Best resort hotel for family from Huntington Beach southward

Planning our trip to California in August and looking to end our stay with four or five days at a beach resort withing striking distance of LAX. We are a family of two adults and two kids aged 8 and 11.

We%26#39;d like something with good access to beaches plus a fair sprinkling of other things to do. We won%26#39;t need to go to LA/Disney at all, but a day trip to San Diegois is probably on the cards.

Have read plenty about various Marriots and Hyatts on the coast between Huntington Beach and San Diego, but what do you reckon would be best?

Also any help about how to get good rates would be useful. Should I book now or wait a bit and see if prices come down?

Happy Holidays!

Best resort hotel for family from Huntington Beach southward

August is high season so the prices are going to be high if you want to stay on the beach.

Have a look at these resorts:

Marriott: Newport Beach Hotel and Spa(Fashion Island):overlooking the beach and short drive away

Marriott Newport Coast Villas:overlooking beach/short drive away

Marriott Laguna Cliffs:overlooking Dana Point Harbor/beach short walk or drive away

Hyatt: Huntington Beach/beach across street

Hyatt Newporter: close to beach with car

Surf and Sand Laguna Beach:my favorite right on beach

Montage Resort Laguna Beach:right on beach and beautiful resort/pricey

Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel-right on beach and beautiful

St Regis Monarch Beach: overlooking beach with private beach club on beach

If you wish San Diego then the Del Coronado resort on the beach is excellent.

Enjoy!!

Best resort hotel for family from Huntington Beach southward

What is your budget? We have stayed at the Montage, previously mentioned and it is amazing, you can make reservations on www.lagunabeach.com. We have also stayed across the street at the Best Western Laguna Reef which is also very nice and much less pricey than the Montage. Surf and Sand is beautiful, we have lunched there at Splashes.

The Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego is also one of our favorite places to stay in San Diego, many nice amenities here. Happy New Year! :)

Budget would be around $400 per night.

Thanks for the list. The problem is I have looked at all those places and they look excellent. I simply can%26#39;t decide which is the nicest!

Rooms at the Montage start at $435 right now on that website (lagunabeach.com) that is a great rate! Let me know if you have any specific questions about The Montage. Happy New Year! :)

I would choose the ones with direct beach access. this would be Surf and Sand, Ritz Carlton,St Regis,Montage, and Del Coronado.

All(not sure about Surf and Sand about beach programs) of these have excellent beach programs for the children including surf camps.

The Laguna Beach Properties have the best locations for you since they are only one hour away from the LAX airport for your departure. Also, Laguna is an excellent location for visiting San Diego.

If you have more questions then please post. We have stayed at all of these properties and live nearby.

The St. Regis in Dana Point is gorgeous, I had my hair done there at their salon, it is across the street from the ocean. Beautiful views here! :)

I would rec the Hilton or Hyatt in Huntington Beach, good hotels and HB has a good tourist area, Newport Beach is nice but beachfornt hotels are limited. The Ritz Carlton has a really good beach but not much else to do there for kids. Montage in August will be crazy expensive

As above, many wonderful places to stay. We have stayed at both the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego on the beach - nice stay; historic hotel; excellent beach; and good for San Diego. We have also stayed at the Huntington Beach Hilton which was fun and enjoyable. You need to cross Highway 1 to get to Huntington Beach - its a great family beach and very casual; nice place if you want to get a fire ring early in the day and make your own hot dogs - the Hilton even furnishes all the supplies for you (for a price of course...but fun thing to do.). We also have stayed for less $ in Newport Beach at The Bay Shores. This is less $ but has a nice family suite. It is a 3 minute walk to the ocean and they furnish chairs, etc. to take with youo. Breakfast in the morning and cookies in the afternoon included. Easy to walk to restaurants, etc. Downside of this property is no swimming pool - other than that a fun stay at a small reasonably priced place.

http://www.thebestinn.com/

The room I mentioned is described on their web site as:

The Bay Suite features a master suite with additional separate bedroom, each with its own bath, a full kitchen, a living room, a dining room table and large sundeck that faces the bay – a perfect way to view the lights of Newport at night.

Thank you so much for all your help, this is great advice.

It seems to me that all things considered we are going to end up staying at either at Hyatt or Marriot accommodation.

Could anyone who knows the 4 or so candidates compare the pools for me. One thing that always nakes a difference for us is a great pool. Any thoughts anyone?

Hyatt Regency: Nice pool. Shuffel board nearby. Beautiful grounds but an older hotel. If you are a tennis player, Palisades TC is on the grounds (formerly home of Lindsay Davenport and many other world class tennis pros) and, as a guest at the Hyatt, you have access to the courts there although there is a daily fee.

Marriott Hotel and Spa: Very nice pool. Tends to be more %26#39;adult%26#39; than most. Bar setup along side. Hotel had a $70M remodel a couple of years ago and is very nice but the room sizes are from the %26#39;70%26#39;s and %26#39;80%26#39;s when the two parts were originally constructed.

Marriott Bayside: An %26#39;all suite hotel%26#39;. Nice pool but small. Remodeled a couple of years ago. Sits on the backside of the property and overlooks the Back Bay which is a nature preserve. Ride bikes, hike trails, jog and even fish the Back Bay if you like. Sometimes in August, if it%26#39;s very hot and because the water is shallow (it%26#39;s where the fresh water and the salt water meet) algae forms and creats an odor.

Marriott%26#39;s Newport Coast Villas. This is a timeshare property and August is their busiest month but sometimes you can rent something reasonably through redweek.com if you plan ahead. These days I%26#39;d give it a look. The main pool area consists of three seperate pools. One is designed for activities like water volleyball. Two jacuzzis bracket both sides of the pools. Lifesize chess pieces and a ping pong table are available. Summertime the pool usually features both the pool bar and grill as well an additional bar. Used to do a Wednesday night Hawaiian fire dance for entertainment but I don%26#39;t know if they still do that. There is a 4th pool away from the main pool designed to be a %26#39;kiddie%26#39; pool but, if there aren%26#39;t a lot of kids on proprty at the time, some adults tend to go there because it%26#39;s quite. Currently constructing a 5th pool and it should be ready by August.