Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. It's 5 miles from Legoland, 6 miles from Moonlight Beach, close to San Diego, and it's FANTASTIC for a family. The rooms are great, the property is immaculate, it has 2 water slides and a great kiddie pool area with water activities that your 3.5 year old will love. I've stayed there twice in the last year and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

What about Santa Cruz? I am from No Cal and not a big fan of So Cal traffic/smog/plastic people...the beach boardwalk is charming, it's close enough to Monterey to do day trip to Big Sur, the aquarium, you can hike in the redwoods and did I mention it's NOT in So Cal? However the water is pretty cold. So Cal beaches are def. warmer esp when you are used to the beach in SF where it is usually 52 degrees year round (and foggy.)
Santa Barbara is nice too.

Anonymous wrote:I'd look into an Air BnB property. I have a wedding in Laguna Beach in the fall, and the properties on Air BnB are 100x nicer, cheaper, and larger than a hotel. If you choose a condo, you could get one with nice pool access and a separate bedroom so DD can go to bed early.

I'll add to the recs for San Diego. I'd do the zoo and/or wild animal park (unless you have no plans to do Florida Disney, in which case she's a good age for it, and September is a great time).

For the record, I grew up in Santa Barbara and we went to the beach ALL the time as kids. It's colder than the east coast, for sure, but fall has the warmest water temps, and the further south you go the warmer it is anyway. I think your daughter could totally have fun splashing in the water out there.

Me too! I grew up on the central coast and we were at the beach every weekend.

Anonymous wrote:I lived in SD for several years. We used to only go in the water in August, and even then, it was cold.

If you have to do CA, I'd pick SD and stay in either downtown La Jolla since it's very walkable, or Hotel Del in Coronado (although not sure about $400/night, since it's pretty posh--you'll have to check).

We stayed at the Del a couple of years ago and I wouldn't recommend it. It's old and charming, but not worth the prices. The rooms were pretty basic and my mom had to call maintenance a couple of times for issues in her room. The only good thing is the beach access, which isn't available from other properties on the island.

I lived in SD for several years. We used to only go in the water in August, and even then, it was cold.

If you have to do CA, I'd pick SD and stay in either downtown La Jolla since it's very walkable, or Hotel Del in Coronado (although not sure about $400/night, since it's pretty posh--you'll have to check).

Anonymous wrote:I'd look into an Air BnB property. I have a wedding in Laguna Beach in the fall, and the properties on Air BnB are 100x nicer, cheaper, and larger than a hotel. If you choose a condo, you could get one with nice pool access and a separate bedroom so DD can go to bed early.

I'll add to the recs for San Diego. I'd do the zoo and/or wild animal park (unless you have no plans to do Florida Disney, in which case she's a good age for it, and September is a great time).

For the record, I grew up in Santa Barbara and we went to the beach ALL the time as kids. It's colder than the east coast, for sure, but fall has the warmest water temps, and the further south you go the warmer it is anyway. I think your daughter could totally have fun splashing in the water out there.

I take it back, I read 4.5 instead of 3.5. I'd do the zoo/wild animal park. Save Disney for a couple years.

I'd look into an Air BnB property. I have a wedding in Laguna Beach in the fall, and the properties on Air BnB are 100x nicer, cheaper, and larger than a hotel. If you choose a condo, you could get one with nice pool access and a separate bedroom so DD can go to bed early.

I'll add to the recs for San Diego. I'd do the zoo and/or wild animal park (unless you have no plans to do Florida Disney, in which case she's a good age for it, and September is a great time).

For the record, I grew up in Santa Barbara and we went to the beach ALL the time as kids. It's colder than the east coast, for sure, but fall has the warmest water temps, and the further south you go the warmer it is anyway. I think your daughter could totally have fun splashing in the water out there.

Anonymous wrote:The 3 "kids parks" you referred to are Disneyland, Legoland, and San Diego Zoo. They are all very different. There is also the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park, which is very cool.

Of the 3 you listed, I'd probably pick SD Zoo or the Safari Park. They're pretty awesome for all ages. Much better than National Zoo. Legoland is great, too, but unless your DD really likes Legos, some of it may seem odd for her. Disney... well, I'm not really a Disney person. BTDT and don't need to go back. Others, I know, really love Disney.

I don't understand why your trip must be California. Is Florida gulf coast not an option? Are you there for work or a family commitment? There are a lot of places where you can do a great beach vacation in September, where you can really go to the beach.

I agree, it does seem like an odd choice if the beach is the primary appeal and you want it to be toddler-friendly. Do you mean you just want to be on the water or looking out at the water? Because that's probably what you'll be doing if you're not surfing.

The 3 "kids parks" you referred to are Disneyland, Legoland, and San Diego Zoo. They are all very different. There is also the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park, which is very cool.

Of the 3 you listed, I'd probably pick SD Zoo or the Safari Park. They're pretty awesome for all ages. Much better than National Zoo. Legoland is great, too, but unless your DD really likes Legos, some of it may seem odd for her. Disney... well, I'm not really a Disney person. BTDT and don't need to go back. Others, I know, really love Disney.

I don't understand why your trip must be California. Is Florida gulf coast not an option? Are you there for work or a family commitment? There are a lot of places where you can do a great beach vacation in September, where you can really go to the beach.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the responses. For a number of reasons, the trip *HAS* to be to California. In a perfect world, we would be vacationing in Mexico or Belize, but it just isn't possible this year. We recognize that we won't get much swimming time in the ocean because of temperatures and nature of the water. Ideally, our hotel will have nice pools for swimming purposes, and we will spend our beach time playing in the sand and just splashing around with our daughter. Any ideas on hotels that can give us everything we are looking for (pools, beach access, kid-friendly, less than $400 per night, relaxing resort feel, close access to a theme park/zoo)?

Nope, but definitely something in San Diego area. There are many nice places in Santa Monica, but they are not close to a Disney or the LA zoo (which is in the Valley).

OP here. Thanks for the responses. For a number of reasons, the trip *HAS* to be to California. In a perfect world, we would be vacationing in Mexico or Belize, but it just isn't possible this year. We recognize that we won't get much swimming time in the ocean because of temperatures and nature of the water. Ideally, our hotel will have nice pools for swimming purposes, and we will spend our beach time playing in the sand and just splashing around with our daughter. Any ideas on hotels that can give us everything we are looking for (pools, beach access, kid-friendly, less than $400 per night, relaxing resort feel, close access to a theme park/zoo)?

Beach vacation in California is a weird concept but the Pacific is frigid and very rough (your kid isn't going to be able to go in the water). I love California and lived there for several years, but I'd plan lots of non-beach activities.

We just got back from Carlsbad, CA to go to LegoLand. We loved it! Nearby Oceanside would also likely be nice.

San Diego is awesome! Tons of beaches that are good for families. Moonlight Beach, Solana Beach, Del Mar, La Jolla shores, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach.

The zoo is fantastic.

We are thinking about taking a one week California vacation in September. It will be me, my husband and our 3.5 yo D.D. I will be 5 months pregnant at the time. We want to have a fun, relaxing vacation before the new baby arrives and our ability to travel becomes constrained.

We would love to stay in a beach town. In particular, we want a nice hotel/resort that has easy access to a kid-friendly beach. We will also spend probably one day doing a kids park (Disneyland, Lego Land, San Diego Zoo - we are indifferent as to which one). I am looking for recommendations regarding nice beach towns and, in particular, nice resorts/hotels that are kid-friendly. We can spend up to $400 per night for hotel. I have been researching online and nothing is really impressing me. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Thanks!