Pre-Oosterdam stay in San Diego - Need Help!

Wondering if anyone has stayed at the Coronado Island Marriott Resort San Diego? I have read all reviews and it looks to be pretty good. We will be staying 3 days before the Oosterdam. We don't want to rent a car, so wondering how difficult it will be to get around? I know the Marriott has their own ferry and the water taxi is also right there to go across to downtown. I am wondering about getting around the Coronado area itself. Supposedly there are a lot of restaurants within walking distance. Other comments say that the main part of Coronado is about 2.5 miles away. We don't mind taking a few cabs, but don't want to run up a HUGE bill for cabs alone. We don't plan on doing the Zoo or Sea World - just Seaport, Old Town and probably Horton Plaza and some good waterfront restaurants. We already have reservations (can always cancel later) at the Marriott and also at the Holiday Inn on the Bay in downtown San Diego. The price difference is only about a 100 bucks total. The location at the Holiday Inn may be more convenient (for not having a car) but I believe that the Coronado Marriott is more upscale (at least I am hoping) than the Holiday Inn. Couldn't get the Marriott Marina in San Diego as the price was too high, as that would be a good alternative. We like to be waterfront and deluxe as you can get for beer prices - LOL. I'm a bit leary of Priceline as there are no guarantees and too many bad hotels in those sections of town and we definitely want a room with a balcony and a waterview, so Priceline could be very dangerous.

Has anyone stayed in the Coronado area without a car and how did you find it to be? Anyone have any recent reviews on the Holiday Inn By The Bay or the Coronado Marriott? This is quite important to us as it is a special treat for our 1st wedding anniversary.

Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated!!:D

We always stay at the Holiday Inn on the Bay in San Diego. It is such a great location to everything. There is a train that you can take all over the place... and Ruth Chris's Steak House is also part of the hotel. Which we treat ourselves to once while we are there. But you can literally walk everywhere from this hotel, and they also offer free airport transportation. We take the ferry over to Coronado and walk down to the Coronado Dell. I am sure the Marriott on Coronado is nice, but we haven't found as much to do there.

Hope you have a great time :)

Stephanie

Hylasgirl,

Thanks for the advice. What we definitely don't want to happen is to stay on Coronado and pay a fortune for taxis or have to rent a car. We don't want to be bothered with finding the parking everywhere (I understand it is quite expensive to park in San Diego) and also if DH wants to have a beer - I don't want him driving! We were just worried that the Holiday Inn on the Bay was a little shabby?

CanuckCruizer

Holiday Inn on the Bay isn't shabby. It's a very nice HI. I understand your concerns, as HI isn't even close to a prestige brand.

The nice thing about the HI is having a harbor view room and waking up and seeing your ship right across the street.

As hylas girl said there's a Ruth's Chris on the property, plus Anthony's is right across the street. The food at Anthony's isn't what it used to be, but you can't beat the view.

The trolley station is just a 5 minute walk and you can easily get to Old Town or Tijuana from there.

Coronado is beautiful, but it won't be inexpensive or easy to get to the ship. As the crow flies, it's only a couple of miles. As the car drives, it's a pretty long distance and a cab or execucar will not be inexpensive. There is a ferry from Coronado to SD Harbor, but I don't know the schedule and it's a long distance to lug your bags.

If you don't want the Holiday Inn, consider the Marriott or Grand Hyatt. They're much more expensive, but commensurate with their rates.

Getting around Coronado by taxi shouldn't be too expensive. It's only about 2 miles from the Marriott to the Del, and most of the restaurants are within that distance. Marriott to the cruise ship terminal is 6.5 miles, and to Old Town is 8.5. My guess at taxi fare would be $20 - 25 to terminal and $30 - 35 to Old Town, but you could take the ferry across the bay and catch the Trolley to Old Town and around San Diego. Here's a link to where the trolley goes: http://www.transit-rider.com/ca.sandiego/sdtrolley.cfm Here's a link to the ferry info: http://www.sdhe.com/san-diego-bay-ferry.html I can understand why you might prefer Coronado Marriott. It looks like a very nice resort, and the view of San Diego from Coronado is beautiful. We have never been there but went to Peohe's (near the ferry landing in Coronado) for drinks and it is nice. (a little expensive for us though)

Thanks Smkerry and KSCnCA for your advice. I am still torn between. We like the outside dining factor on Coronado - it seems that every restaurant has outside dining with water views and we have to eat outside as we smoke. We wouldn't eat at Ruth's Chris as there is no smoking. The Elephant & Castle Pub makes you sit outside under a tent with no view in order to smoke, not very attractive - LOL. The Marriott Marina might be another option but have to wait until they get their special package prices for April - they say it's too early now, even though the other Marriott has their specials for April now. The Grand Hyatt looks nice but has no balconies - another must have. We are also looking into the Harbour Club Vacations where you can actually spend the night on a yacht right at the pier - sounds different. Anyway, thanks again!

If anyone else out there has stayed at Coronado Island, please let me know how you liked it.

CanuckCruizer

Anyone know anything about this place? We are doing a pre cruise package with RCCL on a Panama Canal cruise. Any info would be much appreciated.

TIA

Mbtaz,

I haven't stayed at the Sheraton Suites, but could have got it for free with airmiles. I was told it is near the convention centre and the Gaslamp Quarter. I was told it had "no view" and an "indoor pool" and no balconies. We prefer a hotel with a balcony and a view of the water, so we didn't choose it. I thought Royal Carribean used Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina at Harbour Island - at least that is what is showing in their current brochure. For more info, go on www.tripadvisor.com and they will have reviews and photos. I would double check with Royal Caribbean or your travel agent and get the exact name though.

Good luck!

CanuckCruizer

I checked it out, we are definately staying there. I looked at Tripadvisor and was very please with the reviews. Since we'll be going to both the zoo and legoland, it works out fine for us.

Thanks for the info.

Mbtaz,

Glad it will work out for you. Isn't Trip Advisor great - I always check everything there before booking anything! Hope you have a great trip!

CanuckCruizer