Are you looking for the best place to stay in San Diego? I recently stayed at the Paradise Point Resort in San Diego. Does it live up to the hype? Here’s my full review:
I recently took a girls trip to one of my favorite cities – San Diego. I love San Diego; it’s the perfect blend of urban scene and outdoor adventure. Because this was a rare getaway for us, we wanted to find the best place to stay in San Diego. We wanted nice resort where we could spend a good deal of time relaxing without being too far from the city. I chose Paradise Point.
Paradise Point is the perfect home base for exploring everything from the Gaslamp Quarter, to the tide pools of La Jolla. Sprawled across 40 acres of Vacation Island, the massive tropical resort is so nice you may not want to leave.
I am so glad I chose Paradise Point because we had the best time there! Here’s some of the reasons I absolutely loved my stay at Paradise Point Resort, and why I think you will too!
Location
The location was paramount to finding the best place to stay in San Diego. Paradise Point is located right on the shores of Mission Bay on Vacation Island. The resort boasts a mile of white sand beaches and direct access to the calm waters of Mission Bay. It’s the perfect location for exploring Mission Bay, Mission Beach, or Sea World.
The drive to Ocean Beaches, La Jolla, or downtown San Diego is less than 20 minutes, so you’re never far from anything. But while you’re sitting on the beach, or exploring the tropical grounds, you’ll feel like you’re miles from anything.
The one downside of the location is it’s not walkable to anything off the resort. So, you’ll either have to have a car (which means paying the high daily parking fee), or use taxi’s or ride sharing services.
Location Rating: 4.75/5
Property & Amenities
Driving onto the grounds of Paradise Point feels akin to driving into a tropical jungle. The resort boasts 600 types of tropical plants including hibiscus, birds of paradise and even rare species like the Asian silk tree. The network of man-made lagoons and gardens are the year-round home to many species of birds and giant koi fish.
The lobby is gorgeous! Decorated in Polynesian styling, you’ll think you’re stepping into a resort on Maui. There are so many areas, both indoors and outdoors, to relax in the lobby area, including a floor to ceiling fireplace!
Because they are an eco conscious resort, they have filtered water available to fill bottles in the lobby and throughout the resort – love! The amazing property puts this resort at the top for best place to stay in San Diego.
Pools
The five pools at the resort blend seamlessly into the beautiful landscaping. Scattered across the property so that there is always a pool near each guest’s room, each pool area is unique and has its own distinct features. The five pools include the main pool, lagoon pool, adults only pool, the waterfall pool, and the meadow pool.
The main pool area is the most popular due to the large size and lively atmosphere. There is a pool bar and small restaurant just behind the pool and music plays during the day. It’s a great family and hang out pool. The lagoon pool was my favorite. A little off the beaten path, it was less crowded and featured two gas powered fire pits which were the perfect spot to relax after a soak in the jacuzzi at night.
Did I mention all the pools are heated? I was a little worried we wouldn’t enjoy the pools while we visited in June since the weather never got above 70, but the heated pools made our pool days perfect! And the jacuzzis were our favorite spot each night. Although the adult pool’s jacuzzi was our least favorite due to the low water level and tepid temperature – but after a couple of drinks you may appreciate the cooler temps!
Beaches
We were lucky enough to get a room right off the water which made morning walks on the beaches of Mission Bay so easy and enjoyable! The water of the bay was much warmer than I anticipated and it was even warm enough to take a dip in. The beaches were uncrowded and perfect for relaxing. Because the resort is pet friendly, there are lots of dogs on the beach – great for me, but if you’re not a fan it’s something to be aware of. There are also tons of shells, which was nice surprise for me since I’m a big beachcomber!
Activities
One thing I really wanted when deciding on the best place to stay in San Diego, was a lot to do at the resort. Paradise Point really delivers here. If you ever get tired of sitting by the pool sipping drinks or walking along the beach but you don’t want to leave, don’t worry, there’s still plenty for you to do!
Included Activities
Paradise Point’s daily resort fee includes a decent amount of activities – which was a nice surprise. Although most activities are more geared towards kids and families, our group of 30-40’somthing women enjoyed them too!
The included activities are:
- Putt putt golf
- Corn hole
- Ping pong
- Basketball
- Football on the beach
- Lawn checkers
- Volleyball
- Tennis
- Spikeball
- Yoga (Fridays and Saturdays only)
- Island Yoga with Meditation (Sunday only)
- HIIT class (Wednesday only)
- Mission Bay bike tour (Sunday & Wednesday only)
- Botanical Garden tour (Thursday only)
- Hula lessons (Sunday and Wednesday only)
Activities for a fee include:
- SUP rental
- Kayak rental
- WaveRunner rental
- Powerboat rental
- Sailboat rental
- Bike rental
- Surrey bike rental
- Skateboard lessons
- SUP yoga
- Canvas painting
- And more!
The only issue I had with the included activities is the limited availability. All the activities I wanted to enjoy — yoga, bike tour, hula lessons — are available on such a limited basis that they didn’t fall during my stay. I would have loved to enjoy yoga on the beach every morning.
Property & Amenities Rating: 4.5/5
Rooms
Paradise Point Resort’s rooms are amazing! Because the property is planning to transition to a Margaritaville property in the near future, the rooms have all just had a fresh makeover. Although I personally prefer the old Polynesian themes, the fresh new white and blue bungalows are nothing short of fabulous!
The rooms are huge! Three of us shared a room and had plenty of space. The beds are very comfortable, but a little on the soft side. My one complaint about the rooms is that the pillows are tiny! But after seeing how comfortable the tiny pillows were the first night, the size no longer mattered much to me.
I also really like the way the rooms are laid out. Bungalows are done quad style, with four rooms on a “block.” They are all single level and set up in a way that we never once heard our neighbors! The winding pathways and driveways are confusing at first, but actually lend to more exploration and finding things you would have otherwise never known were there.
Each bungalow has a parking spot right outside the door which is so handy for families. We saw so many families who brought so many fun things like lawn games, pool floaties, kayaks, and fire pits to really enjoy their time. It makes it feel more like a vacation rental than a hotel – but with all the beauty and amenities of a resort! Parking, however, is not included in your room or resort fee and will set you back $40+ a day.
Rooms Rating: 4.9/5
Dining
Paradise Point offers a few different dining options:
- Tidal, the main restaurant offering sweeping views of Mission Bay. Reservations required.
- Barefoot Bar & Grill, the more casual eating establishment and bar, which also offers great bay-front views.
- Tropics Cantina, poolside eats and drinks located at the main pool; and
- Room service.
My friends and I tried food and drink from both Tropics Cantina and Barefoot Bar & Grill and both were decently good quality. However, the prices are very high! In fact, the prices for food and drinks throughout the resort were my one and only complaint about our entire stay.
I know that California is a little more expensive than other places, and higher prices are expected at a resort, but when a small mixed drink is $14 at the poolside bar, and an acai bowl runs you $19 in the bar and & grill, it is a little off putting.
Luckily, there is a little market at the resort that offers more reasonable prices for snacks and drinks. They had some cans of craft brew for just $3 – $15 for a six-pack.
Dining Rating: 4.5/5
Service and Staff
The service at Paradise Point was hands down the best service I’ve ever had in any hotel – ever! Every single staff member I encountered, without exception, was smiling, happy, friendly and willing to do whatever was needed to make sure their guests had an exceptional stay.
Paradise Point has really done a great job making sure that guests have everything they need and are having a great time. The check-in staff are so accommodating! We were arriving early and I was worried they wouldn’t want us hanging around before check-in time, but nope! They sent a welcome email letting us know we could use all the amenities as soon as we arrived – which was at 10 AM. They showed us where to change and stored our bags, no issues.
There is wait service available at the main pool to order drinks and food from the poolside cantina. But I also saw people had ordered food to go from Barfoot and Tidal and had it delivered to the pool. A great option if you don’t want to lose your chair!
Since the resort is so large, they offer a golf cart shuttle that will pick you up from any part of the resort, and take you to any other part. We used this a lot when arriving back at the resort with our arms full, or when heading to a pool across the resort. It was so fast and easy.
Everywhere we went there were staff asking if they could help, or do anything to make our stay better. It was perfect!
Service and Staff Rating: 5/5
Price / Value
So before I complain about the price, I want to say even though it’s high, I had such a great time, I would definitely come back despite the high prices.
Now…
The price of staying at Paradise Point really is its only downside. Weekends in high season run from $500/night for Lanai Garden Suite, all the way up to $3,000+ for the Presidential Suite. During the low season you can still expect to pay around $300/night on the most basic rooms.
It’s good to keep in mind that you also have to pay a daily resort fee of about $40/night directly to the hotel at check-in. This is in addition to your room rate. And my biggest complaint is that the resort fee doesn’t include parking — even though there is a spot assigned to your room so it’s not because of a space issue. Parking your car will cost you another $40/night.
Also, the food and drink prices are far too high. We had planned on enjoying many more drinks and meals at the resort than we ended up having because the prices were so high. Instead, we ended up ordering Uber Eats and DoorDash, and picking up a case of Corona at the grocery store for a huge cost savings. However, we still enjoyed meals and drinks by the pool, just in a different fashion.
All in all it is good to note that this is not a value hotel — it’s a resort, and it’s priced accordingly. This is definitely a splurge vacation, but really, every hotel in San Diego is priced at a premium because it’s an amazing palace to visit.
So, when you consider that you’re right on Mission Bay, in some of the most beautiful surroundings I’ve ever experienced at a hotel, with great rooms, amazing facilities, and first-class service, the price comes into perspective. Even though this isn’t a budget location, it is definitely worth the splurge.
Price / Value Rating: 4.5/5
Final Thoughts on Paradise Point Resort
Overall Rating: 4.725/5
Paradise Point Resort is one of the nicest resorts I’ve stayed at in the US, and one of, if not the best place to stay in San Diego. I loved almost everything about this place and honestly I cannot wait for a return trip. If you’re looking for a girls trip, family get away, or just a nice place to stay while visiting San Diego, I can definitely recommend you check out the Paradise Resort and Spa, I think you’ll love it!
