CA San Diego La Jolla Hyatt

[TravelGuy]

What first struck me when I got in was that the pictures of the hotel on Hyatt.com, although ok, really don't do an adequate job of capturing the considerable style and spirit of the place. The structure, designed by the internationally renown architect Michael Graves is a lot more striking. And the vibrant neoclassical, postmodern theme that runs through the entire project, from the exterior, to the spacious, colorful public areas and individual rooms, doesn't come through in the pictures at all.

After outstanding service at check-in, I was given a room on the 11th floor with a "preferred" (pool) view thanks to my Gold Passport membership. The room was bright, airy and quite large. Some minor wear on the furniture, but of little consequence overall. The bed was very firm, but not too hard. There was a kind of minimalist or spare feel to the room, that some may take to be neglect, but which seemed to me to be by design and quite attractive (I've seen complaints about "nothing special" rooms in other reviews). The bathroom was also very large, with extraordinary water pressure in the shower.

The pool area, consisting of a large lap pool encircled by cabanas and palm trees, is supurb. The neighboring health club, Sporting Club One, owned by the same group that owns the hotel, is truly first class - three floors of a full range of the latest cardio and weight equipment. Use of the pool is free to guests, the health club is $12, with $2 off for Gold Passport members.

The hotel has a hip lounge, Michael's, which is *the* place to be in La Jolla on Thursday nights (cover charge waived for hotel guests). There's also a " restaurant village" adjacent to the hotel with several very highly rated restaurants. But for breakfast, particularly Sunday Brunch, try The Cottage in La Jolla Village, and then head over to Goldfish Point Cafe for a second cup of coffee while enjoying the fabulous view of La Jolla Cove.

A memorable stay.

[cheezhead]

We stayed at the Hyatt La Jolla recently and it's a solid 4* property. The hotel was able to honor my requests for a nonsmoking room with two beds on a high floor. We found street parking very close to the hotel and avoided the $20 per night parking charge. The only thing we didn't like is the pool is shared with the health club. Over half the pool was roped off for lap lanes. The hot tub was scalding hot. The pool area was not a friendly set up for children. We had a good dinner at Trophy's nearby and a spectacular breakfast at The Brockton Villa (two hour wait but well worth it).

[PrisonBull]

Back from my trip to this hotel.

The good:

I had no problem getting preference of King or 2 Queens. Close to the Interstate 5.

Very nice amenities and lots of friendly staff. Very clean, updated room was great with awesome views.

Lots of good restaurants nearby. Finding free street parking was no problem in the evening.

The bad:

Hotel is not suited for families with children. Almost every amenity had a charge for usage. A bit of road noise from the nearby I5 highway.

No other children in the hotel and the pool was filled with lap swimmers. My kids weren't comfortable playing in the pool due to this so they didn't use it.

I have found that the lower the star rating the hotel has - the more free of charge amenities they include.

I do regret getting a four star and I resolve to never stay anywhere over a 3.5 star in the future.

San Diego: We went to Sea World as we had purchased a discount ticket from Universal Studios (US + Sea World for $109) prior to the unfortunate accident in Orlando. Feeding the dolphins was the best part. We left to take a Segway tour in downtown San Diego. This was the highlight of our trip. I highly recommend trying this. Very easy to learn and tons of fun.