Hilton HHonors - Which DT in San Diego

Hello all,
I am going to San Diego in mid July and am trying to determine which property to stay at. My preference is the Hilton Torrey Pines, but that one seems to be a bit over the budget I have for my trip. So I am deciding between the DT Mission Valley and the DT San Diego /Del Mar.

Does anyone have any suggetions as to which one is nicer? I will be with my wife, and we are just planning to do some siteseeing and relaxing.

Not a Doubletree, but my wife and I loved our 3 night stay last summer at the Harbor Island Hilton. Very easy to get around; the hotel shuttle would take us to Amtrak from whence we could ride the trolleys. And we loved the restaurant at the hotel too.

If you are trying to get away from it all, why not stay at the DT in Rancho Bernardo. It has a great golf course if you love to golf and is away from the main areas of San Diego.

If you want to stay around downtown, try the Hilton Resort in Mission Valley. Very nice property and you can stroll the bay each night. If you want to be very close to downtown, try the Hilton Gas Lamp but I think this will be very pricey.

Another Downtown location is the Embassy Suites. Very nice location and property, close to downtown and also close to the bay. Just one block from Seaport Village. Very nice place to visit.

Let me know what you want to do in SAN and I can help you out a little better with properties.

Thanks for the response. The Embassy Suites looks great, but it is among the most expensive of all the the Hilton Brands on the night that I want to stay (7/13).

After thinking about it some more, I think I would like to be as close to the beach as possible. I don't really know SD well, so I am open to any suggestions.
Thanks!

Do not choose the Doubletree Del Mar. It is situated between an upmarket housing development and office parks - pretty boring neighborhood for a vacation, imo.

Go for the Hilton Mission Bay Resort then. Right on the bay and very nice. Nice walks right on the water and a great way to enjoy the vacation.

If budget is truly a consideration, the new (opened in the last year) Hampton Inn down the street from the Embassy Suites is one of the nicest Hampton properties I've ever stayed at.

DT Del Mar is down the street from me. Don't stay there. It's two miles from a nice beach, but in an office park/upscale housing area. Nothing to do unless you like to pop into the supermarket or walk your dog. I've never been in the DT rooms. Pool area is nice. Restaurant was formerly one of our favorites but switched some time back to Sydney's Australian Grill and the food is now weird. Buffet breakfast is now mediocre.

DT Mission Valley/Hazard Center is a very nice property close to SD Zoo, Balboa Park, Sea World, etc. About ten minute drive to the Mission Bay beaches. Plenty of restaurants and shopping nearby. Beware of the "new" DT Mission Valley on Hotel Circle. It's an old hotel recently converted to DT with a horrible location.

I think the cheapest alternative is the Del Mar Hilton across from the racetrack of the same name. This spring they had very cheap rates and seems to have permanent pointstretchers. It's also close to a nice beach, but further from the tourist stuff. They also have intermittent plumbing problems and a staff that tends to be snotty. Near a small shopping center; otherwise mostly residential.

Unless you are trying to get stays for the 50K promo, you can usually get the La Jolla Hilton through Priceline for around $70 and the Mission Bay Hilton for around $80.

STAY AWAY FROM THE DT DELMAR!!!!!!!! I had a really bad time there last year, it was so bad that Adam had to get involved to clear things up!! Torrey Pines is nice, a bit overpriced for me as well, if the rates are reasonable I stay at the Radisson, they provide a free shuttle from the airport, and the place is ok. I havn't stayed at the Hilton Del Mar or Mission Valley

I have stayed in the DT Mission Valley and it was very nice. It is not the most scenic place as it is right near a highway intersection, but it doesn't sound like that's what you're looking for anyway... besides, there's plenty to eat nearby!

It is adjacent to an upscale outdoor mall, actually kinda semi-attached. There was an Italian place on the opposite side of the mall, and a Sushi/Chinese restaurant on the second floor of the mall. The name of it was Shanghai... I know that may sound strange, but when you walk in on the right was Sushi and the left was Chinese, although you could order off both menus... I was at the DT two nights and ate there both nights...

As a then Gold VIP, I was upgraded to the HH level w/ an executive lounge. They served free drinks and finger foods in the evening and breakfast in the morning.

I would stay at this property again in a heartbeat.

I was just at the Hilton Resort property (on Mission Bay) two weeks ago. Not bad, but I got gouged for $249/night (the customer is going to eviscerate me when they get that bill)--and the Hyatt a couple miles away (arguably in a more happening location) was only $150/night. D'oh!

The restaurant at the hotel was okay, but they had a habit of ignoring me. I ate 7 meals there over the course of the week and I had to grouse about 5 of them.

I thought about switching to the Hyatt midweek, but I had a phenomenal room--500 aka "The California Suite" so I decided to stay put. The people at the resort were all very friendly. At something like $175 a night it would have been okay; I definitely overpaid.

The location is convenient--right off 5 just an exit north of 8.

Cheers,
Jon

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Jon Wright
mailto:jon.wright@caminus.comjon.wright@caminus.co m</A>

I agree with Littleleaguemom. DT Hazard center works even though it is at the intersection of I-8 and 163. Stayed there with the family last summer and everything worked out well. Received lounge access and breakfast certificates for all 4 members of our party. the lounge staff couldn't have nicer. Nice buffet breakfast and great happy hour. Hot and cold munchies and free soda, wine, and beer. Made for a nice end of the day touring. In fact dinner often turned out to be a slice of pizza at Mission Beach at 9 pm as we strolled the boardwalk and the kids took a coaster ride.

There is a trolley stop just outside the door that can get you around pretty easily although it doesn't go to the beach. A shuttle will get you back and forth from the airport. Free parking, inside and outside pools, sauna. All in all a very comfortable experience.

My only complaint, I once asked for some cookies when walking by the front desk and couldn't get any. Oh well, no big deal.

Thanks all for the responses.
Is the Hilton Mission Valley resort the same as the Hilton San Diego Resort on Mission Bay Drive?

The DT Mission Valley (Hazard Drive) is the best in class (and town). You also might wish to utilize the nice "search" feature of FT in the upper right hand quadrant on this page to obtain good info on your question or any other question.

MisterNice

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by MisterNice:
The DT Mission Valley (Hazard Drive) is the best in class (and town). You also might wish to utilize the nice "search" feature of FT in the upper right hand quadrant on this page to obtain good info on your question or any other question.

MisterNice</font>

Thanks for the location of the Search link, but I already knew that. If you would have done the same search, you would see that my specific question has not been answered. People have been posting about the Hilton MV Resort, but on the Hilton web site there is only mention of the Hilton San Diego Resort. I am asking if this is the same resort.

I'll third (fourth?) the recommendation for the DT Mission Valley. Stayed there with the extended family earlier this year; the hotel itself is nothing spectacular, but from desk clerks to waitresses the staff was outstanding. We all got the HH Gold perqs without asking.

Other than the malls, there is nothing right near the hotel but drives to various attractions (Zoo, Sea World, etc.) are easy and short.

Designtime, Hilton Mission Valley is a boring business hotel near the DT in Hazard Center. Location and surroundings not as good as the DT. The Mission Bay Hilton is right off I-5 and actually is a resort with nice pools and some actual beachfront (on the bay, not ocean).

To directly answer your question: Yes, Hilton refers to the Hilton Mission Bay resort as the San Diego Hilton Resort. It is one and the same as the one described in previous replies.

I would avoid the Hilton Mission Valley at all costs -- one of the worst Hiltons I've stayed at, and I was there for weeks.

I would second (third? fourth?) the recommendation for the DT Mission Valley -- a very nice property with a very helpful staff.

Besides the uninspiring location, is there anything else wrong with the DT Del Mar? Is it sub-par compared to other DTs?

Thanks.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by RallyCap:
Besides the uninspiring location, is there anything else wrong with the DT Del Mar? Is it sub-par compared to other DTs?</font>I stayed there for a weekend reward stay a few weeks ago. As gold I got upgraded to a corner studio suite and the obligatory breakfast with no problem.

Overall I found it quite nice, and the staff were responsive and helpful. I don't know what other types of problems people have had here, but I had none.

The location is very "businessy", but a close drive to everything in Del Mar.

Gotta affirm the positive comments on the DT Hazard Center. Easy to get to, 10 minutes from the airport, great location for getting anywhere from this hotel. Have stayed there 3x in the past year, great property, nice rooms, good staff, good food, good lounge. Upgraded on every stay as a Gold, then Diamond. Got a 2BR suite once (didn't want to leave). No business center, but there is a Kinko's next door in the mall.

Bump

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by RallyCap:
Bump</font>
What, my word wasn't good enough? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Really, though, I thought it was quite nice. In Del Mar it is probably the nicest available hotel. So just stay there. You'll have a fine time.

In Mid-July you will be smack in the middle of racing season. Unless you are a horseracing fan, Del Mar is not my favorite place to be at that time of year (and I live in North County!) However, there is also a Hampton Inn right next to the DT in Del Mar.

Don't rule out the Hilton Garden Inn in Carlsbad. Directly across from the beach (Carlsbad State Beach is one of the nicest beaches in all of San Diego.) Easy freeway access - if your plans include the Wild Animal Park, it is the closest Hilton beach property. Great restaurants nearby. A fairly new property, it is a very relaxing place. But, it is not as urban as the DT in Mission Valley (which is a very nice hotel and not nearly as cold as the DT in Del Mar.)

If you don't want the beach as a primary focus, that time of year the DT in Mission Valley also gets my nod. Closest to the Zoo, Balboa Park, great restaurants and shopping nearby and easy access to downtown and the Gaslamp Quarter and the watertaxis to Coronado. If the weather is clear, don't miss the Cabrillo Monument!

DT Hazard Center is a very nice property-

We stayed there Memorial Day weekend for 2 nights on a $42 Priceline rate.

The clerk happily accepted a website printout as a substitute for a Gold card that had not yet arrived.

Executive floor didn't have 2 beds, so we were accomodated in a normal room which was just fine.

The executive lounge had a nice continental breakfast, and evening snacks such as hot egg rolls, cheese, crackers, fruit, etc.

Soda, wine, beer, bottled water, and hot beverages were available.

Thanks Rut Dog. No offense intended http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I appreciate the other replies as well.