Cheap Hotels San Diego: Aspects to Consider

Getting the most for your money with cheap hotels San Diego

You’ve been planning and saving for a vacation to San Diego, and the last thing you want to do is blow all your hard earned money paying the rack room for your hotel (these are the rates listed on the back of the door in your hotel room, and they are usually extremely high).

There are several things you can do to avoid paying more than you want, even for cheap hotels. San Diego is such a popular vacation spot that the hotel rates can vary greatly depending on the season, expected availability, etc. It doesn’t hurt to call a few hotels and ask for estimates of when the best rates might be available.

When calling hotels, try to call the hotel directly rather than using a toll free number. This might cost you a few cents, but in the long run, it will be well worth it if the San Diego hotel you’re calling is more flexible or offers a discount that’s not advertised for all the hotels in the chain.

Ask for a discount. Yep, it might feel weird, but it just might be worth it to get cheap hotels San Diego. (Amazingly, most companies will not mention that they can offer you a lower price or discount.) Mention virtually any activity, organization, or role you’re associated with – AAA, student, senior, family, government discounts, you name it, they may give you a discount for it.

Find out what amenities are offered with the rooms at cheap hotels. San Diego restaurant bills can add up quickly, so if your room is equipped with a kitchen, or if the hotel offers free breakfast, this may be a better deal, even if it’s slightly more than another hotel.

Cheap hotels San Diego – importance of location

You also want to think about the location as well when looking at cheap hotels. San Diego offers a huge variety of attractions, so you want to consider where the hotels are located based on your plans and interests.

If I my husband and I were vacationing alone, for example, we might want to look at cheap hotels close to a beach and plan to spend our time relaxing in the sand, sun, and waves. If we were bringing our three children, however, we might want to be closer to Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo to have more activities for our kids.

Consider what your true desires are when looking at cheap hotels. San Diego hotels with ocean views are going to be more expensive, so that’s an option you want to think about when planning your trip. Would you rather pay more and have a spectacular ocean view? Or does it not make much difference to you and you’d rather save the money for something else? Make sure you’re truly getting what you want out of your vacation, and if it means an ocean front view from your San Diego hotel room, you’ll have a better time and better memories if you get it.

Gotta love the coupons

There are coupons all over the place for hotels. Checking the stuff they send you with your credit card bills, utility bills (I’m not kidding. We got a pass one time in the mail from our electric company that offered discounts to all kinds of stuff), and those packs of coupons that are always being sent in the mail just might be your way to find cheap hotels San Diego.

Two other great sources for coupons and discounts for cheap hotels San Diego are on the net (tons of sites list coupon offers for hotels) and those entertainment books the cheerleaders or brownies or soccer teams are selling in your area.

The entertainment books usually come with offers for up to 50% off hotels, and this applies to the chain, not just specific hotels. (We used one of these coupons for a beautiful hotel with a nice pool and free breakfast for kids last year when we traveled for a family wedding. It made the trip so much nicer knowing we had a fabulous hotel and had saved all that money).

Overall, don’t be afraid to research a little bit, make a few phone calls, look through your junk mail, and speak up to get a discount. Your ticket to finding cheap hotels San Diego may only be a dial tone or a click of a mouse away!

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In addition to being a freelance journalist with PULSEMEDIA International, Amy Finley is also a creative writer. She is currently working on her M.A. in English Literature and lives in Rome, Ohio with her husband and three children.