With an outdoor concert stage right on the property, Humphreys on Shelter Island one of the most amazing hotels in California to see live music. Top acts from Ringo to CSN (Crosby Stills Nash) are featured in a summer season that begins to take shape around March till the fall each year.

They call this San Diego’s own version of a Hawaiian getaway. The Shelter Island resort features themes that you would see on a tropical island, some touches of tiki, lots of water and bay views, and the resort’s very own macaw birds. With suites up to 1,000 square feet providing kitchens, comfy living rooms, and sleeping up to 6 people, this is one amazing vacation experienced the old fashioned way at the beach. People wonder why San Diego is the top beach vacation in San Diego. Plain and simple, it’s the hotels on beach and bays that make this city so great. We’re not talking little rooms, either. The fact that some were built decades ago and remodeled many times over makes for space that is hard to come by today.

Weddings are quite populart at Humphreys Half Moon Suites because of the lovely grounds overlooking the water, and indoor banquet rooms also with bay views. It’s just a great place to get married, go to a wedding, go to a concert, or take a vacation.

How are the rates? Great! Just a day or two before Christmas I found a room for under $90. I instead opted for one over $150 that had a separate living room, balcony patio, full kitchen, and all the goodies to make the family happy. There’s something about San Diego that you can’t put into words, and its an essence that causes people to stay and never leave. Humphreys is part of that experience. As you arrive, you get tropical, with a splash of ocean, and an incredible feeling of comfort that you are now in a place that was meant to be.

Marine Room

La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club’s fine dining restaurant, Marine Room, is the talk of the town. For decades guests have driven the distance to enjoy the views and ambiance of the special restaurant. While staying at the La Jolla beach hotel, you might not take the time to experience the fine cuisine served at the Marine Room. There are many dining options in the nearby downtown that tempt you to get out and explore. Shores Restaurant & Bar at the hotel serves breakfast, lunch dinner and Sunday brunch.  Award-winning Chef Bernard Guillas, and Chef de Cuisine, Augie Saucedo, have created the menu, which includes Certified Angus Beef entrees, coastal cuisine and the beautiful La Jolla Shores Beach oceanfront setting with nightly sunsets.

The Marine Room, on the other hand, is a dinner restaurant with a cocktail lounge, which opens every evening and serves dinner for several hours. While the Beach House in up the road may compare with its closeness to the water, Marine Room focuses on elegance. The ocean tide just inches from the window and soothing music compliment Executive Chef Bernard Guillas’ stunning presentations. Special holiday dining is offered and some other special breakfast events such as Winter Breakfast High Tide days with an approx. $35 buffet.  Here is a description of some of the menu items from that buffet to give you a flavor of what you might savor should you plan a visit:
Citron Poppy Seed Muf f ins , Almond Croissants, Apricot Danish, Pain Chocolat, Cranberry Nut Bread Raisin Cinnamon Roll,  and Temecula Honey Butter. Those are some breads and buns.

Next, try something from the sea at the Ocean’s Harvest station:  Aromatic Scented Shrimp, Stone Crab Claws, Bay Scallops Ceviche and Tangerine Star Anise Hickory Smoked Paci f ic Salmon. For other meats, guests can sample Pistachio Duck Terrine, Pork Rillettes,  and Prosciutto di Parma.  Shaved Fennel Salad, Figs, Tapenade, Artisanal  Cheese Board,  Maple Walnuts,  Organic Mediterranean Yogurt , Rosebud Jam, Sage Roasted Jidori Chicken Salad and
Lemoncello Saffron Tabouleh and Julian Apple and Tart, Meyers Rum Sugar cane Sauce, Iowa Apple Smoked Bacon,
Aged Gruyère, Pancetta and  Organic Virginia Ham Quiche should be making you pretty hungry by now. We actually omitted over half the food options for a single day buffet! Cost is under $40 for this event, which is quite reasonable for all you get, along with the ocean view.  You’ll find some current offers on MarineRoom.com. There are many chain restaurants in the San Diego area, as well.

A great family hotel in San Diego often overlooked for the better known beach properties to the south is the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. With many perks and amenities for families with kids, you’ll be hard-pressed to beat the beach activities, plus on site resort activities that will keep you having fun all day and night.  There are suites with kitchenettes, but with so much dining on site and nearby in La Jolla village, you probably won’t do that much cooking, except maybe the beach BBQ at sunset on the hotel’s beach.

Some call the hotel “old school” because of the club atmosphere with the active tennis club. If you’re priming your kids for tennis careers or just want them to have the experience of playing this is a great spot. The tennis courts are one of the most immaculate portions of the property, in fact.

What’s neat about La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club is the way the suites easily access the beach. With lawn chairs lined up facing the ocean, it’s all about the beach in La Jolla. For the kids, we like the fact that burgers can cost around $10 instead of the gourmet bleu cheese burgers at expensive San Diego beach resorts where you pay a mininum of $15 and usually more for just a hamburger for the kids.

There’s golf, a small gym, and the famed Marine Room restaurant with spectacular ocean views and dynamo chefs preparing fine cuisine.

The cheapest rooms at the hotel are the garden view one bedroom options. But you can step your way up to a luxury accommodation with ocean front setting, full living room, kitchen, and bedrooms.

La Jolla is a region of San Diego that is located on the northern end of the city and its beaches. It has long been considered the luxury part of town, kind of like Carmel on the the Central Coast. La Jolla has other luxury beach resorts and casual beach accommodations. It features a great, beach-close downtown with arts, shopping and dining.  The attractions of San Diego such as Sea World and the Zoo are no more than 15 minutes or so away. If you are looking for an unpretentious family vacation where you’ll have a comfortable, secure feeling, La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club is one of the best bets.

For an extensive list of San Diego Family hotels, the website, California Beaches, has put together a pretty good one.

Pacific Beach boardwalk

There’s a lot of argument over what’s the best San Diego beaches. Locals have definite opinions and you aren’t going to be able to convince them otherwise about their choices. But as tourists, we look for a few things special to our cause: 1. Hotels at beaches in San Diego. 2. Restaurants at beaches in San Diego. 3. Clean beaches and fun activities. 4. A lively beach vibe.  5. Location, location, San Diego beach location.

Here’s my Best San Diego Beach List based on nothing but the criteria above. My number one favorite beach is Pacific Beach, mainly because it has hotels on the beach.  Overlooking the beach and bay, it has a nice stretch of sand and friendly Crystal Pier. There are great beach view restaurants, bars,  a Banana hostel, shopping, Starbucks grocery stores… you name it.

When I go to San Diego and stay on the beach I pick three spots. My first choice is The Catamaran Hotel at Pacific Beach. There are a handful of great hotels, including Best Western and Surfer’s Hotel.

I also love Mission Bay and the Hilton Resort on the bay. It used to be my first choice, but now it’s dropped in position because of the price points for a stay. It usually is a little more than Catamaran.

Third and never last is Coronado Island’s Loews Coronado Bay Resort. While the beach is a walk through a tunnel under the coast highway, there’s kind of a resort feel to the beaches there, and the hotel itself is an oasis of resort living with tennis courts, pools, spas, etc.

The next time your picking your San Diego beach vacation, you might also want to check my Californiabeaches.com features on San Diego.

San Diego’s beautiful Mission Bay Hyatt Spa Resort at the Marina offers pure escape for business travelers bringing their families on their trips. The hotel features lots of meeting space with water views, lush landscaping, and water views from many of the hotel rooms and suites.

Hyatt hotels are known for their quality bedding which is what we love especially, making us loyal customers to this brand, but beyond that and the Hyatt luxury offerings in San Diego, here are some extras this particular bayfront hotel and resort with a complete spa offers.

Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina near Sea World San Diego spent $65 million on its decor and upgrades to the hotel. Ocean views,  redesigned guest rooms, and waterfront dining, a contemporary poolside lounge, an eco-friendly spa, and a water playground with three new pools and multiple water slides next to a full-service marina with jet skis, sailboats, kayaks, sports fishing and whale excursions provide everything you could want in a water setting. See Hotel Packages!

SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, Legoland, Tijuana, and beaches all beckon on this quality biz trip or vacation. It’s just another reason to love San Diego for your vacation.

Hotel del Coronado offers the best beach vacations in San Diego, thanks to the historic hotels location. Kings, queens, actors, actresses, and regular people all have loved vacations at this oceanfront resort. Ideal for familes, singles and even weddings and honeymoons, the Hotel Del Coronado on Coronado Island features sand beaches ideal for exploring, tennis courts overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and many amenites in what we conside San Diego’s best beach vacation, no doubt.

Having attended weddings at this luxurious hotel, I have fallen in love, myself, with its grandeur, glory and ambiance that exudes the lobbies, green lawns, and beautiful beach that lines the hotel.

Activities on site include bonfires on the beach, special brunches, holiday festivals, tennis courts overlooking the beach, a public golf course nearby, the local playhouse with musicals and plays, and winter time activities which have included an ice rink at the beach in recent years.

San Diego Hilton Beach Resort Hotel is a playground for big kids and little ones alike. With a beach on site, Mission Bay beckons outside your hotel room or hotel suite door. Never mind the exercise buffs that jog and ride bikes along the beach path getting in shape or keeping those amazing San Diego tan bodies the city is known for.

When visiting San Diego Hilton Beach Resort, bring a swimsuit, bring the kids, a tennis racket is fine, a beach blanket for the good times at night, or plan to head over to SeaWorld and catch the fireworks show you can often see outside your hotel window. San Diego Hilton Resort has games for kids, sailboats for big kids, dining, parks to wander over to, and a beautiful swimming pool that offers refreshingly cool water on a warm San Diego beach vacation day you might expect. This is one of many locations offering San Diego beaches with hotels. If you want a great vacation, pay a little more and make this one a treat. We’ve stayed here many years and really love the bayfront suites. But every room is great, thanks to the location.