Close to the action of Del Mar's beachy beach scene, this [seemingly] resident-hotel turned-Inn is well situated, well priced (for Del Mar, anyway) and has effusively engaged employees, to the person ... more
Close to the action of Del Mar's beachy beach scene, this [seemingly] resident-hotel turned-Inn is well situated, well priced (for Del Mar, anyway) and has effusively engaged employees, to the person appeared to like their jobs (what a refreshing change!). We had two rooms in the back of the hotel on the third floor, that faced the ocean. Literature claimed an ocean view but you might have to squint your eyes to feel like you're actually near the ocean. There is a small balcony with two chairs to sit and breathe those close ocean ions. There was a small wall kitchen, with a microwave and petit frig. The room was spotless, to the point you could eat off of the floor. Our rooms had two double beds, and after asking to be moved to a king, my guess is that a lot of families stay here and parents park their kids in double rooms, and stay next door or down the hall in the king. The hallway carpets showed signs of children running with colored drinks, but other than that, it was well maintained.
We ran into several people going to the track, and a couple of families enjoying the pool.
There's a small cafe next to the pool, who employ a poor lad who had a great attitude, but zero skills at handling a line of hungry, thirsty folks. That said, the food was good and the coffee, great. Next door is a dog park, just in case you get a pang for your pooch left at home.
The lady at the front desk steered us to the Exotic Bird Sanctuary down the road to spend an hour, and it was fab. My husband had a bird climb on his hand and proceed to regurgitate a banana onto his hand, in an apparent mating ritual to show my husband the bird was a skilled family provider. Endearingly strange.
We also walked 10 minutes from the hotel to L'Auberge, where we attended a wedding, and there are several sidewalk restaurant/bars near L'Auberge that served okay fare (again, those ocean ions!).
Loved the historic photos in the hallway next to the "library" that show pre crowd Del Mar Beach. Choose a room at the back of the hotel if you can, because the hotel faces the major driving artery. less