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Vacationing in San Diego

My Wife and I and our 2 daughters (ages 8 and 9) are coming to San Diego July 14th - 22nd. We haven't heard much about the BW Blue Sea Lodge. Any comments? Also, does anybody have an opinion about "Local Wally's" website? (SDSam?) Also, hotels - willing to spend up to $300/night between San Diego and La Jolla...recommendations?

In that price range, I'd suggest either the Hotel Del Coronado (near downtown S.D.) or the La Valencia in La Jolla.

Jim, Have you thought of renting a condo? Look at vacationspot.com for information. You should be able to find something very nice in your price range.

Hi Jim, did you get a chance to read my trip report about our family trip to San Diego in February? It is in the archives under San Diego if you haven't seen it already. We had a great time in San Diego with the kids. I really do recommend the Embassy Suites downtown. It was within walking distance of the ferry to Coronado, Gaslamp area, and Seaport Village. The two room set-up of the suites is great and the convenience of the buffet breakfast is also great with kids. All of the other sites were an easy drive. Also, being that you will be in the area a whole week , the kids will probably get sick of eating in restaurants all the time and you will be in San Diego in great picnic weather. There is a beautiful supermarket a few blocks from the Embassy Suites that sells yummy prepared to order sandwiches, etc. The suites have refrigerators which makes picnicing a breeze. Dont forget to call the San Diego Visitors Bureau to get their guides and Sunny Money coupon book. There is a coupon for the Embassy Suites that lowers the price(from $250) to $149 per night! Have a great trip.

We took my two children (when they were eight and ten) to San diego and stayed at the downtown Hyatt. We got two top-floor connecting rooms with a harbor view for about $250/night. I've also stayed at the Summerhouse Inn in La Jolla. Ocean views/balconys and a great restaurant on the top floor.

Jim: Two positive comments about the BW Blue Sea Lodge. 1. It's right on the boardwalk and the beach. You can walk to several restaurants, bars, shops, one hour photo developers, and all that. It seems to be in a spot where it's save to walk at night. It's also in a place that makes it easy to get to Mission Bay, the other beaches and the freeways. 2. The staff is very friendly and helpful. You're probably going to ask me what the rooms are like. I have only a vague recollection. I was invited to a halloween party that started on the beach (around a big, roaring fire) and continued into the wee hours of the morning at someone's beach house. (But it was a blast!)

The Hotel Del is under some serious construction, so be sure to ask about what they plan on working on while you are there. overall, considering the construction, i would rec the embassy suites over the Hotel Del. The Del does offer historic walking tours 2 or 3 times a day, so you could go on one of those to see the hotel and learn about its history, and their Terrace restaurant offers a 19.95 price fixed prime rib dinner, so that is a relatively affordable way to experience the hotel as more than just a tourist walking through, but not having your stay interrupted by construction. good luck

Hi Jim, We are visiting San Diego this Friday 4/14 for 8 nights and found a great house in Mission Bay through the internet under Greatrentals.com. We'll let you know how it was.

I would suggest the Hilton on Misson Bay (not Mission Valley). It is on the bay and centrally located between downtown San Diego and La Jolla. The hotel is adjacent to a boardwalk, park and playground. If you are a tennis player, this is also a good choice.

First, I am NOT a fan of "Local Wally's" website. When you strip away the rhetoric it is pretty "Chamber of Commerce" and not too accurate in many places. I do need to correct Emily about the Hotel Del Coronado. It is not near downtown San Diego. It is located in Coronado ( separate city ) on Coronado Island which is across the bay from San Diego. I am not familiar with the Blue Sea Lodge. Your budget allows you to stay just about anyhwere in the area except maybe the Four Seasons in La Costa. Where to stay is very dependent on what you are looking for. Do you want beach, downtown or what? I am very partial to staying in downtown San Diego unless you want the beach. Downtown San Diego offers the opportunity to walk to many places of interest. There are many very nice hotels in downtown. I personally would recommend the Embassy Suites in downtown. It is well located, nice nad you will get a suite plus a full breakfast everyday. From there you can walk along the waterfront, Gaslamp, Horton Plaza, etc. I highly recommend the Hotel Del Coronado for location and ambience. It also has one of the best beaches right out the door. La Jolla is an excellent choice. However I must warn you that there are many hotels with a La Jolla address that are NOT really in La Jolla. La Jolla is actually part of the city of San Diego and is considered to be between I-5 and the ocean. There is a part east of I-5 that calls itself La Jolla but really isn't. This is where the Marriott, Embassy Suites ( La Jolla ), Hyatt, etc. are. It is a nice enough area but is for the business traveler and not tourist. If I were going to stay in La Jolla, then I would try for the La Jolla Cove though you may be too late for this summer. I do NOT recommend Mission Valley. This includes Hotel circle. I believe that "Local Wally" does recommend it. Again, it is Ok but there is nothing to do or see in the area. You cannot walk anywhere. This area is more for the business traveler. I do NOT recommend the Mission Beach area. It tends to be a teenage hangout and is not a very good part of town. MIssion Bay is all right. The Hilton is on the east side of the bay and is somewhat isolated. It is a good location but I would not stay there. If you would be a little more specific about what you are looking for, then I could perhaps offer some more details.

We are a UK family just returned from a Spring holiday in San Diego and environs. We hired a car and spent three nights at Embassy Suites in downtown SD and then checked out La Jolla but settled for a four night stay in L'Auberge Del Mar in Del Mar. I have older children than yours. Thinking about it, you might enjoy the environment of the Hotel 'Del' Coronado, which is the famous hotel on the strip of land reached by a bridge to Coronado. We all went there for a drink. It's very busy, but I think the family might find it fun. It's true, the back end of it backing on to the beach is undergoing major works at this time. But it backs on to what looks like the biggest beach in the world and, for the children there are places to run and play without you having to worry about their safety. By contrast, the Embassy Suites in downtown San Diego had all the children running around the corridors inside the hotel! The streets are very busy there and no way could you let the children outside unescorted. It is handy though for getting places and only a few yards from Seaport, a reconstruction of olde worlde buildings beside the harbour. It's a good place for children to be free in. We did just about everything, I think, and loved it all. It is certainly a fun city. And Balboa Park is probably a good place to be in summer with the Zoo and the beautiful Aviation Museum. We then sought a bit of peace and quiet and headed fro the beach beyond La Jolla. Believe it or not we just couldn't find a road to the beach in La Jolla! The Auberge would not be my choice again. Very pretty, but aimed almost exclusively at noisy conventions and re-enactments of weddings. I could not find a quiet place to sit anywhere other than in my room. But Del Mar itself is great. If I'd known how to rent a 'condo', whatever that is, or a self-catering apartment, I would have done so. Have a terrific holiday.

I used to live in SD, not sure of your price range but, the Catamaran in Mission Beach is a great hotel. Mission Beach/ Mission Bay would be my suggestion for areas to stay in, though La Jolla beaches are nice too, but much more expensive - you could just take a taxi down there.

I would agree that Del Mar is a great beach town for a family . It's close enough to S.D.,but not so busy. You might find a condo or B&B on cyberrentals.com or 1st travelers choice.com

Where you stay depends upon what you and your children most want to do. However, don't stay downtown with kids. That's the place to stay if you're adults, but there's nothing in the Gaslamp area for kids. The Blue Sea Lodge is very nice. And, that beach area is pure Southern California. Lots of sun, surf and beach people. Walk south on Ocean Blvd (I think that's the name of the concrete/boardwalk) and you get to a great area for the kids - its a roller coaster and fun zone area at very south end of Mission Beach. You may want to drive down to it from the Blue Sea Lodge. La Jolla has nice beaches and the La Jolla Shores beach is a nice family beach. Check out the Sea Lodge at La Jolla Shores. Have fun!

I recommend Local Wally's web site!!!! We followed his advice and weren't disappointed. I did not care for Old Towne, but I spent many years in South Texas, so Old Towne wasn't anything new for me. The best advice I can give, don't try to do everything. Relax and enjoy San Diego.

I want to thank everyone for posting a response to my questions. All very good input. To Wendy([email protected]): I'm sorry, I didn't get a chance to read your trip report in February. Apparently, Fodor's does not keep responses back that far. At least I couldn't access it. To SDSam: I'm sorry for not providing clear enough details. I should have mentioned that my wife prefers to stay at a beach hotel and the minimum hotel accomodations are 2 queen beds, although having a suite with one king and one queen or two doubles(for my daughters) are preferable. I have stayed at other Embassy Suites across the country before and like them, but again, we are limiting ourselves to a beach hotel. We will be doing the typical tourist trappings (Sea World, San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, LegoLand), but I was wondering if there was some website or place I could go to get more of a discount than $1-$2 off for these places. Also, I'm annoyed that the BW Blue Sea Lodge charges $7/night for parking. Any comments/suggestions are welcomed...

Hi Jim, Our family of 4 just returned from a very fun-filled vacation in San Diego during school break. The weather was not really "beach" weather but other that a couple of 1/2 days of rain, it was certainly an improvement to Boston weather. We did all the tourist things: the zoo, the Wild Animal Park, Sea World, and Legoland(for my son's 10th birthday). AAA offers a 10% discount at all these attractions. Not much, but it's something. There is also a 3 in 1 package for the Zoo, the Wild Animal park and SeaWorld as long as you visit all within a 5 day consecutive period...it saves about 11% (according to the cashier at the Zoo). The best part is once you buy these passes, you don't have to stand in line for admission...which will save you about 1/2 an hour of waiting. They are non-transferable and they do check photo IDs of the adults at the admission gate. We loved all these places. Get to the zoo early to see the baby Panda or with these passes you could go back at opening to see her (these passes offer unlimited admission for these 5 days). My boys are 10, 11 and I was glad we waited to do these major theme park things...they had the stamina to last all day. At SeaWorld we did the pricey "lunch with Shamu"...as the previous reviewer had said..the food wasn't great but the view of the whales were incredible. We found San Diego quite easy to get around in (compared with our home city of Boston especially). Our boys really enjoyed the lunch at the Corvette Diner in Hillcrest (we combined this with a morning visit to the museums in Balboa Park). The diner is a 50's style place with a real soda fountain. After we got our check the waiter/bartender...really made an impression by tossing pieces of bubble gum into our glasses. I could go on but let me know if you have further questions. You'll have a great vacation.

Jim, I found Wendy's trip report int he previous messages. I found it helpful when we were planning our trip so I pasted it below for you. Author: Wendy ([email protected]) Date: 3/06/2000, 1:19 pm ET Message: This report is written with special thanks to SDSam whose suggestions for Embassy Suites, Miguel's Cocina, and Dakota Grill helped us have a fun week in San Diego. Our family of 4 (2 kids ages 7 and 11) spent the week of February 18- 24 in and around San Diego. Its such a beautiful area and has so many things to see and do. Before we left I kept humming the tune to "It Never Rains In Southern California..." I packed appropriately with layered clothing for all of us. Unfortunately, once we got to San Diego I was reminded that the next words to the song go..."But girl let me warn you, it pours. Man, it pours." It rained almost the entire time we were there, even during our 2 days in the incredible Anza-Borrego desert it rained! Despite the rain, we tried to make the best of things and enjoyed most of our choices. We stayed at the Embassy Suites down town. What a great location. Close to the gaslamp area, Seaport Village, and the ferry to Coronado. The kids loved the enormous breakfasts each morning (and were able to take a piece of fruit and a donut with them for snacks later in the day). There is also a Manager's Reception each evening from 5 to 7 with free beer, wine,and munchies and there were slurpies for the kids. There are many discounts available so don't take the first price quoted. We were quoted $269/night when I called the toll free number but when I called the hotel directly they found a "Sunny Money" discount available for $149/night. Sunny Money is a coupon book available from the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau. Parking was $11/day. We used our rental car for trips to LegoLand, Sea World, Zoo, Wild Animal Park, and Anza-Borrego. We were able to walk to all the sights and restaurants in the down town area. There is even a big Ralphs supermarket a few blocks away. Our first day, our plane was 2 hours delayed and we missed a whale watching cruise run by Seaforth Landing and Sea World (www.seaforthlanding.com). It sounded great but we will just have to try it next time. Instead we took the ferry to Coronado and walked to the Hotel Del Coronado and onto the beach to catch our first peek at the Pacific and watch a bit of the sunset. Then we walked across the street to our favorite meal of the trip, Miguel's Cocina.I don't think we even would have noticed this little restaurant had we not been looking for it. Miguel's Cocina is tucked behind some storefronts in a pretty little courtyard giving you the feeling that you have somehow been transported to Guadalajara. The food was so fresh and reasonably priced. The service was friendly and very accommodating for the children.We enthusiastically second SDSam's recommendation! We spent Saturday at Lego Land and thought it was great! I have read very mixed reviews on Lego Land but I think that it is expectations that makes the difference here. If you are expecting rides and shows a la Disney you will be dissappointed. There are a few very low scale rides and the shows are geared for the pre-school/primary aged child. However, if you have a child preschool aged through 8 or 9 (especially if they are Lego nuts) and would like to spend a day being amazed by incredible Lego models (30 million Lego bricks were used) of the Taj Majal, Eifel Tower, Mount Rushmore, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Orleans, and more then this is the place. The rides are low scale but fun.The Driving School puts kids behind the wheel of kid-sized Legomobiles with real brakes and gas pedals. They drive around a little town with street lights and stop signs and earn a drivers license in the end! Sunday we spent the day with Shamu at SeaWorld. We really enjoyed all three of the shows there and even when the rain started were able to spend hours in the various aquarium houses. One special activity was our lunch with Shamu. Sea World bills this program as Dine with Shamu and offers it in several seatings. During the winter it appears to be around lunch time and I was told that in the summer it is a dinner experience. For the truely outrageous price of $25/adult and $15/child (in addition to the small fortune you pay to get in to Sea World) you can have a meal sitting next to a whale pool. The buffet food was not very good, though we did like the Shamu cookies and cheese cake for desert. Also if it rains there are no refunds and you must eat with an umbrella over your head because most of the dining area is not covered. These negatives stated, it was an exciting, once-in-a-life time treat to eat a meal with a killer whale or two swimming next to you. A trainer was available for questions throughout the meal, and after the meal the whales came out of the water onto a ledge in their pool not more than 5 feet from us. It was an overpriced but exciting lunch with some great photo ops. Monday it poured almost all day. Unfortunately this was our day for the World Famous San Diego Zoo. We are probably the only people on earth who were extemely disappointed with this zoo. We did get to see the new baby panda but once it started to rain we were out of luck. There are no indoor viewing houses at the San Diego Zoo (it never rains in Southern California) and the animals in the famous natural settings all seek shelter in the rain. The arial tram closes in the rain and there was no where to go on the bus. We may not have the open spaces San Diego Zoo is known for but here in St. Louis our zoo is free. If it rains you go to the indoor houses or you go home, no big loss. We paid $70 to get into this zoo and were not impressed. My recommendation: only go to the zoo if there is no chance of rain! That night my kids added to their Hard Rock t-shirt collection at the Hard Rock Cafe across the street from Horton Plaza in the Gaslamp area. On Tuesday we really enjoyed the Wild Animal Park which is about 40 minutes north of San Diego in Escondido. It is a beautiful place with a very informative tour of the Savannahs and Plains and lots of trails with overlooks so you can watch the animals. When was the last time you saw a giraffe galloping? These animals live in huge naturalistic settings that make you feel like you are on a real safari. Even when it started to drizzle there was plenty to see. On the way back to San Diego we took a coastal road and watched the sun setting over various beaches along the way. We had dinner that night at the Dakota Grill on the corner of E and 5th in the Gaslamp area. There is no childrens menu but they were willing to offer my son the picky eater a burger off of their lunch menu. He actually ending up sharing my barbequed chicken which was delicious. On Wednesday morning we left San Diego for the 2 hour drive to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The final 30 minutes of that ride is on one of the curviest mountain roads we have ever driven. You decend through mountains made of huge piles of boulders to the desert valley below...way below. Once in the desert we took a 3 mile hike on the Palm Canyon trail. This easy hike takes you through boulders and cacti until suddenly an oasis of Palm trees appears between 2 mountains. We would have hiked more that day but the rain had followed us. It rains about 1 inch a year in that desert and we were there for it! Instead we drove for a while observing the desert and badlands. That night we slept at the Palm Canyon Resort which we thought was a bargain at $79 including the extra cot we requested. The room was clean and spacious, the restaurant food was good, and if you visit on one of the 364 days that it doesn't rain, there is a medium sized pool. I hope some day we get to go back to San Diego to enjoy the beaches and some sunshine. It is a fun location for a relaxing family trip. Thanks to all of the posters who helped answer my many questions before we left. I would be happy to answer any questions based on our trip.