the trip the following day. After finding it, we ended up at Ghiradelli’s in the Gaslamp District, where their Berry Berry Sundae became the first Sundae I have ever not been able to finish! We spent about $15 for 2 sundaes and neither of us could finish them. Ice cream is very rich and REALLY sweet! Typical soda shoppe atmosphere with free chocolate samples at the door. Good, quick service and friendly staff, open pretty late to provide that late night sugar rush!
1/9
After our meeting, we walked over to Horton Plaza, which I was disappointed in. I thought it was an open-air market, like a farmer’s market, and I was mistaken: it’s an open-air MALL. Had lunch in the food court, typical mall food.
Drove out onto Coronado to see Hotel Del, didn’t go in but it was very pretty. Took scenic route past Naval Base and beaches, didn’t stop there either even though I wanted to – I’ve heard there are sand dollars everywhere and I wanted one…
We then drove out to Viejas Center, a Native American casino and outlet mall. Pamphlet says it is 15 miles from downtown, but it took us almost 40 minutes to get there and traffic wasn’t congested at all, so I’m guessing it’s more than that. Fiance drove about 80 most of the way, proving to me that he DOESN’T need a sports car like he insists.
Mall was typical, kinda dead on a Monday. Didn’t hit the casino since we just returned from Vegas a few months ago. Had Coldstone Creamery on the way back to the hotel (Mission Beach location). Was great, but I love ice cream…
Later that night, we went on a Harbor Excursion dinner cruise with our business group. Was a great cruise up the harbor and back, dinner was great (salmon), fiancé liked his steak as well. 2 drinks came with ticket price ($50, I think), drinks were weak as expected. A little dancing and view from the top level helped turn this into a somewhat romantic event.
1/10
After the business stuff (again), we walked the Gaslamp District again and ate at Croce’s. Was very disappointed. Restaurant and staff are extremely nice, were seated immediately and waitress was asking us for our order as soon as we sat down. The food was good - overpriced but good. However, they allow no subsitutions or other changes to menu items, which means we had several items on our steaks that we don't like. I am allergic to one item I was forced to have on my plate, and when I requested they leave it off, I was directed to read the fine print on the menu telling me this was not possible. Overall, it was a good experience except for that, but we would not have paid these prices for dinner had we not been using a business expense account.
Took a bike taxi, or pedi-taxi, back to out car since my attempt at dressing up for a romantic dinner left my feet aching in my high heels after walking the hill from the Convention Center to Croce’s. "Driver" was very nice – cost $20, a well-spent $20 in my opinion.
1/11
Got up early, took the trolley to the Mexican border. I was very surprised at how dirty Tijuana is. It’s very run down and to be honest I felt like I needed a shower when we got back. Kids shove cups into your face and don’t remove them until you give them money, peddlers yell at you from balconies and the ones that do get your attention don’t leave you alone until you buy something. I came back with both a bracelet and a necklace I don’t really want just to be left alone! Ate at some place (I got lost) that had average food, I thought it should have been better for being "real" Mexican food. Spent $15 on lunch, fiancé didn’t want to eat $.25 tacos in fear of our health. Got some churros, those were the best!
Reminded me of school lunches as a child, lol. Had no problem getting back, didn’t even have to show our IDs after saying yes when asked if we were American. Long trolley ride back through not so safe looking areas of San Diego…After getting back to our car, we went out to Cabrillo National Monument to see the whales and dolphins, which I heard you get a really good view of from there. Didn’t see anything but ships, but it might have been foggier than normal. Still really pretty view and very scenic drive.
Drove out to find the cove in La Jolla to see the sea lions, but I had forgotten my map and couldn’t find it…
Ate dinner at the House of Blues in the Gaslamp (by far our favorite part of town, can’t you tell?). Food was average, everything about it was average, but no complaints.
1/12
Checked out of hotel, arrived at airport expecting long wait time, had virtually no wait, so we ended up waiting 2 hours in the terminal.. fun. Flew Continental, food served on plane was gross, which was expected.
Our planned hour layover in Houston turned into almost missing our plane, since our arriving plane had to wait 45 minutes (the gate was being used). Food on flight to Columbus was considerably better looking, but we were not hungry… Arrived in Columbus early (!) at 10:12 and shuttle was waiting!Overall, it was a great trip and I love San Diego. Next time (already planning a trip back for next year), we are going to the zoo and LegoLand and are definitely swimming in the ocean since I’m planning to return at a warmer time. I’m also planning to book a whale-watching cruise and stay at a hotel downtown since we liked the Gaslamp so much. Thank you everyone for all your help and I’ll try to make my next trip report a little shorter.
Jan 17th, 2006 | 05:47 PM
#2
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 355
Likes: 0
funny you should report on Croce's - I've been wanting to try that restaurant for over 2 years. We frequent San Diego as my son is attending college there.
Anyhoo..finally got there on Sunday, only to find that they were CLOSED for lunch! Its called "restaurant week" and all the rest.'s close. Why I don't know. So we ended up at Brian's - which was recommend to us by the gals at Croce's. Now you got me thinking...is it worth a return trip to try Croce's? By expensive, what do you mean? It looks night and they just redid their kitchen...
I have also heard that Dakota's is good too...any other ideas on restaurants?
And I agree with you about Horton Plaza..not my kind of mall, with $4 and hour parking if you don't have a validation. The only decent recent in that place is the bread place (Bon something?) They fill it with clam chowder and it is wonderful.
Hey - and we stopped by Ghiradelli on Sunday too, but no free sample's for us! Maybe I was too quick to buy. Bought a dark chocolate bar and it was disappointing. We'll have to try the sundae next time.
Anyhoo..finally got there on Sunday, only to find that they were CLOSED for lunch! Its called "restaurant week" and all the rest.'s close. Why I don't know. So we ended up at Brian's - which was recommend to us by the gals at Croce's. Now you got me thinking...is it worth a return trip to try Croce's? By expensive, what do you mean? It looks night and they just redid their kitchen...
I have also heard that Dakota's is good too...any other ideas on restaurants?
And I agree with you about Horton Plaza..not my kind of mall, with $4 and hour parking if you don't have a validation. The only decent recent in that place is the bread place (Bon something?) They fill it with clam chowder and it is wonderful.
Hey - and we stopped by Ghiradelli on Sunday too, but no free sample's for us! Maybe I was too quick to buy. Bought a dark chocolate bar and it was disappointing. We'll have to try the sundae next time.
Jan 17th, 2006 | 08:42 PM
#3
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 17,226
Likes: 0
Croce's Dinner Menu with prices -
http://www.croces.com/menu.html
I've enjoyed Croce's during every visit to San Diego.
http://www.croces.com/menu.html
I've enjoyed Croce's during every visit to San Diego.
Jan 17th, 2006 | 09:28 PM
#4
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 5,440
Likes: 0
OK, interesting report, thanks for posting. Here are a few thoughts for those going to San Diego who are maybe reading your report, bc you missed some other great options here.
#1, I would have picked World Famous, Green Flash or Nicks By the Beach for lunch over Tony Romas, a kind of over the hill chain of restaurants, in Mission Beach. You even have Bullys and is Boll Weavel still there? On Garnet, many interesting choices. Anwyay, since you are planning a return, thought I would give you some new names. We personally like Ichiban on Garnet for sushi.
Downtown, Croce's is famous bc it was started by the widow of Jim Croce and was one of the very first restaurants in the Gaslamp (Croce's and Fios I believe were the first two on Fifth). Since then so many fabulouse restaurants have come into the area. If you want names for next time, I would be happy to post. The Italian down there is about the best or any of the Cohen restaurants are good bets for food.
And not really sure why you went to Viejas...did someone here recommend it? Of course I don't shop the outlets and if you are used to Vegas style gambling the Indian casinoes can disappoint, IMO.
Glad you had a good time. San Diego is an awesome city...
#1, I would have picked World Famous, Green Flash or Nicks By the Beach for lunch over Tony Romas, a kind of over the hill chain of restaurants, in Mission Beach. You even have Bullys and is Boll Weavel still there? On Garnet, many interesting choices. Anwyay, since you are planning a return, thought I would give you some new names. We personally like Ichiban on Garnet for sushi.
Downtown, Croce's is famous bc it was started by the widow of Jim Croce and was one of the very first restaurants in the Gaslamp (Croce's and Fios I believe were the first two on Fifth). Since then so many fabulouse restaurants have come into the area. If you want names for next time, I would be happy to post. The Italian down there is about the best or any of the Cohen restaurants are good bets for food.
And not really sure why you went to Viejas...did someone here recommend it? Of course I don't shop the outlets and if you are used to Vegas style gambling the Indian casinoes can disappoint, IMO.
Glad you had a good time. San Diego is an awesome city...
Jan 18th, 2006 | 07:37 AM
#5
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 28,120
Likes: 4
I agree with Heavens. Croce's club is supposed to be quite good and when AJ Croce is there it's crowded. I ate there many years ago when it first opened and back then there wasn't much choice. I thought the food was mediocre then. They never get accolades for food, so if you're looking for great food that's not the place to go.
There are many much better, more customer-friendly restaurants in the Gaslamp.
There are many much better, more customer-friendly restaurants in the Gaslamp.
Jan 18th, 2006 | 07:43 AM
#6
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,466
Likes: 0
you should put a review of the hotel on tripadvisor.com
for anyone else going out to the hotel del, i highly recommend that you take 45 minutes and go inside. you can follow a hallway which shows pictures and explains the building of the hotel. then a short walk to the beach is worth it.
for anyone else going out to the hotel del, i highly recommend that you take 45 minutes and go inside. you can follow a hallway which shows pictures and explains the building of the hotel. then a short walk to the beach is worth it.
Jan 18th, 2006 | 03:12 PM
#7
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 45
Likes: 0
Heavens... Since then so many fabulouse restaurants have come into the area. If you want names for next time, I would be happy to post.
Would you mind posting your suggestions. I am off to San Diego for a week and would some advice.
Would you mind posting your suggestions. I am off to San Diego for a week and would some advice.
