The shores of La Jolla hold a special place in my heart as six years ago I tied the knot overlooking Scripps Beach by the pier. The majority of my husband’s family live on the East Coast so he, and his relatives, all stayed leading up to the wedding at the La Jolla Shores Hotel. It was such a fantastic introduction to San Diego, as for many it was their first trip to America’s Finest City, plus the perfect distance to all the planned festivities. Flash forward to present day, we’ve not only had years of a great marriage, but we are now a family of four with our four-year-old son and ten-month old daughter. This year for my husband’s birthday I thought it would be fun to have a staycation at the La Jolla Shores Hotel and it was great timing as they recently renovated their beachfront rooms.
The rooms were spacious and the coastal inspired decor provided such a great feel. We got a complimentary crib, which was a big hit with our daughter. Obviously, it was great for sleeping but we actually rolled it out onto our private patio so she could be contained while we all enjoyed the incredible view. One of my favorite things to do by the ocean is leave the door open so we could hear the waves crashing on the sand — who needs a sound machine to relax, or sleep, when you have the real thing!
The kids wanted to go to the pool first. It’s heated year-round so the temp is easy to walk right into regardless of the weather. Since we were doing a staycation we were able to throw our frog floatie in the car so baby could enjoy the water too. My husband got in quite the workout as the majority of his pool time was dominated by our son wanting to be launched into the air! Big splashes and even bigger smiles in the sun.
We then all got showered up and conveniently headed to dinner in the hotel at The Shores Restaurant. The cuisine is California coastal-inspired, with locally sourced ingredients and a family-friendly menu. Did I mention The Shores Restaurant is oceanfront as well? Almost every seat has a sweeping view of the sea. Thursday and Friday nights they have a lobster dinner series so of course my hubby had to splurge for his birthday meal. I went for the ribeye and we finished it off blowing out candles over a couple signature desserts — the banana split mudd pie and the passionfruit layered cheesecake. Yum!
After a solid night sleep we hit up The Shores Restaurant again for breakfast and then headed to the beach. Yes our room was steps from the sand and we have a private patio but with kids, the beach is much more than the view — they want to build in the sand and charge the waves. What’s really cool about the hotel is that along with the direct beach access, the staff will set up complimentary beach chairs, umbrellas, and towels for the whole family. It’s easy to see why The La Jolla Shores Hotel was named one of the 10 Best Beach Hotels in San Diego and one of the Top 12 Family-Friendly Hotels by Fodor’s Best 2018!
There are also so many family-friendly areas on the property. There are giant games like connect four, jenga, ladder golf and a trip highlight for us, mini golf! The course is too cute, and we even got a hole in one. It’s yet another fun way to get the family active together.
It was a great weekend of celebrating, reflecting on how much we’ve grown as a family, and enjoying our city as summer kicks into high gear. Thank you to La Jolla Shores Hotel and The Shores Restaurant for being such an incredible hosts.
