California - San Diego - Stay downtown or in La Jolla?

In October my husband and I will be traveling to San Diego for a week with our then almost 3 year old. We are trying to decide whether we should stay in La Jolla or in downtown San Diego. We are thinking of staying at a Marriott property since we are able to obtain a good rate at Marriott hotels.
Thank you in advance for your suggestions/comments.

Depends on what you are looking to do while in the area. La Jolla is beautiful, but the traffic between there and SD can be atrocious. Downtown SD has a lot to offer, lots of restaurants, Balboa Park, etc.

LaJolla Marriott is more business oriented with lots of office parks nearby. There is a shopping mall across the street and you can walk around a bit if socal suburbia is of interest to you. This may be an option if you plan to drive around (sea world, legoland, la jolla/del mar etc) and not focus on SD itself.
Downtown location is better if SD itself is your focus and you can usually find cheap garage parking nearby if you hotel is not reasonable in that regard.

As others mentioned, it depends on what you want to do because La Jolla and San Diego proper are very different places. If you are looking for a beach vacation then La Jolla is a better fit. If you want to be closer to San Diego Zoo and/or Sea World then San Diego.

If it is a beach vacation experience you are looking for then consider Carlsbad, which is about 30 minute north by car. I was there last week with my wife and two kids (3.5 years and 16 months) and it was wonderful. We stayed at the Beach Terrace Inn right on the beach with shops and restaurants in walking distance. Sorry if this suggestion is a derail, but it is worth considering if you are looking for a vacation on the beach.

Between the Marriott by the convention center (on the waterfront) and the Marriott La Jolla, I would choose the downtown property. The view is wonderful and it is an easy walk to the Gaslamp Quarter with its wealth of restaurants as well as Seaport Village.

There are also Marriott properties on Coronado Island - and that is a beautiful place for a family vacation. I encourage you to go to the Marriott forum and check out reports on the various Marriott hotels in San Diego.

These are definitely some points to consider. I don't think that we are looking for a beach vacation because we will be spending a lot of time at the beach over the summer. However, the beaches in CA are beautiful and therefore I would like to visit them. Thanks again!

Since you plan to be there for a week perhaps splitting your time between two properties may provide the best of both worlds...

My vote would be for the downtown Marriott (on West Harbor Drive). It's a better hotel (aren't they renovating too) and in a better location. Closer to many more San Diego sights (zoo, balboa park, etc...) Although the one in La Jolla is closer to La Jolla beaches, you still have to drive to them. I'd be willing to drive a little further if I can get a better hotel. Just avoid rush hour and the drive to la jolla should be fine. One other thing, if you've never been to Torrey pines state park, go! They have pretty easy hikes to take your toddler on and the views are beautiful!
One other thing about the marriott is I believe they have a water taxi at their marina that can take you to the coronado marriott across the harbor which i thought was pretty cool. Double check though.

Another vote for the Marriott Marina. Had my wife and kids down there over spring break. Great lounge. They will be completing a full pool renovation sometime this month. One of the pools is a kids pool (only 2' deep) so great for a 3 yr old.

Easy walk to the Gas lamp or seaside village. Trolley right out front to get to Little Italy, Balboa and all over.

I don't know about La Jolla hotels but downtown hotels often charge hefty parking fees ($20-$30+). On the plus side, you can get to many places by public transportation. We stayed at the Hyatt next to the Marriott by the convetion center,while my wife attended a conference. Later moved to the Omni (got it through Priceline; could not use Priceline during the conference due to the whole area being booked). La Jolla is pleasant (do see the Scrippts/UC San Diego aquarium) and you MAY avoid high parking fees,but will need to drive to get to many attractions,including restaurants and museums in SD itself.

BTW, the Omni was excellent, and right next door to Petco Park.

Park-it-on-Market, Market & 6th. $12 max 24hrs from what I've read (heading to SD Sun). Can be a pain if there's a game at Petco though. wj

Another vote for the recently renamed Marriott Marquis & Marina. Their pool revamp was set to re-open May 3 so you should be good to go.

I love La Jolla but, as mentioned above, the Marriott La Jolla isn't really 'in the village', where you want to be. It is however, worth a drive to La Jolla just to take your youngster to the kids beach to check out the seals and maybe explore the tidepools as well. Beautiful area and October is one of my favorite months in Southern California weather-wise.

The Marriott in La Jolla is on the corner of La Jolla Village Drive and Gennessee - caddycorner to UTC. True La Jollans would not even consider that La Jolla (i.e., its east of I-5 - but I digress).

It will take you a good 10 to 15 minutes to get to the Village from there (depending on traffic) and then you have to find parking which is hit or miss (watch out for the meter maids - they're aggressive). The Shores near the Beach and Tennis Club are closer which is a popular beach area.

If you have to drive all the way in, you might as well stay in Downtown - take I5 north to I8 West, then to Ingraham, left on Grand, Right on Mission, then left on La Jolla Blvd to the village (scenic route), or just shoot straight up I5 to Torrey Pines Road/La Jolla Parkway and follow it into town.

I vote Marriott Marina or Omni. I'd stay downtown and drive to La Jolla. The kids will like the seals at Children's Pool.

I vote Marriott Marina or Omni. I'd stay downtown and drive to La Jolla. The kids will like the seals at Children's Pool.

Just make sure they aren't having a Children's Pool vs. Seal Pool riot.

The most f**ked up controversies happen in San Diego - the Soledad Cross and the Children's Pool.

As others have already mentioned, the better of those two choices would be downtown - there's simply more to see/do without the need of a car. La Jolla is highly recommended, but the Marriott is not in La Jolla proper - it is in a nice (safe) location, but you'll need to drive to see anything.

Beware of hotels that claim to be in La Jolla but are not in the village area, but instead are in the business-park area east of the university. Shopping malls and freeways are nearby, but no trolley access and no quaint areas like La Jolla village. (Anything inside the 805/5/52 triangle or west thereof is business park-y.)

Beware of hotels that claim to be in La Jolla but are not in the village area, but instead are in the business-park area east of the university. Shopping malls and freeways are nearby, but no trolley access and no quaint areas like La Jolla village. (Anything inside the 805/5/52 triangle or west thereof is business park-y.)

I would NEVER stay at the Marriot La Jolla. It is NOT in La Jolla. Stay downtown at the marina it is a former Intercontinental Hotel and beautiful.