LAX to USH to SD to Carlsbad before DL - hotel recommendations?

[bjakmom]

Now thinking of starting our trip with visit to USH - any problem going from LAX to USH first? Any hotel recommendations for USH? We would fly in on Friday (3rd week of Aug), spend Sat at USH - check out Sunday and head down to SD to spend a day each at the zoo, wild animal park, and seaworld (DNeph8 is a zoo and animal 'nut' - goes to zoo camp here every summer). Was thinking of checking out on thurs and driving north to Carlsbad - Legoland on Friday - checking out on Sat AM and driving to DLH - staying there for DL and CA until flight home on thurs before Labor Day w-end. Any hotel recommendations for any of these locations ? - cleanliness and safety are big considerations as I will probably be travelling alone with little nephew. I'm a Loew's Gold member, anyone know why the Loew's Coronado gets such terrible reviews on tripadvisor? That would be my first choice if anyone reassured me that it was as nice as the Loew's I've stayed at (USF and Annapolis). Older DNeph works for 4 seasons (was in Carlsbad, now further N), so I know that's a GREAT hotel, but above my budget and Dsis will have already used his discount allowance for the year. TIA for any recommendations!

 

[lap3]

I can make one suggestion to you:

Since you're going to USH, I would suggest staying at the Universal Hilton. It's very nice, clean, and they've got an awesome seafood buffet on Thursday to Sunday night at the Cafe Sierra. They have several shrimp dishes, crab legs, lobster tails, plus they have different meats at the carving stations, huge assortment of chinese dishes(the honey walnut shrimp is to die for!), salad, etc... The only reason why I know this is because my DW and I had our wedding reception at this hotel and celebrate our anniversary there every year. Also, it's location is really close to US so you can take their tram or walk there.

There's also the Universal Sheraton that's right next door. I'm a Starwood member and I don't recommend this place. It just didn't seem well kept...especially if you compare it to the Hilton.

I hope this helps...

 

[samkj]

I'm not sure of hotels. But you could easily stay at one hotel for Legoland, SW, the SD zoo and Wild Animal Park. The Zoo and SW are the only two that are actually in SD, Legoland is about 20 minutes up the freeway and the Wild Animal Park is even further away (I can't think of the distance, since we stay in North SD County with my In-laws and its been a couple years since we were there)

Just to save yourself some driving, why not fly into SD(Sea World and the Zoo are very close to the airport), do all that stuff then head to USH and Disneyland? That way you don't have to go all the way from LA to SD and back.

 

[JennyG999]

The Universal Sheraton is pretty decent (though maybe not quite as nice as the Hilton). It is definitely a "Sheraton" (compared to other "Starwood" properties), but I would definitely stay there over the Hilton (since I am a "Starwood" person & not a Hilton...meaning that I don't think the Hilton is that much nicer to not get my award perks!)

Both hotels are convenient (have shuttles to the park, or a short uphill walk), and are up on a hill overlooking the San Fernando Valley.

 

[bjakmom]

Thanks for all of your thoughts - what a great resource this is when travelling so far from home! Looks like LAX is the only airport we can fly into non-stop - so as much as I'd love to use SNA or SAN, non-stop is more important to me. I didn't realize that Wild Animal Park was up near Legoland, it would be better to group those two parks together - My thinking was that we would take a day off from the parks every 3 days to chill until check out - then move to the next location and check in and chill again for the evening (the much needed 'down' days!) - then do the next set of parks for two days. I'm both starwood and hilton honors and love being able to upgrade to Cl with spg, but the USH Sheraton gets terrible reviews on line and I could always save my perks and points for Swan and Dolphin (my new fav resorts!). Keep the advice/suggestions coming - it's really helping me to shape a great trip (been 16 years since I took my own DS on this trip- looking forward to being in Southern CA again !!)
PS: Am I thinking right to plan my travel days on Sunday mid day from USH to SD - Weds mid-day from SD to Carlsbad - Fri afternoon or Sat AM from Carlsbad to Anaheim - I really hate heavy traffic, especially on unfamiliar roads!?

 

[samkj]

Sorry, I think I misstated the locations of Legoland and WIld Animal Park. LL is near the ocean and the WAP is much further inland. See this map for an idea. http://www.frommers.com/images/destinations/maps/jpg/28_northernsandiegocounty.jpg

Here is a listing of several SD area maps, I hope this helps!

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/sandiego/28_maps.html

 

[M's_girl]

I think I might be able to answer the Loew's question--at least a little. It is not actually right in Coronado, but is on the Strand--a strip of land that connects Imperial Beach to Coronado Island. You really cannot walk to anything in town at all and you still must drive through the town and over the bridge to get out (or go back down the strand south and through Imperial Beach) to get to the freeway. So, convienant it is not.

I love the Sunday brunch there though.

 

[Tink33]

Both WAP and Legoland are in North San Diego County. They are about 30 minutes away from each other. I would group them together too.

 

[xmelissax]

Mid day would be the best time to make those drives if you can't drive late at nite, but traffic can be unpredictable on those roads, and often the traffic through South OC into San Diego can be awful. I think your plan sounds fine, but I would anticipate hitting some bad traffic at some point anyways.

 

[lark]

Sorry, I think I misstated the locations of Legoland and WIld Animal Park. LL is near the ocean and the WAP is much further inland. See this map for an idea. http://www.frommers.com/images/destinations/maps/jpg/28_northernsandiegocounty.jpg

Here is a listing of several SD area maps, I hope this helps!

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/sandiego/28_maps.html

Your original point was definitely correct, though. You can easily stay in Carlsbad and make it a hub for all the San Diego attractions -- Legoland, the Zoo, the WAP, Seaworld, etc.

From Carlsbad Village, Legoland is a very short drive. It's right there -- couple of minutes. WAP is 25 to 30 minutes (longer during rush hour). San Diego stuff is 30 minutes (again longer during rush hour -- you can also take the coaster train and then a cab.)

My recommendation for the OP would be to try to rent a timeshare from an owner in carlsbad for a week (even if you only use it Sunday to Friday, it's still going to be much cheaper than a hotel) and use Carlsbad as a base for the zoo, WAP, Legoland, and Seaworld. Another alternative would be Del Mar -- there's a great hotel there near the beach called the Del Mar hotel. It's very central to all of these attractions. Both Carlsbad and Del Mar are very peaceful places away from the more crowded urban San Diego hotels.

Two other hotels in the San Diego proper area would be the Paradise Point -- very convenient to the zoo and Seaworld, or the Coronado hotels -- particularly the Del. But these are very expensive options.

 

[Redcon1]

This past June, we stayed at the Fairfield Inn in Carlsbad, which was on the west side of I-5 and about 5-10 minutes away from Legoland. My brother lives in Vista which is fairly close to the WAP and it only took about 20 minutes to his home, so 25-30 minutes would be reasonable to the WAP.
Although the Fairfield is nowhere near as fancy as a Loews, it is a Marriott property, thus you'll get a nice room and great service. The staff there was very helpful with directions and other info and we had the absolute best breakfast attendant I've ever seen. She kept everything clean and well-stocked and always greeted us with a hello each morning.
Also, it's about a 1/2 mile away from the Coaster which you can take down to San Diego if you get tired of driving yourself.
Great location and a very nice property, I highly recommend it. They also have Legoland packages, if you're interested in that type of thing.

 

[bjakmom]

Still thanking everyone! . . . I love having lots of options to investigate - I'll definitely be checking all these locations out!