Archive for the 'San Diego' Category
San Diego: Whale-watching charters for the whole gang
November 23, 2009 6:03am
Just in time for the holidays, the migration of the California gray whales will soon be viewable to us Southern Californians. Whale-watching season, which typically begins in mid-December and continues through February (though sometimes the season stretches to March or April), presents the perfect incentive to get out into the water and see these creatures on their way south to Baja.
If you’re not a fan of cramming onto a big boat with binocular-equipped strangers, why not charter your own vessel? Through Fisherman’s Landing in San Diego, it’s not as expensive as you might think.
Deal: For a group of 10, you can charter a boat through Fisherman’s Landing for up to six hours for as low as $50 per person. Boats — which depart from Shelter Island and range from 60 to 100 feet in size — come with an experienced and knowledgeable captain as well as crew members, and food and beverages are available for purchase on board. But beyond that, it’s just you, your group and hopefully some viewable ocean life not too far off. Read the rest of this entry »
Friday the 13th travel deals: Hotels.com 50%-off one-day sale
November 13, 2009 10:31am
I’m going to ignore the bad luck that is associated with Friday the 13th and focus on the good. As in it’s a good time to take some time off with a hotel travel deal. Hotels.com is having a one-day sale on rooms through Nov. 27. Nearly 200 properties in 60 destinations are on sale for up to 50% off. I started looking at hotels in San Diego and Los Angeles, but I might not have been as lucky as I thought. Although the rooms were heavily discounted, I was hard pressed to find them at the promoted prices in San Diego on the Friday the 13th sale page. I did, however, get lucky with hotels in Los Angeles. Let us know what kind of room you scored with this sale. But you better hurry, the rooms with the lowest prices are selling out fast.
Deal or no deal? I had better luck finding the sale rates in Los Angeles than I did with hotels in San Diego.
Los Angeles: On the promotion page, the Custom Hotel was marked down from $178 per night to $95, but when I plugged in my dates for next Saturday, the nightly rate came to $69 pretax for a deluxe room with a queen bed. One of my favorite hotels, Hotel Angeleno, was promoted at $80 per night. I didn’t find it for $80, but I did find it for $99, which is still a great price for this hotel that can sometimes cost more than $200 per night. I also found the Hotel Maya (pictured) for $100 per night. Sure, it was listed at $90 on the sale, but at only $10 more I’d still hop on this rate for a Joie de Vivre boutique hotel.
Google gives free Wi-Fi to holiday travelers at dozens of U.S. airports
November 10, 2009 12:10am
Got Wi-Fi? You do now. In the spirit of giving, Google announced today, Nov. 10, that it is offering free Wi-Fi at more than 40 airports across the country during the holiday season.
Southern Californians will be pleased to hear that Bob Hope Airport (BUR) in Burbank and San Diego International Airport (SAN) are on the list of those with free terminal-wide Wi-Fi. Among other airports in the promotion are those serving San Jose, Seattle, Boston, Baltimore, Houston, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, St. Louis and Charlotte, N.C.
For travelers who think that all airports should offer free Wi-Fi, there’s more good news: Bob Hope Airport plans to continue offering free Wi-Fi indefinitely, according to Google.
This ought to take the sting out of crowded airports and potentially delayed flights during the busy holiday season.
When: Nov. 10 through Jan. 15
Tip: Fly on Virgin America over the holidays to get free Wi-Fi in the sky as well. Google partnered with the airline voted Best Domestic Airline in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2008 and 2009 Readers’ Choice Awards, and announced in October that it would be offering free inflight Wi-Fi during the same holiday period.
Pay it forward: Those who do take advantage of the free Internet will have the ability to make a charitable donation to one of three organizations. Google will match the donations made across all the networks, up to $250,000, and the airport network that generates the highest amount per passenger by Jan. 1, 2010 will receive $15,000 to donate to the local charity of its choice.
More info: FreeHolidayWiFi.com
— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
Photo: A Southwest Airlines jet takes off above Bob Hope Airport in Burbank in April 2008. Credit: Richard Derk / Los Angeles Times
Two California luxury hotels added to AAA’s 2010 Five Diamond Award list
November 6, 2009 2:45pm
Open less than a year, the Resort at Pelican Hill in Orange County like all hotels, has struggled against the tides of a beleaguered economy. But that doesn’t mean it can’t take a great compliment. The luxury coastal property is one of two California resorts that have danced into the exclusive ranks of AAA’s just-released Five Diamond Award list for 2010. [Corrected at 5:45 p.m. Nov. 6: An earlier version of this post said the Resort at Pelican Hill is south of Laguna Beach. It is north of Laguna Beach.]
California, with 20 five-diamond hotels, also added the opulent Grand del Mar in San Diego to its coffers.
The new Golden State additions join the company of some real longtimers, like the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, which has populated the list for 24 consecutive years, and the Peninsula Beverly Hills, with 17 consecutive years under its belt.
San Diego Omni Hotel’s $99 ‘Stuff Your Stocking’ deal
November 5, 2009 5:56am
You don’t need to prove that you’ve been good all year to get this gift from Santa. The Omni San Diego, connected to San Diego’s Petco Park, has a “Stuff Your Stocking” special worth taking advantage of well before Christmas. Guestrooms are on sale starting at $99 per night starting Thanksgiving week and lasting through the New Year’s holiday. Baseball season may be over, but there’s plenty of holiday shopping to be had in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.
Deal: Use the promo code “STOCKING” to get a guestroom for $99 per night, pre-tax, based on availability. But the best part of the deal is that guests will receive a letter upon their departure that enables them to purchase another night at the hotel for $99 in 2010.
Tested: I searched for available dates on the Omni San Diego website and found several, including Nov. 28 (the Saturday after Thanksgiving), Dec. 18-21 and Dec. 24 - 27. The deal was not, however, available for the New Year’s holiday, Dec. 30 - Jan. 1. When I looked for rates outside of the deal, I found a low of $84 on a current 72-hour sale and a rate of $118 for a 21-day advance purchase for rooms Dec. 24 -27. However, the best available rate was listed as $139, pre-tax. I think all these rates are worth jumping on because I’ve been watching this hotel and often see prices of more than $200 and sometimes $300 per night. Granted, that might have been during baseball season.
For a sane holiday, consider Hotels.com’s Thanksgiving sale
October 31, 2009 6:51pm
If bunking up with Cousin Lenny sounds like the worst way to spend your Thanksgiving holiday away, why not treat yourself to your own peaceful quarters this year? Booking a room close to (but not with) the family doesn’t have to break the bank, thanks in part to promotions like Hotels.com’s Thanksgiving sale. Through it, you can find a range of properties for up to 30% off in 100 cities.
One of those is Denver, where 30%-off rooms at the Burnsley All-Suite Hotel are attainable. In Orlando, Fla. — where, it must be said, accommodations bargains are never rare — you can get a room for $41 per night, pretax, at the Seralago Hotel, a few miles from Disney World. Up in New York, stay for 20% off at the Time Hotel, close to Broadway shows; rates here around Thanksgiving start at $183 per night (the usual average is $229).
But there are lots of options closer to home too, for instance:
Palm Springs
I stopped into Riviera Resort & Spa’s reservation system for a stay Wednesday through Friday of that week, and got a total of about $600, after taxes and fees, for the two nights. The total price I found via Hotels.com was $478. Read the rest of this entry »
For ambitious travelers, Go San Diego card can offer good value
October 29, 2009 8:56am
Are you the kind of traveler who charts a vacation itinerary like a law student might strategize her semester’s course load? Do you consider an afternoon by the pool to be time wasted, preferring to check off items on an attraction-packed list that keeps adults occupied and/or kids happy (and contently and suitably exhausted come night)? Then you may be the ideal candidate for a Go City Card — a pass that gains you admission to select attractions in one of 13 U.S. destinations or in Toronto, Canada.
The Go San Diego Card caught my eye with its offering of entry to more than 50 attractions, including the San Diego Zoo, Legoland and Balboa Park museums. A pass valid for one day costs $65 for an adult, $50 for a child. But multiple-day passes offer far more value: two days for $95/$80 adult/child; three days for $113/$94; five days for $149/$117; and seven days for $180/$135. (The three/five/seven-day pass prices reflect a 10% discount currently available through an online sale.)
Deal or no deal? Well, it depends on how many attractions you can, and want to, visit during your San Diego stay. Getting value out of a one-day pass seems like it would be hard work. Read the rest of this entry »
Pacifica Hotels: 25% off, plus bring a toy for a bigger discount
October 29, 2009 5:51am
For a getaway up or down the coast, or in popular destinations inland, you might look into a stay with Pacifica Hotels. The company, largely rooted in California but with locations in Florida and Hawaii as well, has a great promotion going for late fall and early winter. See below for the scoop.
Deal: Under its current online winter promotion, receive 25% off regular rates at Pacifica Hotels properties over the next couple of months. Plus, if you bring along a new, unwrapped toy valued at $10 or more, you get an additional $10 per night off your bill at checkout. The hotel participates in the Toys for Tots program, so your gift will go to children in need.
The deal is good only in California, where Pacifica runs hotels in in Sonoma, San Francisco, Cambria, Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara, Marina del Rey, Redondo Beach, Laguna Beach and San Diego, among other locations. [Corrected at 10:15 a.m. Oct. 29: An earlier version of this post did not make it clear that this deal is good only at Pacifica hotels in California, not in Florida or Hawaii.] Read the rest of this entry »
Want a hotel in Borrego Springs? Golf course? Landing strip?
October 27, 2009 2:58pm
Borrego Springs, the Southern California desert darling that has lured and bedeviled many a developer over the decades, is giving another one trouble.
Officials at the Borrego Ranch Resort & Spa and Montesoro Golf & Social Club have warned employees that they could shut down as soon as Nov. 30. Then again, one official is quick to say, they might sign on new investors and be fine.
Sasha Itzikman, senior vice president for Borrego Ranch, said the company is “looking for alternative funding sources or new investors, or we’re open to a full sale.”
Borrego Springs, home to about 2,500 people, sits in the middle of San Diego County’s driest back country, surrounded by the vast Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The stark beauty of that setting — and its location between Los Angeles and San Diego — has led many newcomers to imagine the town as a rival to Palm Springs as an upscale desert hideaway and golf haven.
Investor Gregory Perlman of Sherman Oaks, operating partner for Borrego Ranch and Montesoro, in 2004 began recruiting investors and spending millions to amass and upgrade thousands of acres in the area, including the 42-acre Borrego Ranch Resort (formerly known as the Casa del Zorro) and the 3,140-acre Montesoro golf course and residential community (formerly known as Rams Hill). Lubert-Adler, a Philadelphia-based partnership, is among the largest investors.
The resort and golf-course community, both up for sale, are among the community’s most prominent businesses, and they remain open. In fact, the golf course just opened for the season on Oct. 22. But on Oct. 15, the Borrego Sun newspaper reported that employees had been warned that Borrego Ranch Resort & Spa and Montesoro could close if no investors step up by Nov. 30.
San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park — Kids get in free through October
October 20, 2009 9:58am
Family travel tip: Don’t forget that kids get free admission to the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Wild Animal Park during October. The deal is valid for kids 11 years old and younger when accompanied by a paying adult. Normally ticket prices for kids ages 3 to 11 are $26 per child; adult tickets, for ages 12 and older, are $35. If you’ve visited these parks before, here are a few reasons you might want to take another trip.
San Diego Wild Animal Park: The park is celebrating Halloween with “Pumpkins at the Park” on weekends. Have fun with a trick-or-treat scavenger hunt, the Extinct Animal Graveyard and the Hidden Jungle, which has been transformed into the Creepy Crawly Crevasse — with frogs, spiders, scorpions and other creatures that crawl and creep. And kids who bring in a decorated pumpkin for display will get a free carousel ride for their pumpkin donation. The park has set up an area for carnival games, including a beanbag toss and animal races, and there’s also a full pumpkin patch. View the Pumpkins at the park website for a full list of activities, photos and more info.
San Diego Zoo: The Children’s Zoo has a new Discovery Playground presented by Fisher-Price, which features a net tunnel, climbing wall, periscopes, scramble net, talk tubes and a tube slide. Also, if you haven’t seen the zoo’s new Elephant Odyssey, there are lots of play areas for the kids to have fun in addition to viewing the pachyderm’s new $45-million habitat.
Contact: San Diego Zoo
– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
Photo: At San Diego Wild Animal Park, giraffes munch on leafy branches tied to telephone poles. Credit Fred Greaves / For The Times
