Best Kid-Friendly Hotels in San Diego

This 400-acre, 610-room megaresort near Legoland is packed with family features, including large rooms, six pools with waterslides, and an impressive kids club. And though there are extra fees for most of the activities, the spa, golf courses, tennis courts, and on-site shopping help ensure adults have fun as well. Rooms are large enough to fit a rollaway bed, and suites have either a sitting area with a pull-out sofa or a second room with a king bed.

The two swimming pools, the kids camp (offering activities for kids 4 to 17) and the babysitting services, make the iconic Hotel Del Coronado one of the most family-friendly properties in the area. It's also one of the largest and best-known resorts in Southern California, with 790 rooms right on the beach, a spa, a fitness center, upscale shops and 13 restaurants and bars. Rooms vary in size, but they all have Nintendo Game Cube videogame systems for the kids, and suites (starting at 500 square feet) have pull-out sofas. The property is located in charming Coronado Village, a short drive away from San Diego's main attractions.

Paradise Point sits on a private island surrounded by a mile-long beach, and the lovely grounds feature gardens with colorful plants and flowers, tiki torches, bonfire pits (popular for marshmallow roasting), and lagoons (where kids can feed the ducks). The location right next to SeaWorld, as well as the dozens of activities available on site (though you will have to pay for most of them), makes the resort a kid-magnet. The 462-room property also has five pools, a spa, and large rooms, most of which have a pull-out sofa and a dining table in the separate living area.

This 235-room Kimpton boutique is probably the most kid-friendly hotel in the lively Gaslamp Quarter, with welcome gifts for kids; in-room child-safety kits (outlet covers, toilet latches, nightlights); high chairs and booster seats in the hotel's restaurant; child-size animal print bathrobes; and free cribs and rollaway beds. Plus, it has a rooftop pool perfect for families, accredited babysitting services, and great freebies for adults -- a free nightly wine hour, free coffee and tea in the lobby, free newspaper delivery, and free guided walks every Wednesday afternoon.