Celebrities and leisure travelers choose this 40-acre tennis resort for its high-quality service and secluded surroundings. Guests enter a lobby with fresh flowers, rattan chairs, newspapers from across the country, and an adjacent fountain courtyard. The Mediterranean decor is marked by hand-painted tiles and lush landscaping.

Aficionados of California Craftsman architecture appreciate this meticulously designed resort, which features original Gustav Stickley furniture, Judson Studio leaded glass, pottery, paintings, and other period finery within the cherry-paneled lobby and public areas. Professional golfers, scientists, and families with children all fit in easily.

Four Seasons Resort Aviara is a 200-acre resort located in north San Diego. The resort opened in August 1997, but has already earned high rankings in critics' and readers' polls, including top southern California resort in Conde Nast Traveler's "1999 Gold List" and the coveted AAA Five Diamond award.Perched high atop a bluff, this luxury property overlooks the Pacific Ocean and Batiquitos Lagoon. The Resort, built in the Spanish colonial architectural design and decorated in muted, natural shades with hand-painted trompe l'oeil ceilings and walls, has 331 spacious guest rooms each with a private balcony or landscaped terrace.The full-service resort features The Spa, which offersmore than 20 massages, facials and body wraps and scrubs; state-of-the-art fitness center an award-winning Arnold Palmer designed golf course; tennis center, with clay- and hard-courts lighted for night play; five restaurants; complimentary kids program; Four Seasons Resort Club Aviara, a luxury Vacation Ownership club; and an expansive and elegant 29,000-square-foot conference center.

A mixture of vacationers and business guests can be seen meandering on the hotel’s lushly landscaped property, which includes waterfalls and tropical plants.

• Petco Park is adjacent to this 22-story Gaslamp Quarter hotel, and the San Diego Convention Center is two blocks away.
• Guestrooms with views provide flat-screen televisions, CD players, and high-speed Internet access.
• Soleil @k, the hotel's dining hotspot, showcases innovative California cuisine and features sidewalk patio tables.

Business and leisure travelers frequent this resort as much for its style and cuisine as its golf, tennis, and spa facilities. The Mediterranean-style main building has a red-tiled roof and a lobby with a wood-beamed ceiling, tile floor, and international antiques, including Oriental rugs, formal European portraits, sculptures, and Asian wall hangings.

This Hilton sits atop oceanfront bluffs, neighbor to the Torrey Pines Golf Course, the Torrey Pines State Reserve, and The Salk Institute. SeaWorld® is 11 miles away. This full-service hotel caters to medical and biotech visitors, golfers, and beach-going families.

Sheltered from the street by shops and clever landscaping, the L'Auberge blends gracefully into its postcard-perfect setting. The glass-covered entry leads to a regal, skylighted lobby with marble floors, leather armchairs, plush sofas, a fireplace, and a wall of French doors and windows. The resort-casual ambience appeals to leisure and corporate travelers, honeymooners, and locals on weekend getaways.

This waterfront hotel offers spacious public areas and guestrooms. It is within walking distance of the convention center, the Embarcadero, and numerous attractions such as the Horton Shopping Plaza, the historic Gaslamp Quarter, and the Civic Concourse for theatre and ballet. The trolley station next door provides access to the Mexican border.

The refurbished interior of the landmark Hotel del Coronado resort complements its wedding-cake exterior of white siding and red-roofed turrets. A uniformed operator still runs the original birdcage elevator, though the controls are now automated. The vast lobby is filled with families, conventioneers, San Diegans on weekend getaways, history buffs, and those imagining the days when Hollywood's elite trod the grand staircases.