San Diego - hotel and visiting recs?

can anyone recommend a decent hotel in San Diego - near Encinitas - that is clean (will have my 2 year old son.) - not too expensive as we will be staying for a bit.

Any family friendly restaurants, places to visit?

Re: San Diego - hotel and visiting recs?

Sea World, Lego Land, the Old town district (lots of Mexican restaurants there as well). the Hotel de Coronado. Balboa Park has the zoo and a bunch of great museums. There's also the wild Animal Park.

Re: San Diego - hotel and visiting recs?

I'd recommend the Corvette Diner. There is so much to do in San Diego. Definitely take him to Seaworld and the San Diego Zoo. He is probably too young for Lego Land. They have a strict height restriction of 36 inches. My DD was too small at 2yrs old. Take the drive to Disneyland and California Adventure if you can

Re: San Diego - hotel and visiting recs?

Encinitas is about 30 minutes from SD, but you will have legoland and the wild animal park nearby.

My friend stayed at a time share in Escondido when visiting us and they really liked it (It's a bit inland, but "next to" Encinitas.) I believe it was a Merv Griffin resort?


There are some nice chains near there or maybe Carlsbad/oceanside that are good for kids. Mims, Marie Calendar, etc

Re: San Diego - hotel and visiting recs?

We stayed in Carlsbad and rented a Bungalow on VRBO. So much easier with kids than a hotel room. Would you consider that?

Re: San Diego - hotel and visiting recs?

We would absolutely be open to renting a bungalow. Any suggestions on how to begin to look for one? How far is Carlsbad from Encinitas and San Diego?

Re: San Diego - hotel and visiting recs?

Carlsbad is pretty much one town over from Encinitas - about a 10-minute drive to the north. They are both northern suburbs of San Diego, so depending on traffic, you can expect it to take anywhere from 30-45 minutes to get downtown from there. Or there's the Coaster (train) that can get you there too - it stops in both towns.