empedocles

Looking for advice on lodging in San Diego. My hotel chain of choice is Marriott. My main factor is cost. Right, now, I'm considering 3 options:

Marriott Mission Valley
Marriott Del Mar
Fairfield Inn & Suites Mission Valley

May also consider a Residence Inn in Mission Valley or the Springhill Scripps Poway.

A few points to provide a better basis for comparison:
1. Cost - Trying to get as close to $100 as possible.
2. Location - Is Del Mar too far out? Is Scripps Poway too far out?
3. Looking at the Fairfield, Res Inn, & Springhill because it would be nice to have a fridge, but this could be alleviated somewhat by concierge lounge in the Marriotts.

Muchas Gracias.

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Leadership is not about personal privilege or power.
The duty of the leader is to serve the needs of those
who are led.
-Jan Erteszek

TransWorldOne

Location in comparison to what? To downtown? to the beach? to the airport? to the Del Mar horsetrack? Give me more information and I'll be glad to offer an opinion.

For the time being, I'll offer this advice:

- Del Mar is too far
- Scripps Poway is not too far, but is certainly pushing it (the drive to downtown, airport, Coronado, La Jolla, etc. is pretty easy with great freeway access)
- Did you try pricing the Courtyard by Marriott downtown? It is a pretty good hotel in a neat old building that frequently has decent rates
- If price is a big factor, why not forgo the loyalty to Marriott and bid on priceline?

empedocles

DOH!

Downtown. Tourist stuff. (Balboa, Old Town, Coronado...)

4-5 nights, me + spouse.

As for Marriotts, I've got a couple hundred in Marriott gift cheques to use up. Actually, I'm a bit more malleable on price than that.

------------------
Leadership is not about personal privilege or power.
The duty of the leader is to serve the needs of those
who are led.
-Jan Erteszek

[This message has been edited by empedocles (edited 04-29-2003).]

ranles

Around the block answer.

If you go to Hilton's site and bring up San Diego "all brands" you will get a list summary and the distance from downtown. The distances of Hiltons versus Marriotts in Mission Valley or Del Mar, etc. will be close enough a guide.

As for costs, BEWARE of parking fees. They can run up to $23 per night with "Hilton" in San Diego, again expect similar with Marriott, etal.

Marysunshine

We found Mission Valley very convenient to everything. We were right by the highway and had easy access to all the places we went: San Diego Zoo, Wild Animal Park, La Jolla, Old Town, Gaslight District, etc. Very easy to get around there.

TransWorldOne

Based upon your activities, I would strongly suggest the Courtyard by Marriott Downtown.

Mission Valley Marriott is a good second choice.

Don't miss Cafe 222. If you like Chinese history/culture, don't miss the Chinese Historical Museum a couple blocks away from the cafe.

rove312

I'll latch onto this thread since I'm thinking of going to San Diego; my question is whether it's advisable to rent a car. I usually rent when I travel in the U.S., but not when public transportation is easy and parking is difficult or expensive. For this trip, I'd be interested in basic tourist stuff in S.D. and getting to Tijuana. I know that the trolley is available to the border (and I know not to drive across the border); would public transport cover most other things of interest? I would see a choice of staying downtown without a car or in an outlying area with a car, doing some driving and getting public transport where it works out (efficient and an alternative to expensive parking).

Factotum

That depends what you consider "too far out." I used to live in Poway and folks thought nothing of driving into San Diego for a few hours, but you will be "commuting" back and forth if you stay here, no doubt about it. (And you will need to rent a car to get anywhere of interest, but at least according to marriott.com the hotel has free parking.) I see from the Web site the SpringHill Suites is right on I-15; you could hop right on the highway and be downtown in half an hour. If the rates at this place are significantly lower than the closer-in properties, I would definitely consider it.

Factotum

Probably; it depends how long you're staying. If you're only going to be in a town for a couple of days renting may not be worth the effort, since you can use public transportation to see some of the tourist sites and, as you noted, get to the international border. Longer than that, though, and, well...... Unfortunately there are a lot of places around SD where life would be difficult without a car (like La Jolla or the Wild Animal Park). Yes, there's always the taxi, but for the cost of a couple of round-trip cab rides you could rent a car for a few days.

So there you have it: if your stay in San Diego is of any significant duration, I recommend getting a car for at least a couple of days. Incidentally, that also opens the door for more off-the-beaten-path things like day trips to ghost towns in the desert, if that's your sort of thing.

R&R

I live across the street from the Springhill on Scripps Poway Parkway. There is NOTHING around here including some decent restaurants. THere is a Chili's across the parking lot and that is it. A couple of places down 1 mile on Mira Mesa, but doesn't warrent staying around here.

THe new Del Mar Marriott is a low key business hotel with one of the 8 best restaurants in So Calif. Arterra, a Farm Fresh approach with a young chef, who takes advantage of all the organic produce around. Worth a meal. The only place to eat in the hotel. Down the road West is the Cuvee du Vin with Calif Coastal Cuisine and more reasonable then the Marriott. Hence not as good. Nothing between here and there but eight miles of new homes going up with an entry level of $700,000.00! And some left over Nurseries from the farming days.

The Del Mar Marriott would be more convenient to the beach, Quail Botanical Gardens with all the exotic plants from distant lands that grow around here with the Mediterrean weather formed by the eddies from the Mexican warm and Alaskan cold currents off shore. The Wild Animal Park has a lot of the exotic plants east of Escondido.

There is a Marriott Suites downtown with the Trolley nearby to head to the border.

LLM

Del Mar Marriott is down the street from me. This is an upscale coastal suburb. The hotel is new and very nice. Restaurant is expensive and "gourmet" (we often eat there) and unlikely to satisfy your budget for more than a meal or two, although if you have wheels there are plenty of options in the area (Subway, IHOP, MCD, Mexican, Thai, pizza, etc). This property charges $13/day parking, which I think is outrageous in a suburb. There is limited street parking; the Doubletree and Hampton across the street provide free parking. You are right next to the freeway ramp and Zoo, SW, etc are 20 minutes, 30 minutes in traffic. Wild Park is 35 minutes.

A bit further north is a Courtyard in Solana Beach which is practically on the beach. I think Mission Valley would be closer overall. When we first moved here we stayed at the RI in Kearny Mesa which was new and nice then; can't comment on the others. Everyone seems to like the Marriott in Mission Valley. La Jolla Marriott is also nice and central but will also zap you with parking. The full service Marriotts commonly come up on Priceline for around $55.

R&R

Neither the LaJolla or the Mission Valley Marriotts are noted for more then acceptable food. THe LaJolla has a better location and across from a nice shopping mall if that is your thing.
Mission Valley Marriott is more convenient to the Zoo and access for the Wild Animal Park, if that is of any interest to you.
Most restaurants are jammed into the downtown old Gaslight area along with the higher prices. For that there is the Marriott Suites.

empedocles

Whoops, I'd forgotten about this thread.

To follow up, right now I'm trying to decide between 2 hotels:

RESIDENCE INN
SAN DIEGO CENTRAL
5400 KEARNY MESA ROAD
SAN DIEGO, CA 92111

FAIRFIELD INN & SUITES
SAN DIEGO/MISSION VALLEY
641 CAMINO DEL RIO SOUTH
SAN DIEGO, CA 92108

FF: Closer to the attractions. Mini-fridge
RI: Kitchen, breakfast. Further out.
Prices are comparable, ~$120

I'm leaning toward the RI , but am wondering about the commute. Website claims it's around 9 miles to downtown. Also, can anyone tell me if anything is in the vicinity of the RI (restaurants, etc.)?

During the day, we'll be doing the Balboa Park stuff. At night, probably Gaslight or Old Town for dinner and a drink. (Unless we cheap out and go to Mickey D's )

Also, how about some good Mexican dining establishments?




------------------
Leadership is not about personal privilege or power.
The duty of the leader is to serve the needs of those
who are led.
-Jan Erteszek

R&R

Everything you want would require a commute from Kearney Mesa. If it is near the I-15, then you have a choice for a lot of Oriental fastfood like places to eat and nothing else to do. Since you plan on time in the Gaslight area at nite, then I would opt to stay close by and avoid the commutes in traffic. Marriott Suites is within walking distance to all in Downtown.
WHen I first moved to SD, it was not easy getting around, since there are few to no straight streets. THose are in the older central Gaslight area toward University ave. And that area has most of the more interesting places to eat or easier access to good places. I often go into town to run errends and eat with shopping at WHole Foods on University or LaJolla Blvds after. It is about 17 miles from here-Scripps Powar Pkwy.

AM curious as to why you are looking at such distance hotels in the burbs? Price?
While waiting for the house to be built, I stayed at all the Marriotts in town. Close to various kinds of shopping, and better food. The only decent restaurant opened across from the Springhill here a couple of years ago. The CHef almost cooked to order for me and he would come out to sit and talk about Nutrition, Health, etc with me. After a year, he disappeared after a dispute with the owner. He was at the Antiqua Tosca on Univerity for a year and returned. I was back in Heaven, since there really aren't many choices around here with acceptable food. Well, about 4 months later, I pull up and found the place shuttered SUDDENLY the nite before. The owner couldn't find a buyer and was behind in rent. End of story. I am still looking. Found Arterra, Mixx, CuveeDuVIn, and mediocre spots.

R&R

You must know that the Residence Inn down the hill by the SpringHill on Scripps Powsy is not finished. You will burn a lot of gas and time on the Freeway commuting to Downtown for the Gaslight.