Living in Las Vegas, San Diego has always been one of our favorite getaways. We have stayed at the Bahia, in the gaslamp district, Carlsbad, San Marcos. These places were always very nice, and also came with a nice price tag ( $150..-$225.00 per night). But even when our hotels have been really nice, we spend such little time in the room itself. This trip, we were traveling to San Diego in the middle of June. This was going to be our first ever trip taking our dog with us. And our daughters really wanted to go to Sea World again. So this time we decided to try to find a budget hotel. After lots of searching on the internet and rerading hundreds of reviews, we chose the Wyndham Garden, located just 1 mile south of Sea World9 across the street from the Sports Arena). I had read lots of mixed reviews about the place. It ended up working out great!!!. When we first arrived, check in was very fast and very friendly. We had room #140. It was one of the Kids suite with a set of bunk beds and one large king bed. It ended up being the best sleeping arrangement we have ever had in a hotel. Usually, the rooms we have had have 2 queen beds. But this arrangment gave our 2 daughters their own bed and my wife and I a big comfortable king bed. When we first got to the room, I noticed the shower was draining very slow. But I called the front desk and with in 5 minutes, a very nice guy from maintance came and had the tub draining fine with in 5 minutes. Everyone we encountered from the hotel staff was very nice. There is a small pool and hot tub with were fine. Our room also had a small refridgerator with also did a fine job. I had read so many reviews critical of the location. I really don't understand that criticism at all. The area is fine. Port Loma is a quiet older middle class beach communitty. There are several restaurants, fast food places, Von's, CVS, ect. A short one mile drive down the road is the beach, Ocean Beach. It's great. Half is a dog friendly beach where dogs can run free and it was one of the most fun beaches I've ever been to. And the other half is no pets if your looking for a beach without the pets. The hotels location to Sea World can't be beat. It's really only 4 minutes away. And at Sea World, your pass and parking pass are good all day. You can leave the park, be back at the hotel in 5 minutes. Relax, take the dog for a walk, and then go back to the park in no time. One criticism that I can agree with is the parking spaces being very very tight. But hey, just deal with it. Some spots did take a few moment to work my way into. But there seems to be a really nice "team effort" among all the guest to be respectfull of each other. And for all the advantages of this place(including the price), the parking ended up being no big deal. Again, if you have 2 children, ask for the king suite with the bunk beds. I will definatly recommend this hotel for families on a budget. One more thing. The wi-fi is very weak. But 3G is very good in this area and it allowed me to surf the web just fine from my room.
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