Flagship Cruises Harbor Tour in San Diego, CA

On my previous San Diego trip, I saw that there were short sightseeing ship tours of the harbor. I didn’t have time on my last trip, but this time I went on the two-hour Full Bay Tour put on by Flagship Cruises. Flagship Cruises also operates the ferry that runs between Coronado and San Diego. If one doesn’t have time for a full cruise, the ferry ride offers great views of the harbor that’s much more cost- and-time-effective. I took the ferry across to San Diego to get on the yacht for the cruise. The ferry doesn’t have bathrooms or other amenities, but the ships used for the tours have food and beverages along with bathrooms. For both, there’s indoor and outdoor seating.

Departing from the San Diego Broadway Pier, my cruise started with the North Harbor, then docked to let people on and off before continuing on to the South Harbor. Both trips provided beautiful views of the water (and sometimes sea lions!), but it’s the South Harbor portion that heads over to the Coronado Bridge which is pretty impressive from underneath.

Those interested in military history will also enjoy the south portion as the cruise goes past the naval base and the many ships docked there. The narration provided was fun and informative. When some people got a little rowdy during the tour, the tour guide thankfully gave a strong reminder that others wanted to enjoy the cruise peacefully. If there’s time to do some relaxing sightseeing, the harbor tour (especially the south tour) is a nice experience.

Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, CA

Back in 2017 I took the Old Town Trolley Tour around San Diego and hopped off to check out the Hotel del Coronado, which I found to be absolutely gorgeous. I decided at once that I needed to make a return trip and stay right there on the beach. While the summer rates would typically be out of my price range, as luck would have it, the property joined Hilton making it possible for me to use the points I earn from having a Hilton credit card.

I arrived early Thursday morning to a stunning lobby not expecting to be able to access the Victorian King Resort View that I booked, but I received the happy news that a room was indeed ready though it wasn't the room I booked but an upgrade to one of the studio suites. My very minor annoyance at check-in was being told that, although I would keep the same room, I needed to check out/check in the next morning because I booked with a combination of points and a free night certificate. Fortunately, there wasn't a line Friday morning and the process was simple.

After receiving a map of the property, a bell desk attendant showed me to my room on the third floor. Normally I'd find this totally unnecessary as I travel light, but while the hotel hallways had fun wallpaper they weren't well-marked (I got lost a lot trying to get to the elevator) so I was glad to have someone show me the way.

The elevator is original to the 1888 building and operated by an attendant. It's cool-looking, but moves slowly so I took the stairs almost every time.

The first thing I noticed about my resort view suite (other than the security chain and low door handle) was how small the bathroom was in comparison to the walk-in closet that even had a window. I later learned on the History Tour that the original resort didn't have a bathroom for every room, so an extensive remodel was done that turned what had once been closets or hallways into bathrooms; I'm pretty sure my room's bathroom had originally been the closet. I'm a fairly small female, but I had little room between the toilet and bathtub and also found that I kept bumping my elbow against the grab bar when I took a shower. At least the hot water and pressure were impressive, especially for being an historic property. The small vanity didn't have much room for toiletries (the hotel provides two kinds of bar soap plus body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion along with a shower cap and package of cotton balls and q-tips) and the sink drain didn't fully close. There was also a hair dryer provided.

The king size bed had a nightstand with a lamp on either side as well as a small reading light. One nightstand had a clock and the other had a phone along with earplugs in the drawer. I was a bit surprised to find earplugs, but discovered that the rooms don't have much soundproofing (or maybe the guests are just a bit loud). The nightstands also have outlets built in which was handy, especially since there were no USB outlets in the room. Hotel del Coronado is undergoing an extensive renovation (which thankfully didn't disrupt my stay at all), so hopefully this will be changing soon. The bed was comfortable, but the pillows quickly went flat.

In the corner of the bedroom was the TV (on a swivel stand) on the top of the dresser which had a couple of drawers and a mini-fridge.

The bedroom had a ceiling fan/light combo that I really liked. It had a pretty design and I'm used to sleeping with a fan circulating.

Just beyond the bed was the sitting area which had a table, chair, and sofa that pulled out to a queen bed. A few magazines about the hotel and San Diego were arranged on the table.

To the side of this area was a desk/chair combo where there was bottled water and a Keurig with four pods (one tea, one decaf, and two medium roast). As I don't drink coffee, I requested more tea pods. I was told housekeeping would bring some, but I only received a single replacement the next morning.

The closet in this room was astonishingly large (I think a crib would fit) and had an iron/board, safe, and two robes. I probably would've been really excited about the terrycloth robe if I hadn't just stayed at a Kimpton with a much plusher robe. The closet had extra pillows, but no additional bedding.

As a Hilton Gold member, I received a $15 dining credit for each day of my stay. Normally this is a breakfast credit and I haven't decided which I prefer. I'm not much of a breakfast person, but I did have the brunch buffet at Sheerwater one morning and discovered that the credit wasn't enough to cover the cost. So for people who do like a large breakfast, I'm sure this change would be a disappointment.

And speaking of disappointment and Sheerwater, I ate there twice and found the service lacking each time. My water glass was filled during brunch, but that was about it. I had to flag someone and ask for the check twice before finally receiving it long after I finished eating. I also went there for dessert and the waiter forgot to bring my drink. The food and drink were good, but I couldn't understand the poor service at a 4-star resort especially since the restaurant didn't appear to be busy either time.

Fortunately, I had a much better experience at Eno, one of the other restaurants at the hotel.

I also enjoyed sorbet from Sundae's.

With the restaurants and beach, Hotel del Coronado already makes it so you wouldn't have to leave the property, but there's so much more. If your intent is shopping, there's plenty of that to be found. There's clothing, Del-themed souvenirs, and even the room toiletries available to purchase. The hotel features three pools (one is adults only and another is exclusively for spa guests), a fitness center (featuring a number of classes), and a spa/salon.

I decided that my feet needed a break, so I booked the Deep Sea Pedicure. In addition to the regular soak and polish, the Deep Sea Pedicure has a foot/leg massage and a sea weed wrap. It was already a great experience, but then I found out the pedicure is done in a massage chair.

And that's not all there is to do on site! At night there's a roast where you can make s'mores and enjoy other selected food items at your own bonfire right on the beach.

On select nights movies are shown on the beach. Tours are also available daily with one focusing on the history and the other being all about the hotel's supposed haunted happenings. I highly recommend both tours.

One thing to note is the pet-friendly property is valet only at a cost of $50/night, but does have charging stations for electric cars. There's also a $35/day resort fee that I was able to avoid by booking with points and a certificate. The hotel also gets very busy on weekends. My first day (Thursday) had crowds that I expected for a summer beach vacation, but that number exploded for the weekend. I was glad I had a room because the lines for the public bathrooms often extended into the hallways.

Old Town Trolley Tour in San Diego, CA

During my October trip to San Diego, I did the Old Town Trolley sightseeing tour. It’s an excellent way to learn a bit about San Diego while exploring a limited portion of the city. I hopped on the trolley at the Horton Plaza stop as soon as the tour got going in the morning. Ric was working at the Horton Plaza stop (tickets are available at that stop) and provided me with great information about how to navigate the stops. I highly recommend dropping a pin on your phone’s map app because while most of the stops that sell tickets are easy to find, some of the other stops aren’t as well-marked. Some of the drivers were more entertaining than others, but I learned much about San Diego’s history regardless of who was driving. I didn’t get off at every stop, but found plenty to do at the ones I did—Coronado, Balboa Park, Old Town Market (everyone has to get off there), and Embarcadero Marina. There was so much to do that I ended up using the trolley from its first pickup time at Horton Plaza all the way to the last run of the day.

On Coronado Island, I explored the Hotel del Coronado which has quite the history (including being where L. Frank Baum wrote a lot of his books). The beach there is beautiful. I'm now planning a return trip so I can stay at the hotel.

Balboa Park is home to the Museum of Man and California Tower. The tower was closed until 2015, but now visitors to the museum can buy an additional ticket to take the stairs almost to the top. It's well worth it for the spectacular view. (I’ve been to the San Diego Zoo previously, so I didn’t visit this time but it can be reached from this stop.)

At the Old Town Market stop, I walked over to Whaley House which is said to be the most haunted house in America though I didn't experience anything spooky.

My last stop on the trolley tour was the Embarcadero Marina where I walked along the waterfront and visited the Maritime Museum.

Given the cost of parking and gas, the Old Town Trolley tour is more than worth the cost. According to the website, the tour would last two hours if one does it without getting on and off.

Sofia Hotel in San Diego, CA

Walking into the Sofia Hotel in San Diego’s Gaslamp District, I was greeted by a statue called "That-a-Way" which was created by Seward Johnson. Upon walking through the sliding glass doors, I was immediately impressed by the lush look of the lobby—there are gorgeous couches and chairs that just call out to be sat in. Unfortunately, hotel guests don’t tend to spend much time in the lobby, especially when there’s no continental breakfast or happy hour provided. At the desk, I was informed of a $12.50/night charge for services. I was prepared for the charge because I’d read about it in reviews for the hotel, but was surprised to learn that tax is also charged making it $14.97/night. The check-in process was smooth until the clerk realized my credit card didn’t have raised numbers and a photocopy would be needed. It took more than a few minutes for the copy to be made by a second person working the desk. During that time, the woman checking me in offered a map of the Gaslamp District and circled the two locations I said I’d be going to. She didn’t know, however, that one location (the Balboa Theatre) was less than a mile away and advised that I arrange for transportation until I pointed out its location on the map. She then said she was new. After my card was finally returned, I rode one of the two elevators up to the fourth floor.

On the way to the room, I noted that old photos were hung in the halls with information about the hotel in the past. I paid for a standard room and that’s what I received. The room was small and cramped, with the armchair making one side of the bed inaccessible. Staying by myself, this wasn’t an issue, but couples would likely find it a problem. I moved the chair some just to test it out and found that it would be a very tight squeeze for a second person even with the chair pushed against the window. Each side of the bed has just one outlet though the side without the chair has an alarm clock that will charge the iPhone 4S and older.

The bathroom is also quite small with the sink in the entryway and the toilet and shower squeezed in on the other side of the door. Apparently because of the small space, the shower has only a half door. The lighting in both the toilet/shower and sink areas is very dim. It would’ve been difficult to try to shave my legs in that lighting (I did not attempt). There is a nod to the low lighting by the sink with the addition of a lit makeup mirror. Unfortunately, the mirror can only be adjusted horizontally so that I, at 5’3”, had to stand on my tip-toes to see. My guess is that the mirror would work for those 5’5”-5’7”.

The room has some nice touches like an orchid on the bathroom counter and a lavender sachet on the bed, but those things don’t make up for the lack of a security latch. To my horror, I discovered the housekeeping staff (and I would assume all other employee keycards) can override the door bolt. Fortunately, I was dressed and close to leaving when she entered the room, but I did not sleep easy that night. Also, after housekeeping came in at 8:15am with me in the room, no one ever returned. When the desk clerk asked how my stay was I mentioned this as well as the loudness of my neighbors on Friday night (they were quite, uh, enthusiastic about each other and I eventually called the desk to complain because it had gone on for over an hour), he removed the $14.97 service fee for one of the nights.

My travel plans did not allow me to take advantage of the yoga, walking tour, or available bicycles, but I did hope to indulge in a spa service; when I called for an appointment, I was told no one was available. I did give the WiFi a try and the speed was sufficient, but it didn’t appear secure so I only used it briefly. The best thing about the Sofia Hotel (other than the location) is the attached restaurant. Currant had delicious beignets for weekend brunch and an excellent happy hour. The waitstaff was incredibly attentive and accommodating. I highly recommend the beignets (especially with the lemon curd) and butter cake.