Views on San Diego

[Guest]

Originally Posted by georgemac

We did 5 nights in San Diego in May 2016, staying in La Jolla. Fabulous city with loads to do and wonderful beaches.
However we had not brilliant weather, Grey May and June Gloom its called, so think about weather when making you choices.

Same trip we had 3 nights in Palm Springs which we loved with fabulous weather, but in summer Palm Springs gets very hot.

If it is chill out time in luxury hotel you are after, Palm Springs will cost much less than San Diego where hotels are very expensive.
The aerial tramway in Palm Springs has been one of my highlights, and really loved our day in Joshua Tree national park.

Really like both places. Our Palm Springs hotel was one of the nicest we have stayed in, and the cheapest.

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We're planning 3/4 nights in San Diego followed by 2 nights in Palm Springs for next year. Which hotel did you stay in at Palm Springs please?

[Big Dog]

We had 3 nights last year and loved it, it will definitely be on our radar when we do a full west coast trip

[georgemac]

Originally Posted by dotb

We're planning 3/4 nights in San Diego followed by 2 nights in Palm Springs for next year. Which hotel did you stay in at Palm Springs please?

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Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort and Spa - booked through British Airways - just outside PS so need a car but road trippers have one.

I think there are plenty resort hotels in PS. We had a few more on the list to choose from, but I think we were just under £90 per night here with BA, including breakfast which was superb.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by georgemac

Westin Mission Hills Golf Resort and Spa - booked through British Airways - just outside PS so need a car but road trippers have one.

I think there are plenty resort hotels in PS. We had a few more on the list to choose from, but I think we were just under £90 per night here with BA, including breakfast which was superb.

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Thanks I'll take a look at that one, I'm just trying to make a shortlist of hotels for each of my stops.

[AlexE]

We are at the BW Las Brisas in PS at the moment. Lovely hotel and yes it's very hot . Would definitely recommend the aerial tramway and the Joshua tree NP also Sammy G's for dinner. We stayed at the BW on Shelter Island in San Diego at the beginning of our trip. SD is expensive but well worth a visit. We are using PS to relax before moving on to Anaheim

[Tiggerific2018]

I absolutely adore San Diego. I've lived in various US cities and my work frequently takes me to San Diego (well, La Jolla), and I agree with someone else who said that it is their favourite US city.

In terms of holidays, there's plenty to do. I wouldn't cross the Mexican border, esp with kids, as it's not pleasant and takes forever to get back in, esp as a non-US citizen, but there are great beaches all along the coast, including at Coronado; there is a world-class zoo and its little-known sister safari park; Balboa Park; Legoland and SeaWorld; a really fun trolley tour; La Jolla is well worth a visit even just to see the seals and wander round the village; there's a harbour tour where you can see some of the US Navy's nuclear subs (Coronado is half residential/commercial and half US military base), and great restaurants in the Gaslamp Area.

I wouldn't stay in La Jolla as you would need to drive into the city every day, though if you did then a nice, reasonably priced (for that area) family hotel is the La Jolla Shores hotel. For staying city centre, the Westin at Horton Plaza is fantastic and you can catch the trolley just outside (confirm that, but it was accurate 2 years ago).

I'm not a fan of SeaWorld as a concept, but if you are going there, I would not recommend the Paradise Point Resort next to it - it's very tired, you have to go off-island to buy anything, the food is mediocre, and they charge a daily resort fee and daily car park fee. It is also used extensively for conferences, which is how I have been, which isn't always great atmosphere if you're on holiday.

You definitely need a car, the tap water is very hard and pretty disgusting, and I think that the homeless population is more noticeable here than in other cities (probably due to the weather). Those are the only bad points I can think of. It's much nicer than LA, not too big, the weather is great all year, and they get sufficiently few tourists that people are still nice to you as a tourist! Avoid going during ComicCon (unless you are going to ComicCon, of course) and you will have a great time. It's a lovely city. And yes, I do realise that I sound like I've been sponsored by the San Diego Tourist Board, though sadly that is not the case!

[Guest]

Originally Posted by AlexE

We are at the BW Las Brisas in PS at the moment. Lovely hotel and yes it's very hot . Would definitely recommend the aerial tramway and the Joshua tree NP also Sammy G's for dinner. We stayed at the BW on Shelter Island in San Diego at the beginning of our trip. SD is expensive but well worth a visit. We are using PS to relax before moving on to Anaheim

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How are you finding Palm Springs (weather and the actual place)

Currently torn as to where to spend a few days chill out and can't fit both in!

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Tiggerific2018

I absolutely adore San Diego. I've lived in various US cities and my work frequently takes me to San Diego (well, La Jolla), and I agree with someone else who said that it is their favourite US city.

In terms of holidays, there's plenty to do. I wouldn't cross the Mexican border, esp with kids, as it's not pleasant and takes forever to get back in, esp as a non-US citizen, but there are great beaches all along the coast, including at Coronado; there is a world-class zoo and its little-known sister safari park; Balboa Park; Legoland and SeaWorld; a really fun trolley tour; La Jolla is well worth a visit even just to see the seals and wander round the village; there's a harbour tour where you can see some of the US Navy's nuclear subs (Coronado is half residential/commercial and half US military base), and great restaurants in the Gaslamp Area.

I wouldn't stay in La Jolla as you would need to drive into the city every day, though if you did then a nice, reasonably priced (for that area) family hotel is the La Jolla Shores hotel. For staying city centre, the Westin at Horton Plaza is fantastic and you can catch the trolley just outside (confirm that, but it was accurate 2 years ago).

I'm not a fan of SeaWorld as a concept, but if you are going there, I would not recommend the Paradise Point Resort next to it - it's very tired, you have to go off-island to buy anything, the food is mediocre, and they charge a daily resort fee and daily car park fee. It is also used extensively for conferences, which is how I have been, which isn't always great atmosphere if you're on holiday.

You definitely need a car, the tap water is very hard and pretty disgusting, and I think that the homeless population is more noticeable here than in other cities (probably due to the weather). Those are the only bad points I can think of. It's much nicer than LA, not too big, the weather is great all year, and they get sufficiently few tourists that people are still nice to you as a tourist! Avoid going during ComicCon (unless you are going to ComicCon, of course) and you will have a great time. It's a lovely city. And yes, I do realise that I sound like I've been sponsored by the San Diego Tourist Board, though sadly that is not the case!

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Thanks very much for the info :-)

[AlexE]

Palm springs is very hot touching 100 most days but we sought relief by using the aerial tramway which is usually 25-30 degrees cooler. The walks and views across the valley are amazing. You will be able to see the San Andreas fault line.
Also visited the Joshua Tree NP amazing place and views.
These will take up the majority of each day so time to remainders going out to dinner