San Diego Hotels ?

Any suggestions for a one night pre cruise hotel stay prior to boarding the Zaadam in October will be appreciated..Not interested in sightseeing etc. Thanks..

We stayed at the Courtyard downtown and really enjoyed it.

The hotel is not your standard Courtyard; it is a converted bank building. You check in at the teller window, the rooms are very large and nicely appointed and it has a lot of charm.

It is in the Gaslamp district so there were many options for dining and strolling. We stayed two nights and will stay there on our next visit.

We both prefer hotels with character to the bigger chains so this was perfect for us and the staff was terrific!

Suggest, if you have not already done so, that you post your question on the West Coast departures board. You are more likely to get responses on that board than this one which is primarily HAL:)

We, and many others, stay at the Holiday Inn On the Bay. It's directly across the street from the cruise terminal. If you request a bay view room, you can watch the ship come in early in the morning.

Be sure you book "On the Bay" and not "Bayside." That's a different Holiday Inn in another location.

A must stay is at the Holiday Inn on the Bay in SD. If your an early riser you can watch your ship come in to dock. Its really a hoot.

We also suggest Holiday Inn On The Bay. We have stayed here three times. Once when cruising and twice when in the area. We have enjoyed ourselves all three times. Be sure to get a harbor view room and you can watch all the activity in the Harbor. Watching the ship come in is always a plus. Enioy your trip. :)

Holiday Inn On The Bay, South Tower as high as you can get. Here are some photos taken of the Oosterdam from our room on the 14th floor of the South Tower.

Terry

We stayed at the Old Town LaQuinta. Ten minutes by taxi to cruise terminal, and walking distance to Old Town and Mexican Restaurants galore!!:) Nice hotel, around $100.00 a night.

We have stayed many times at the Embassy Suites both pre and psot cruise. Near the airport, near the cruise terminal, within walking distance of Seaport Village and Midway.

I'm a downtown (San Diego) resident and "ditto" the suggestions by others that you stay at the Holiday Inn at the bay directly across the street from the cruise terminal. You will be able to walk to the ship the day you leave! It's an old hotel, and I cannot vouch for services, but you can't beat the convenience.

Nearby...within a five minute taxi ride, are Embassy Suites, the Hyatt, and the Marriott (all on Harbor Drive south of the cruise ship terminal). These are all convenient to Seaport Village (a tourist-y shopping and dining area). In the middle of downtown at 1st and Broadway (7 blocks to the cruise terminal) is the Westin. It is attached to a very large and unique shopping center called Horton Plaza which has everything including a food court, movie theatres, and scores of stores. Across the street from Horton Plaza on Broadway (at 4th) is The Grant Hotel. This is a VERY old, grand hotel, recently remodeled by a now-wealthy-from-gambling Native American Indian Tribe. There are also numerous budget minded hotels in downtown San Diego, and ALL of them are within a 5-10 minute taxi drive to the cruise ships.

You might also want to check out hotels on Harbor Island. This "island" is directly across the main road from the airport, it's on the same bay where the cruise ships come and go. There are numerous hotels on Harbor Island, and they all probably have shuttles that take you from the airport.

Going north you bump into Old Town, and I see one hotel was recommended. You'd also be in "old" San Diego, and there are dozens of Mexican restaurants...yum.

A little farther away are all the hotels in Mission Valley (on Hotel Circle Drive). Again, a short drive to the harbor, 10-15 minutes. There is no personality in the valley, and you need a car to go anywhere other than the hotel's facilities, but I'm sure you might find some of the cheapest rates there.

Enjoy your cruise!

Thanks everyone for your replies and suggestions. YOUR THE GREATEST !!

JIMJAM