Where To Stay When Exploring San Diego

Earlier this month we traveled down to San Diego for the first time in over 10 years! I can’t believe it took us this long to return when it’s literally a 45 minute flight from Fresno. But after the amazing trip we had, we will for sure be back!

Because we haven’t been in so long it was basically like exploring a brand new city and the hardest part was trying to figure out to stay that was central to everything. We saw there was a Stay Pineapple franchise hotel and since we loved when we stayed in their Seattle location, we decided to stay at Hotel Z-A Stay Pineapple Hotel. 

It was the PERFECT hotel! Hotel Z-A Stay Pineapple Hotel is central to everything in San Diego- I mean EVERYTHING! When we first arrived we had a long to do list to try to cram into 2 short days. We thought there was no way with drive time that we would be able to accomplish everything. BUT WE DID!

When we first landed at the San Diego Airport at around 9am, we headed straight to the San Diego Zoo which was about a 10 minute drive. Once we enjoyed a morning at the Zoo, we decided to head near our hotel and get some lunch before check in. Much to our surprise, it was about a 10 minute drive if that, from the zoo to our hotel. We parked and found this delicious Brazilian Steakhouse at the corner of the street and enjoyed some yummy and food and drinks.

Once we checked into our room it was the perfect relaxation station we needed after a full day of traveling and exploring. The baby was ready for a nap and so were we. One thing I have to say about all Stay Pineapple hotels, THEY HAVE THE COMFIEST BEDS!! No joke you will never find a comfier bed and comforter set. I actually missed the hotel bed once we got home.

The 3 of us hopped into bed and took the best nap we ever had. The shades blacked out the room mixed with the cool AC & perfect bed, we slept for 3 hours straight. By the time we woke up it was 7pm and we were rejuvenated enough to go back out and explore.

Everyone kept telling us to check out Coronado Island and it was for sure on our to do list. When we were looking for places to eat, we didn’t realize Coronado Island was only 10minutes from our hotel!!! I am not joking when I say we were central and minutes to EVERYTHING!

We left the hotel and made reservations for 7:20pm and got there with plenty of time! The weather was amazing and we had a great dinner.

The next day we woke up early and went to SeaWorld. Can you guess how long it took us to get there?! 10 MINUTES!!! SeaWorld was a blast but with the pandemic rules and closures, there wasn’t a ton to do. (If you are visiting during COVID mandates, I would skip this and spend more time at the Zoo, Downtown, or exploring Coronado Island)

After a long and fun-filled two days of exploring San Diego, we decided to turn in early. The baby went down to bed and the hubby and I stayed up cuddled in bed watching TV. We Door Dashed to the hotel, poured some wine, and had the most relaxing night ever. I know everyone says they don’t care too much about the hotel since they are just there to sleep- we are totally different. We LOVE a good hotel. And we go on vacation to explore but to relax as well.

Hotel Z-A Stay Pineapple Hotel exceeded everything we could want in a hotel! A modern bathroom, comfortable beds, perfect location, wine & snacks at the front desk, pack n play for the baby, and large, unique rooms. Stay Pineapple is dog friendly hotel and enforcing COVID safety standards!

If you ever have the option to stay somewhere else or to stay at a Stay Pineapple Hotel, ALWAYS choose the Stay Pineapple hotel. We have now stayed twice and loved it every single time!

Make sure to follow along on Instagram for our next vacation!

Happy & Safe Travels,

Mariah