Need advice on place to live in for 2 days per Priceline map (San Diego: where to stay)

[usernametaken]

I need some advice about where to stay in San Diego during my first visit this Friday. I am traveling to Seattle/San Diego/Austin and maybe one or two other cities to scope out where to move to later this summer. I am booking hotels in most places I go, and use Priceline (which lets me pick location and star rating, but not a specific hotel).

I will stay in San Diego for two days starting this Friday, and I would prefer living near a beach, but not near a nude or gay friendly (meaning gay people lying on each other) beach. If I like it, I will extend my stay for another two days or more before flying to Austin or anywhere else.

I also want to live near downtown if possible, but not sure if you can get both the beach and downtown. I prefer a beach that is moderately crowded and offers good beginner surfing options (although maybe the water is too cold right now). I also want to be near large coffee shops with free wifi (or Barnes & Noble with wifi), near bookstores, and preferably near a place where people play chess and where a lot of people who work in IT hang out. I play beach volleyball at an intermediate level, so if there is no chess or beginning surfing, I can pass my time playing volleyball.

I would prefer not renting a car, since I will stay in different parts of San Diego for two day stretches and just explore those (unless I have had enough after only two days and choose to leave). Car parking and finding directions and navigating strange new traffic is stressful for me.

Thank you very much.


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Coronado – detail map Best deal
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Del Mar - Rancho Santa Fe – detail map Best deal
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Downtown San Diego & Harbor Island – detail map Best deal [RIGHT] 4 [/RIGHT]
El Cajon - Santee – detail map Best deal
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Escondido - Vista – detail map Best deal
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Kearny Mesa - Mission Valley North – detail map Best deal
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La Mesa – detail map Best deal
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Miramar - Rancho Penasquitos - Poway – detail map Best deal
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Mission Valley – detail map Best deal
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National City - Chula Vista – detail map Best deal
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North County Coastal – detail map Best deal
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Point Loma - Shelter Island - Old Town – detail map Best deal
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Rancho Bernardo – detail map Best deal
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San Diego Coastal – detail map Best deal
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San Ysidro - Mexico Border – detail map Best deal
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Sorrento Mesa – detail map

[cruitr]

The Pacific Beach / Mission Beach area (zip: 92109) sounds like a good fit. You can learn to surf and play beach volleyball.

PB: PacificBeach.org - Pacific Beach, California
MB: Mission Beach Online.com, Mission Beach, California - Mission Beach

[MAK802]

PB and MB are not options on Priceline. That said, bid on San Diego coastal. That's the closest to what you want. We use Priceline all the time so I know just how it works! Also, check out Priceline and Hotwire Forum and you can pretty much pinpoint exactly which hotel you will get if you bid in a certain area. Enjoy your stay!

[usernametaken]

Got two nights at the 4-star Marriot San Diego Hotel & Marina for $65 each day. Any recommendations on things to nearby. Beach volleyball and surfing are not my only preferences while in San Diego. I don't mind playing chess, sitting in a large cafe with free wifi, browsing bookstores, and eating out!

[cruitr]

The Marriott Marina for $65 a nite? I'd say you stole the place. Normal rate in that place is $300+ a nite.

Although you're not near a major beach, you are walking distance to Gaslamp. Here's where you'll probably spend most of your time: http://www.gaslamp.org/

If you're a history buff, look here: Gaslamp Quarter - San Diego Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation

[usernametaken]

In my trip to the Pacific NW and Cal (now into my 8th day now), the 4-star Marriot San Diego Hotel & Marina hotel was the highest class hotel I have stayed in so far as well as the worst. I normally never bid more than $50 on Priceline as that is all I can afford, but made an exception for this hotel. Mistake.

There was no airport shuttle even though the airport is close to San Diego downtown, there was over a 15 minute wait for checking in despite my being the third person in the queue, and they told me I could not get a bay view room since I booked on Priceline! The guy at the counter asked me to pay for an upgrade for the opposite side view, and I being dressed in my torn jeans with unshaven look joked to him whether anyone who books on Priceline would pay for an upgrade. He didn't appreciate the humor.

The majority of people at this hotel are dressed well and I got a sense of opulence that I guess is typical of a 4-star hotel. The train makes a noise on a regularly basis at night, as does some king of dripping noise from the flush. I got a bad night of intermittent sleep. Even worse, the 4-star Marriot does not give you free wifi or a free breakfast! Both are expensive at the hotel for a budget traveller like myself.

Food at the hotel is not cheap, and you have to walk to the gaslight district for a meal. Every restaurant at the gaslight district was packed on Friday night. Almost no fast food places, and very few locations for using wifi at night. It seems like Friday is not a night for computer work in San Diego, but rather of only dining out.

Today morning, I did find several coffee shops open that have free wifi.

And I am staying at the South Tower, which has been renovated to a large extent. The North Tower is even worse based on reviews I read before.

Avoid this hotel!! Or maybe I got spoilt from all the hospitality and amenities I received at 3-star and 2.5-star hotels for $50 a night (via Priceline) in the Portland and Seattle areas.

[usernametaken]

Any advice on where to go next in San Diego based on the Priceline locations I posted before (or Orbitz locations map that I can't paste here for some reason)? I want to swim, learn to surf, and use wifi (those three things all day). A prevalence of cheap junk food eateries would also be good, since I can't keep spending 15 bucks or more on each meal. I also want to be around people and not in some isolated island.

Thanks for all the feedback I can get.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by usernametaken

Any advice on where to go next in San Diego based on the Priceline locations I posted before (or Orbitz locations map that I can't paste here for some reason)? I want to swim, learn to surf, and use wifi (those three things all day). A prevalence of cheap junk food eateries would also be good, since I can't keep spending 15 bucks or more on each meal. I also want to be around people and not in some isolated island.

Thanks for all the feedback I can get.

For swimming + surfing you need to be by the ocean so thats Pacific Beach.
For fast food + around people that's Garnet Ave./Balboa Ave. in PB.

Holiday Inn Express,Comfort Inn etc.,take your pick.

motel 4545 Mission Bay Drive, San Diego, CA 92109 - Google Search

Or pay more and stay on the beach.

motel 4500 ocean , San Diego, CA 92109 - Google Search

For transportation to the beach since you don't have a car there is the 27 bus and the 30 bus to go up the coast.

http://www.sdmts.com/RouteFiles/routes/pdf/27.pdf

http://www.sdmts.com/RouteFiles/routes/pdf/30.pdf

For good cheap food check out the prepared food at Trader Joes at 1211 Garnet Avenue.

[usernametaken]

I didn't see this reply in time, but I did go to Mission Beach yesterday using the trolley from downtown to Oldtown and bus number 8 thereafter. A temporarily homeless guy (his parents kicked him out due to his drinking and drug habits) showed me around for 2 hours while picking up empty beer cans to sell later and regaled me with some incredible stories. Its strange that the cops have banned drinking on the beach, but the rich people who have homes right next to the beach can keep drinking and then go and puke on the beach if necessary. The homeless guy was pretty displeased about that, since he has gotten plenty of tickets for drinking on or near the beach at $300 apiece.

So many people come to this beach, the most surprising of which was a girl in a bikini swimming in the cold sea (and some guys in wet suits surfing nearby).

I am staying at the Marriot San Diego Mission Valley tonight (got a room for $45 on Priceline), although it does not seem to be too close to Mission Beach.

Any opinions on things to do near this hotel. I really need frequent wifi access points such as Starbucks and Borders and Barnes & Noble since I have to keep booking hotels or plane tickets every day as well as submit some things for work, check e-mail and participate in this forum of course.

[moved]

Mission Valley isn't near Mission Beach. There's a Starbucks at Friars Mission Center shopping center (Friars Road & Frazee Road). There's a Barnes & Noble in Misson Valley, I think on Camino del Rio N. I can't think of anything within walking distance, though.