Traveling to San Diego? - Where to Stay

Anytime I travel to a new city, I am always worried that I am going to be staying in the wrong part of town or that I made the wrong choice. It ends up not being to much of an issue in most cities, but San Diego is definitely one city that offers a variety of atmospheres and can make or break your stay depending on what you are looking for. So based on certain categories, here are my recommendations.

The first question that you have to ask yourself is do you want to be ON the beach. If you do want to stay directly on the beach, you really only have a few options. There are a few hotels that are near the beach or are on the bay, but don't let those hotels fool you. Also, many of the hotels on the beach are not the most clean hotels. So for beach hotels your choices will be Hotel Del Coronado or Tower 23. These hotels are on the pricier side but its all about location. The Hotel Del Coronado is on Coronado island which is at least a 15 minute drive to anywhere else in San Diego. Cornado island is a small quiet area that has some of the most expensive houses in the county. This hotel would be good for families and couples looking for quiet evenings. Tower 23 is located in Pacific Beach which is one of the biggest party areas. This hotel is one of the newer hotels in San Diego and caters to more of the under 30 crowd. All of PB comes alive at night with crowds of people going to bars and restaurants. Don't stay here if you aren't interested in the party scene. And this hotel is not very kid friendly.