Hotel recommendation in San Diego

[DaninWA]

Can anyone suggest a hotel in San Diego or the surrounding area? Or a general area to stay? I will be working in San Diego July 28 thru July 31 and don't know the area. Any suggestions will be helpful.

 

My company is very cheap, so please no $250 a night hotels:-)

 

I have some friends in Palm Springs. Would it be better to stay there and make the drive each day?

 

Thanks for your help,

Dan

[phage]

The Park Manor is nice. It’s an older (20’s) hotel that has been refurbished by its gay owners. It’s right across from the park and has a decent restaurant and a gay bar on the roof. (Not a really busy gay bar, but a gay bar nonetheless.) It’s a good central location without paying the premium for a sub-standard room in Hillcrest. http://www.parkmanorsuites.com/about.html

 

There are good hotels downtown, on Shelter Island and in La Jolla, but they start getting pricey. Avoid any of the hotels in Mission Valley. It has a concentration of old tourist properties that still try to bill themselves as “resort” locations. I can’t think of a decent hotel in the whole area. You’ll get some business travelers but it’s mostly tourists on a very tight budget.

 

Unless you are up for a long and unpleasant commute each day, I wouldn’t consider staying in Palm Springs. It’s also hot as hell there this time of year!

 

Good luck!

[OneFinger]

I've stayed at the Park Manor before and it's a great place for the price. I don't think you can find a better deal for either price or location.

[Guest Utopia]

Dan don't stay in Palm Springs it's not exactly around the corner. Also, stay away from Hotel Circle probably the worse that San Diego has to offer.

 

You didn't mention what part of San Diego you will be working in so that can make suggesting a place a little hard. With that in mind I would suggest the Best Western, Encinitas http://www.bwencinitas.com

 

The hotel is located just west of 5 at the Encinitas exit. Many of the rooms have a reasonable view of the ocean. You are within walking distance of downtown Encinitas, a funky few blocks of various small shops, resturants, straight bars, surfers and skateboarders.

 

The hotel is about 20 minutes from downtown San Diego and also the same distance to Hillcrest (San Diego's gay ghetto). If you plan to head to Mexico you are only 35 minutes fromt he boarder. If you want to head to Disneyland that is about 90 minutes north of the hotel.

 

Encinitas is a nice community ... anyway, that would be my suggestion to someone who doesn't really know the area and is on a budget.

[Guest JackLA]

Agree the Park Manor is a safe choice, and its pretty cool that such a big place is all gay. I actually stayed in a two bedroom suite there last year (which included a balcony and a kitchen) for $150. Rate is usually a little higher but they can be negotiable on the phone if they are not full up. Although I was quite satisfied, my only MINOR criticism is that it is a little old and a tad musty. Free adjacent parking lot, and yes there is a gay bar (usually pretty quiet) on the first floor.

 

Somewhat more generic, but fresh and new is the Somerset (not sure I got the name right, could be Sumerfield) which has one bedroom suites at very reasonable rates, has free gated garage parking, and is real close to all the bars and restaurants. Was very happy with that place.

 

The hottest regular bar there is Bourbon Street and the best dance club is Rich's. Flick's (a few doors down from Rich's) is also pretty cool, video bar with a lot of hot fratboy types. Right nect to Flick's is a great very gay friendly restaurant called California Cuisine that has an amazing menu and is reasonable to medium priced. About ten other gay bars in SD also, something for everyone.

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

San Diego

 

Here is a thread on San Diego guest houses that includes some phone numbers, comments and web site information for some of the properties mentioned.

 

As Devon points out in his comment on the SF thread I posted to your SF inquiry, Dan, Bidding for Travel is an excellent resource (http://pub210.ezboard.com/bpricelineandexpediabidding); you can find out which properties have come up before in winning bids and by scrolling through the information about the particular city you are interested in, finding out what recent prices paid were. I am very satisfied with the hotels I have bid on and the prices I paid in Boston, Chicago, Columbus, D.C., San Diego, San Francisco. I was only disatisfied with Priceline in Portland and in New York; I also believe that they are certain cities, such as Las Vegas, where you can find better deals directly from the hotel properties themselves.

 

Good luck!

 

 

Water is something else you do not need to pay for, but tell me, do you?

 

http://www.gaydar.co.uk/francodisantis

[Huey]

RE: San Diego

 

It's great that the Park Manor is gay owned and I feel when reasonable we should try to spend our money on gay owned companies. Though just because it is gay owned doesn't give it immunity from an old, musky, poor service and rooms in need of repair hotel. I had stayed there one weekend about 14 months ago and never again. Over priced becuase it is at the foot of Hillcrest and simply not worth the price.

 

As far as gay bars goes I believe Jack gave you a good overview .

 

Also, Dan I feel that Franco gave you some good advice. Biddingfortravel.com was introduced to this board in a post made by HooBoy. It is an exceptional site that I have used about a dozen times, including booking rooms on my recent move. You can get a room at the Del Mar Hilton or Mariott for less than the Park Manor and be in the lap of luxury. Just follow their advice, be sure to read the hotel FAQs and then head to priceline to place your bid. You'll save your cheap boss money while finding yourself a great deal at a excellent hotel.

 

As others have mention just don't check off Mission Valley or Hotel Circle (basically the same thing) as one of the areas on the priceline map.

 

Even though I do not travel often I visit the biddingfortravel ezboard on a daily basis. I always learn something new or find a great deal available .

[Flower]

Also, stay away from Hotel Circle probably the worse

>that San Diego has to offer.

 

Well.....actually, I go to SD quite a bit and plan on moving there in the near future, but when I do, I stay at the Radisson in Mission Valley Area which is part of Hotel Circle. It has High speed Internet @$10/night, and is only 5 minutes to downtown or to Hillcrest (the gay area in SD), 10 minutes to the airport. It has nice big modern rooms. It's newer, clean, quiet and great service. Best of all, the price is almost always about $100/night if you go thru Orbitz or Expedia (yeah yeah--I know about price line:)

 

If you're there on business, and depending on how out you are, if at all, to your employer, you may not want a hotel identified as "gay owned and operated" when turning in the old expense voucher. On the other hand, it is very gay-friendly and no one blinks an eye when 2 guys ask for a King bed}(

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

It Is Not Easy Being Green

 

>It has High speed Internet @$10/night, and is

>only 5 minutes to downtown or to Hillcrest (the gay area in

>SD), 10 minutes to the airport. It has nice big modern rooms.

>It's newer, clean, quiet and great service. Best of all, the

>price is almost always about $100/night if you go thru Orbitz

>or Expedia (yeah yeah--I know about price line:)

 

I have yet to pay more than $75 for the Gas Lamp Hilton, which is downtown and only a few minutes from the airport (albeit I always drive to San Diego) and only a few minutes from Hillcrest, Normal Heights, University Heights, etc., in other words, where any of my clients may reside. This Hilton is a four star property, with a great restaurant, a great outdoor pool, a good gym (for a hotel), king size beds, great linens, attractive views. One problem with Hotel Circle is that there are few places one could simply walk to just for a meal or simply to walk. That is far from true downtown.

 

Finally, the Gas Lamp Hilton also has high speed ethernet internet access. At no charge.

[Flower]

RE: It Is Not Easy Being Green

 

>I have yet to pay more than $75 for the Gas Lamp Hilton, which

>is downtown and only a few minutes from the airport *****

>Finally, the Gas Lamp Hilton also has high speed ethernet

>internet access. At no charge.

 

Actually sounds like a much better deal--but is this a price line deal where you aren't guaranteed a property and takes your chances or some other? I'd like to try it next time if I can guarantee where I'm staying. :+

[Guest Utopia]

Flower you might be moving to San Diego and have spent a lot of time there but I grew up and lived in the area the majority of my life, and dude I am old.

 

With this in mind I again strongly suggest that (Dan) doesn't stay int he hotel circle area (and yes that is known as Mission Valley). I would rather see him stay at the neglected Park Manor than in the MV part of town.

 

Dan if you want to send to my inbox here more details about what you're seeking and interested in I will be happy to respond to your questions.

===

"You realize that life goes fast

It's hard to make the good things last"

[Flower]

ummm.....guess I'm just easy to please:9