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Old 18 Aug 20, 05:33 PM  
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Milpston
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Hotel advice Anaheim/Sandiego/LA

So I think I am at the point that my itinerary for August 2021 is almost set... everything crossed!

We need three nights in Anaheim for DL and 3 nights in San Diego for some chill time.

So... I am thinking of the Howard Johnson for DL.

We will be a family of 4 (kids 6 & 4) in one room and 2 adults in the other. From what I can see it ticks all the boxes. As far as I can see it has free parking? no resort fees? It doesn't have to be flash but definitely want clean and be able to park the car up for three days and walk to the parks. Looks like they do Theme park view rooms too. The splash pad a swimming pool are a bonus but likely to be in the parks most of the time. Any major negatives I am missing?

Needing 2 rooms is proving a little prohibitive with the California hotel prices so I am not considering on site.


San Diego... Where do I start? I've done a bit of reading but still feel clueless Again, 3 nights with 2 rooms.

What I want is probably the impossible... basically a resort style hotel with lovely views on a Caribbean style beach but easy travelling to anything I want to do in San Diego! All for a price which isn't exorbitant with massive resort fees and $40 a day to park a damn car

To add to the difficulty I'm not sure what we actually want to do in San Diego. I think we will do a whale watching trip. We're not willing to travel up to Monterey. I think the one I found goes from Mission Bay. Maybe have a look at the USS Midway, Possibly the Top Gun bar. Ideally would like the option of Jet skis or other water sports from the beach. May venture to Balboa Park but if we are happy to have three chill out days we may skip it.

What area should I be staying in. Have looked at Coronado Island, Mission Bay, La Jolla? Would it make much difference which area?

Have looked at loads of different hotels and all seem to get mixed reviews such as:
Hyatt Regency Mission Bay
Loews Coranado Bay
Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina
Pantai Inn - interesting and good reviews but not the sort we would usually punt for.
Ideally don't want to spend more than about £1500 on these three nights but can be flexible if necessary.


Lastly... LA? I seem to remember someone on here advising against the likes of Airbnb for the Anaheim area. Is it ok in Burbank? Have found a house I like within walking distance of Universal but am not decided between a rental or a universal hotel at the moment.

After all that waffle, for which I apologize, any recommendations to kick me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. It is just these last 10 nights that I haven't yet got pinned down.

Thank you

Paul
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Old 19 Aug 20, 05:32 AM  
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Aims
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Originally Posted by Milpston View Post
What I want is probably the impossible... basically a resort style hotel with lovely views on a Caribbean style beach but easy travelling to anything I want to do in San Diego! All for a price which isn't exorbitant with massive resort fees and $40 a day to park a damn car

Welllll... We don't have much in the way of "Caribbean style" beaches in San Diego, just lots of the Southern California variety (lots of sand, surfers and a palm tree here and there LOL). Hotels can be pricey in San Diego, especially the resort style or beachfront hotels, and most hotels here charge for parking (though the $40/day ones are mostly the downtown hotels). Most of the resort hotels are charging resort fees now, some seem reasonable and I have seen others that are more exorbitant.



These are the resort style hotels I would recommend looking at. I have stayed at all of them myself and had no complaints:


1. Catamaran Hotel (Mission Bay)
catamaranresort/
2. Mission Bay Resort (stayed here when it used to be a Hilton)
missionbayresort/
3. Best Western Island Palms (Shelter Island, near the airport and just outside downtown)
islandpalms/#gref
4. Humphrey's Half Moon Inn (Shelter Island)
halfmooninn/
5. La Jolla Shores Hotel (in La Jolla, of course lol)
ljshoreshotel/


Some of these hotels are more "resort" than the others, but they all are on the water and one of them, La Jolla Shores, is right on a beach- you couldn't get any closer. The two Shelter Island hotels will be the most affordable of the hotels I listed, and the Island Palms does not charge a resort fee (currently, that is).



Coronado Island and La Jolla will be the furthest out from the San Diego sights and they are some of the most expensive areas to stay, but you can still get to most places from there in about 30 minutes or maybe less. San Diego is a pretty compact city and nothing is a very far drive away from anywhere, but if you want the most central location, Mission Bay would be it.



For things to do in San Diego, I would definitely recommend a trip to the San Diego Zoo, especially with your kids ages. Balboa Park, where the zoo is located, is a large city park just outside downtown and it has a lot of museums and nice gardens to explore. There is a model railroad museum there that my kids loved at the same age as yours. The USS Midway is a fascinating tour- wear good walking shoes there! The original Sea World park is in Mission Bay, and though it is the smallest of all the Sea World parks, it still has enough to offer to fill up a day. There is a small beachfront amusement park in Mission Beach called Belmont Park belmontpark/, which has a historic wooden coaster, some carnival style rides and games, and mini golf. Another thing I'd recommend, especially for people with only a few days in San Diego, is to take the Old Town Trolley tour trolleytours/san-diego. This is a hop-on, hop-off guided tour that goes around to most of the major points around the city and it also goes over to Coronado. It makes multiple stops and you can choose to get off and explore any of those spots further, or just stay on the trolley for the duration. It's a fun way to get an overall view of San Diego and see some places you may not have time to get to, plus the drivers give out trivia and some interesting facts about the city.



That's my contribution for San Diego I'd be happy to answer any other questions. As far as Anaheim goes, the Howard Johnson is a nice place and within easy walking distance from Disneyland. Nothing fancy, but it's decent and some of the rooms do have views of the parks and you can see the fireworks from them. There is another place I have stayed at quite often that is just down the road a bit called the Candy Cane Inn. It is also within walking distance, though no views of the parks and it's more of a motel than a hotel, if you know what I mean- nothing fancy at all, but it is kept up nice and it has always been affordable compared to other places in the area. They do offer a free continental breakfast (with donuts! Always a plus for me ) and free parking. They also have a free shuttle to the parks just for the hotel guests, if you just need a break from the walking. If you want to check it out further: candycaneinn/


Good luck and have fun with your trip planning!
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Old 19 Aug 20, 08:45 AM  
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lovinit
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I would definitely recommend Best Western Island Palms in San Diego.
We were going to stay in the Tangerine hotel in Burbank, which looks lovely, but ended up staying at a cheap and cheerful motel in LA, Coral Sands Motel, as we were only there 2 nights. It was nothing special but I would stay there again.
Any of the hotels within walking distance of Disney are fine.
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Old 20 Aug 20, 03:44 AM  
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Milpston
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Aims,

Thank you so much. That is so helpful.

I am going to have a proper look at all the hotels you have mentioned. I think from what you have said the location of Mission Bay will probably suit us best and Belmont Park will probably make a nice evening out with the kids.
San Diego zoo looks really good and I would like to go to SeaWorld. However, on this trip we will already have done WDW, DL and plan to go on to do universal Hollywood after San Diego so I will play it by ear once we are there as it may be nice just to do some more chilled out things by the time we reach San Diego. I do like nice hotels with a bit of luxury but aware I will have to give a little on that with wanting two rooms for an extended trip. Is there any areas we should avoid with young kids. Are the areas all relatively safe with use of obvious normal common sense? If we were to go to somewhere a bit further out like La Jolla and use the car more is parking relatively easy to find or will I be losing half my day trying to find somewhere to dump it? Also, is there a company you would recommend for whale watching for San Diego? I have been looking at Adventure Rib Rides which look great fun providing we are happy the kids could handle it by then.

Thank you again for helping to fill in my multiple gaps in knowledge about San Diego.

I will have a look at Candy Cane too although I think I would prefer more of a hotel than motel type place.
Paul
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Old 20 Aug 20, 03:48 AM  
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Milpston
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Originally Posted by lovinit View Post
I would definitely recommend Best Western Island Palms in San Diego.
We were going to stay in the Tangerine hotel in Burbank, which looks lovely, but ended up staying at a cheap and cheerful motel in LA, Coral Sands Motel, as we were only there 2 nights. It was nothing special but I would stay there again.
Any of the hotels within walking distance of Disney are fine.
Thank you. I will have a look at The Tangerine Hotel. There seems to be lots of parts of LA to avoid from reviews I have read. I think Burbank seems like a good compromise for us. I like the idea of a house/villa in the Hollywood Hills type area. However, although not cheap it's the large deposits with the likes of Airbnb that I'm trying to avoid for the obvious Covid related reasons..
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Old 20 Aug 20, 09:43 AM  
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For your stay in LA, have you checked what’s available on the hotel booking websites? Quite a few now offer apartments as well as hotel rooms. As an example, when we visited a few years ago, we booked a one bed condo in a development at Marina del Rey through Hotels.com.

Check Trivago, as they seem to cover a lot of the sites such as booking.com, hotels.com as well as HomeAway and Airbnb.

Having visited San Diego a few years earlier (in 2013 when DD was 14, can say it is a fantastic place with loads to do. We stayed at the Island Palms resort, and found it easy to drive to the downtown area (parked up near the USS Midway) and also La Jolla and Coronado Island.

As well as the Safari Park at Balbao Park, there was also one a little further out at Escondido, for which we got half price tickets through Living Social. Worth signing up for this and also for Groupon deals as it did save us a few $$$$ on both our visits to the West Coast.
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Old 20 Aug 20, 04:49 PM  
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Aims
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Originally Posted by Milpston View Post
Are the areas all relatively safe with use of obvious normal common sense? If we were to go to somewhere a bit further out like La Jolla and use the car more is parking relatively easy to find or will I be losing half my day trying to find somewhere to dump it? Also, is there a company you would recommend for whale watching for San Diego? I have been looking at Adventure Rib Rides which look great fun providing we are happy the kids could handle it by then.

Hi Paul, you're welcome! I'm glad to help. To answer your questions...


The areas where tourists would visit are all relatively safe, and as you said, just use common sense as you would anywhere you aren't familiar with. The places I would say to avoid are not those that most visitors would find themselves needing to go. That being said, I would caution not to walk around Balboa Park at night- during the day it's fine, but it's very big and not well-lit at night. I would also say avoid hanging out in Ocean Beach in the evenings, lots of homeless and druggies regularly hang out at that beach- but there is no real good reason why you would need to go to that beach anyway. We have plenty of other nice beaches to visit. Mission Beach, which is a stone's throw from Mission Bay, is safe enough for families during the day but things can get a bit raucous there in the evenings because of all the beach bars in the area that draw a large university age crowd. It gets especially busy there in the summer and during spring break weeks. I would also avoid going south of downtown San Diego, but there is really nothing in that area to see so you shouldn't find yourself there- unless you were going into Mexico (which I wouldn't recommend).



La Jolla parking can be tricky to get at times. A lot of it is street parking (which is free), and there are some scattered public pay lots and garages. If you are going to the cove to see the sea lions, that area has limited parking spots along Coast Blvd and they fill up quickly. My best advice is to get an early start to La Jolla, especially as you are going in the summer- when I say early, I mean before 10 am. If you go on a weekday morning, it will be slightly less busy because the locals are at work- still go for an early start. If you can't find free street parking, there are a couple of paid garages near the cove...this one called Coast Walk is on Coast Blvd and the most convenient to the cove: en.parkopedia/parking/ga...g=202008201030 There is also parking at the La Jolla Financial Building on Prospect Street: en.parkopedia/parking/un...g=202008201030 You will have to walk a bit to the cove from this parking garage, but it's not a bad walk. If you do get a free parking spot in La Jolla, be sure to check for posted signs stating time limits. Quite a bit of the free parking around La Jolla comes with time restrictions- some is 2 hours, some 3 hours etc. Be sure to make note of the time and be back to move your car before that time is up. Parking laws are very strictly enforced in La Jolla and the meter cops are quick in handing out parking tickets. I hope I haven't overwhelmed you with too much info there!


Adventure Rib Rides is my first recommendation for whale watching, but I have also heard good buzz about about Gone Whale Watching gonewhalewatching/ and San Diego Whale Watch sdwhalewatch/ Those both leave from Mission Bay.


Amy
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Edited at 06:14 PM.
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Old 20 Aug 20, 05:34 PM  
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Milpston
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Originally Posted by Aims View Post
Hi Paul, you're welcome! I'm glad to help. To answer your questions...


The areas where tourists would visit are all relatively safe, and as you said, just use common sense as you would anywhere you aren't familiar with. The places I would say to avoid are not those that most visitors would find themselves needing to go. That being said, I would caution not to walk around Balboa Park at night- during the day it's fine, but it's very big and not well-lit at night. I would also say avoid hanging out in Ocean Beach in the evenings, lots of homeless and druggies regularly hang out at that beach- but there is no real good reason why you would need to go to that beach anyway. We have plenty of other nice beaches to visit. Mission Beach, which is a stone's throw from Mission Bay, is safe enough for families during the day but things can get a bit raucous there in the evenings because of all the beach bars in the area that draw a large university age crowd. It gets especially busy there in the summer and during spring break weeks. I would also avoid going south of downtown San Diego, but there is really nothing in that area to see so you shouldn't find yourself there- unless you were going into Mexico (which I wouldn't recommend).



La Jolla parking can be tricky to get at times. A lot of it is street parking (which is free), and there are some scattered public pay lots and garages. If you are going to the cove to see the sea lions, that area has limited parking spots along Coast Blvd and they fill up quickly. My best advice is to get an early start to La Jolla, especially as you are going in the summer- when I say early, I mean before 10 am. If you go on a weekday morning, it will be slightly less busy because the locals are at work- still go for an early start. If you can't find free street parking, there are a couple of paid garages near the cove...this one called Coast Walk is on Coast Blvd and the most convenient to the cove: en.parkopedia/parking/ga...g=202008201030 There is also parking at the La Jolla Financial Building on Prospect Street: en.parkopedia/parking/un...g=202008201030 You will have to walk a bit to the cove from this parking garage, but it's not a bad walk. If you do get a free parking spot in La Jolla, be sure to check for posted signs stating time limits. Quite a bit of the free parking around La Jolla comes with time restrictions- some is 2 hours, some 3 hours etc. Be sure to make note of the time and be back to move your car before that time is up. Parking laws are very strictly enforced in La Jolla and the meter cops are quick in handing out parking tickets. I hope I haven't overwhelmed you with too much info there!


Adventure Rib Rides is my first recommendation for whale watching, but I have also heard good buzz about about Gone Whale Watching gonewhalewatching/ and San Diego Whale Watch sdwhalewatch/our-trips/whale-watching/ Those both leave from Mission Bay.


Amy
Thank you so much. That is amazing. I’m sitting watching vlogs including Belmont Park as I type this. I like the look of catamaran resort and have found a really decent price with love holidays So that is probably top of my list at the moment. I will sit right though as it’s really early to book 26th - 29th Aug so not yet available on all booking sites. We will only be there Thursday to Sunday so will definitely take on board your advice re going to the cove to see the sea lions early.

I am pretty much writing my itinerary for our short San Diego stay around your advice so thank you very much. It is really appreciated. I’ve learnt more in the last 48 hours from you than I had managed over the last few months of perusing 😀
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Old 20 Aug 20, 06:05 PM  
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Aims
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Originally Posted by Milpston View Post
I’ve learnt more in the last 48 hours from you than I had managed over the last few months of perusing 😀
👍 I love hearing that, thank you! You can always ask more questions if you ever need to- before your visit and/or while you’re here. Feel free to send me a personal message too, if you prefer. I hope you get to snag those good rates once booking is available!

Amy 😊
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Old 21 Aug 20, 09:42 AM  
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We visited San Diego a few years ago, with wonderful help from Aims.
We stayed in Best Western Yacht Harbour, which we really liked. Walking distance to Shelter Island, and a few nice restaurants across the road.
While we were in San Diego we visited the SD Zoo, SD Safari Park, Sea World, USS Midway, Seaport Village and had a lovely flight in a biplane!
We'd go back in a heartbeat
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