El cajon,ca hotels About This Page:

[coffeechef]

OK.. so I am still trying to book a hotel for 4 of us in the San diego region. When it occured to me that since we will have a car we don't need to stay right in SD which would be more $$$. I have been looking at the Best western courtesy inn & also a QUality Inn in El cajon. anyone from the area , can you tell me anything about it?
Nice place, safe area? bug free? We would be traveling to seaworld, the zoo, some day atrractions in the area. any thoughs would be appreciated

[PixieeDust]

NO NO NO NO!!!! Do not stay in El Cajon! It is not nice! It's about a 20-30min drive from the tourist stuff and it is inland in a valley so it's super hot! Any hotel there will probably be gross. If you want to stay a bit further to save money I would recommend North County inland areas , they are usually nice , look for Carmel Mountain Ranch, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Penasquitos. You will still have a bit of a drive but would be close to Wild Animal Park if you are going there. El Cajon is basically the ghetto. (for lack of a nicer word) Please also avoid any of the beach areas except La Jolla or Del Mar (there are some nice places at the other beach communities but there are also a lot of rat holes too). You could also try for hotels in Mira Mesa or Keary Mesa...they are more business traveler oriented but would be decent. A bit further up the coast is Oceanside and Carlsbad. Oceanside is hit or miss as there is a lot of run down establisments there but Carlsbad would be fine...it's near Legoland if that's on your to do list.

I live in Rancho Bernardo and there is a Best Western and a Holiday Inn here and both are very nice.

I hope I haven't confused you.

[DopeyGirl]

If you are going to be doing the touristy things IN San Diego, I would recommend you stay a bit closer if not in San Diego if for nothing else but to avoid the traffic coming into/out of San Diego and the travel time to get to the Zoo, Sea World, etc.

Did you get my PM yesterday about the Holiday Inn's near Sea World? There is also a decent Hampton Inn near Sea World --- Hampton Inn San Diego California - Sea World/Airport Hotel - San Diego, CA Hotel

And I stayed at the Hampton Inn downtown and would definitely stay there again! Hampton Inn San Diego California Hotel - Downtown Hotel - San Diego, CA Hotels


Just something to think about!

[coffeechef]

Thanks Pixeedust for the commets on El cajon. I had looked them up on trip advisor & a few people commented that although their hotel was good, the area it was in was sketchy. Another Hotel nearby 2 people mentioned the sleazy owner/manager. So you just made it very clear that its not a part of town thats not hice , its pretty much the town. Good to know. Dopey girl...yes thank you for the links to Holiday Inn. I think that is what we will go with. Thank you everyone gor your help. Finding a good yet not too pricey place to stay has been challenging.