San Diego Hotel

[dyer51]

My husband and I are booked on the Radiance for the Oct. 11 Hawaii cruise. We have never stayed in San Diego and would like to go a couple of days early. Any advice on a nice hotel near the port? I have read mixed reviews about the Holiday Inn on the Bay. We would appreciate any advice. Also, is there anyone out there on this cruise?

[cruisenfever]

My husband and I are booked on the Radiance for the Oct. 11 Hawaii cruise. We have never stayed in San Diego and would like to go a couple of days early. Any advice on a nice hotel near the port? I have read mixed reviews about the Holiday Inn on the Bay. We would appreciate any advice. Also, is there anyone out there on this cruise?

We are doing the September 26th sailing on Radiance and are staying at the Hampton Inn Downtown San Diego. They have free shuttle from the airport (10 minutes away), free shuttle to the pier (which is probably 5 minutes away) and complimentary breakfast. We got a great rate using Triple A.

 

There is a very active roll call for your sailing. Here is the link to the roll call started by my good friend Karen (travelgoddess1).

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=535360

[Seatravelers]

Hi S & D what a surprise to see you posting this. M & L have been talking about calling you to see if you wanted to come a day or so early. Remember we'll be there for L's conference, ending Wednesday night. M will call you Sunday afternoon. She's out of town today.

She likes the Hotel del Coronado. Of course she would! Check it out at their website.

 

We leave on March 27 for Serenade out of San Juan with our friends who have never cruised. It should be a blast! We can hardly wait..

 

Seatravelers

M & L

[Cruising89143]

Will be staying at the Holiday Inn next month. Chose it strictly for it's location of being across the street from the port. Over 600 rooms with about half having balconies overlooking the port. Also has a Ruth Chris steakhouse and a sports bar on premises. I will let you know how the place is. It just went through a multi million dollar refurb.

[PhoenixCruiser]

There are several hotels downtown, The W, a few Westin's and a Hyatt -- all within walking distance of the pier, shopping and several restaurants.

 

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[Honey's Gal]

Oops

[Honey's Gal]

We have also stayed at the Hampton Inn - Downtown. It wasn't bad at all. Their breakfast was great, their coffee was exceptional....The rooms were clean and the beds were very comfortable.

 

The only problem or complaint you may have is the train. The train is directly behind the hotel and while it doesn't run all night, it does run late. They do have ear plugs in the room for those who may need it. We did hear it prior to falling asleep, but we really didn't hear it at all during the night until the AM, but we were up early anyway.

 

They were very accomodating in getting us to the pier. Make sure you tell them what time you want to leave as they have a running list of times. They will schedule you for the time you want unless someone else already booked it. It was a fairly short walk, but if you have alot of luggage or someone is physically impaired in any way, they may not want to walk.

 

We did walk to the Holiday Inn, and had dinner at the sports bar. We enjoyed it, we got to watch the Red Sox and made a lot of noise...

[cruisenfever]

We have also stayed at the Hampton Inn - Downtown. It wasn't bad at all. Their breakfast was great' date=' their coffee was exceptional....The rooms were clean and the beds were very comfortable.

 

The only problem or complaint you may have is the train. The train is directly behind the hotel and while it doesn't run all night, it does run late. They do have ear plugs in the room for those who may need it. We did hear it prior to falling asleep, but we really didn't hear it at all during the night until the AM, but we were up early anyway.

 

They were very accomodating in getting us to the pier. Make sure you tell them what time you want to leave as they have a running list of times. They will schedule you for the time you want unless someone else already booked it. It was a fairly short walk, but if you have alot of luggage or someone is physically impaired in any way, they may not want to walk.

 

We did walk to the Holiday Inn, and had dinner at the sports bar. We enjoyed it, we got to watch the Red Sox and made a lot of noise...[/quote']

Could you tell them prior to the day that you are checking out what time you would like to be taken to the pier on embarkation day?

 

When we stayed at the Hampton Inn in Vancouver, we had to be in line at 7:00 on the morning of check out to be put on the list. I believe their times were in half hour increments.

[dyer51]

Thanks everyone for the posts. M&L I am slowly getting the hang of this. I have found my other post on the Meet and Mingle part. Is there anyway to go direcly to a post without having to page through all of the others? Now if I can just find my way back to the other post. Steph

[cruisingrightalong]

Our favorites:

Sheraton on Harbor Island-Bay Tower....to watch your ship come in

 

Homewood Suites (brand new) at Liberty Station

 

Lou

[Andym]

Have a look at Heritage park inn, Old town. We stayed there last year, what an experience, very romantic.

[cottagemama]

Just wondering if someone can help me. We are arriving in San Diego on Sept 26 on the Radiance of Seas and we fly out on Sept 30th. I would like to spen these 4 days at a hotel on the beach for some relaxation before flying home. Can someone tell me what hotel and/or area would be nice as I have never been here before. thanks

[Splinter]

Cottagemama,

How much do you want to spend? September is an ideal time to spend at our beaches...the weather is still warm, but most of the tourists (including the Zonies) have gone home and kids are in school, so it is less crowded. You are likely to still be paying premium rates though.

 

If price is no object, I can recommend the Hotel del Coronado (although I would hesitate to eat there). You can easily walk to many other fine restaurants in the village off Coronado. It has my favorite local beach....wide and sandy, good for both swimming and walking, and lots of nice eye candy (Navy SEALS running on the beach!!!!). The only down side is some noise from jets landing at North Island Navy base. You can take a bus to the passenger ferry to get to downtown San Diego (right by the cruise ship pier) and get to public transportation easily if you will not have a car.

 

Another expensive but fine hotel, a little younger set, is the fairly new Tower 23 in Pacific Beach. Very trendy, good food, near lots of other places to eat. The beach here will be a little more crowded, but you can walk a long way and people watch here on the beachway boardwalk, and it is close enough to walk over to Mission Bay Park (rent a bike to see it all). If you want to do more than just lay on the beach, I would recommend renting a car if you stay here.

 

Another fun place right in the same area is the Crystal Pier Hotel cottages. These are unique because you actually are on the pier and can feel and hear the waves as you sleep, and you have a terrace right over the beach or ocean. They are not fancy, but great fun. Not cheap though.

 

The La Valencia in La Jolla would also be an option. Again, not inexpensive, but it is a classic old hotel frequently by many celebrities in the past, and again, close to both shopping and restaurants. It is about a block from here to the La Jolla Cove which has a small sandy beach and fine swimming. The La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club is also very nice, again, expensive, but it is right on La Jolla Shores Beach.

 

There are less expensive places too...but these would probably be the best right along sandy beaches. If you want less expensive, I am sure we can make some recommendations.

[cottagemama]

Thanks so much Splinter. Can you give a few of the less expensive ones as well please?

[Splinter]

There are some real dumps in the beach areas too...but here are some more moderately priced hotels:

 

Pacific Beach:

 

The Catamaran

Best Western Blue Sea Lodge

Surfer Beach Hotel

Pacific Terrace Hotel

 

Mission Beach/Mission Bay (I don't recommend swimming in Mission Bay):

 

The Bahia

The Dana Point Inn

 

La Jolla:

 

La Jolla Inn

La Jolla Cove Suites

 

Coronado:

 

Villa Capri

La Avenida Inn

Cherokee Lodge

[cottagemama]

Thank you splinter. with all the choices you gave me I will have some research to do before making a final choice.