Paradise Point, Mission Bay, San Diego. Rated ★★★☆☆
We came here for Mom’s birthday, a “staycation” since we all live nearby. Rented three rooms, all listed as “deluxe”. When I arrived at about 9pm, there was one woman staffing the front desk, and she was so swamped with calls from rooms asking for towels or whatever that it took her a while to find my reservation. Please — staff someone else to take calls — the person standing right there is always more important. All three of our rooms were near each other, which was nice. The buildings are old concrete block pillboxes that have had floor and furnishing upgrades. For the price, and the location, and the amenities, the rooms were adequate. In the past we’ve gotten one bay front suite as a family meeting place, we probably would have done that this time. I believe your choices are better/easier if you call the resort directly rather than booking online with an agency. Beds were very hard. The location can’t be beat, it’s right in the middle of Mission Bay. I brought bicycles, but I wouldn’t next time — easier to just rent them there, and there’s LOTS of boardwalk to pedal around the bay on. Dad didn’t like the “feel” of the Barefoot Bar, and we had reservations elsewhere for dinner. We did go to the main pool and let my son play there — the rough “beach” is nice for little ones. We also climbed the tower (some of us several times!) and we rented a boat at the marina — probably the highlight of our visit. If we’d had more time we would have gone to the spa, and I would have tended to go to the on-site restaurants, though San Diego has MANY restaurant options. We didn’t make the most of the on-site. Probably the best thing about the resort is all the landscaping — lots and lots of trees, ponds (that are all sort of green and brown with aeration fountains) lots of local birds including ducks near the lobby that you can feed. There were several wedding parties there on Saturday afternoon, and a uniform convention of some sort. I understand that this property has been bought by Jimmy Buffett — no, not his cousin Warren Buffett — and is due to be remodeled. I hope they will tear down all the hotel bunkers and rebuild, but it would be a shame to lose so much nice foliage. If they don’t upgrade the rooms, I owe my Dad a margarita.