Welcome back to this week's Travel Thursday! Last week's TT was my full recap of my trip out to California. Go check out that post for all the fun pictures of what I was up to! Today I'm sharing my review of the Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort that we stayed in and a things to do in Carlsbad mini guide! My mom and I went out to Cali a couple of weeks ago for a 'business'/leisure trip. We split half our time doing 'business-y' things and the rest relaxing and exploring. This is my 4th time out to California and I absolutely love going to SoCal. Carlsbad is such a fun place to stay and explore! So let's get into the review! (It's photo heavy again but well worth the length!)
To Stay//
We stayed for two days at the Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort. This is hands down the nicest place I have ever stayed in for a vacation. It was a bit pricier than say going to a Best Western or hotel like that, but it's worth every single penny. Since we went in February it was their "off time" so rates were a lot lower than during their "summer season". Me and my mom decided to splurge and split the cost so it wasn't too bad.
Photo courtsey of Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort
We entered the lobby and were kinda in awe of how beautifully furnished and decorated it was. The dark wood and white spindles and accents paired perfectly together with the bright pops of orange. We were immediately greeted by the friendly receptionary staff. They were very accommodating in helping us find a room and explaining all the resort had to offer such as activities, places to eat, shop, etc. I don't think I ever met such a friendly hotel staff! They were fabulous! We got our room key and headed up to our room which was on the 3rd floor.
Like I said this was the nicest/fanciest place we've ever stayed at so we were kinda shocked at how nice everything was. Our room was spacious, very clean and very comfortable. We had a room with two queen beds and they might have been the comfiest hotel beds I've ever slept in. I slept like a rock.
Our room came with most everything that a hotel room comes with, phone, TV, iron, desk area, etc. We also had a mini kitchen area with a Keurig, microwave and mini fridge along with some other kitcheny things.
I loved the little 'towel' animals that the hotel staff created!
Photo courtsey of Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort
The bathroom was amazing. It had faux marble countertops and a shower and the most amazing selfie lighting ever. Our bathroom only had one sink and the rest was counterspace which was suuper convenient when both my mom and I were getting ready. Oh and the complimentary soaps were from Bath and Body Works and smelled like a tropical escape.
Me and my mom judge a hotel by how clean the bathrooms are. We've actually gone out and bought Clorox and paper towels to re-clean the bathroom in a few of the hotels we've stayed in. Yeah we're those people. These bathrooms were very clean and I was not worried at all about germs or cleanliness. A definite A+ in my book.
This was our view from our room. We had an ocean view room and it was the prettiest thing ever. The hotel also had a heated pool, hot tub, firepits, an 18+ hot tub and a big lawn area. They also offered beach bikes, boogie boards, beach umbrellas, a fitness center with sauna and so many more accommodations.
Photo courtsey of Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort
They also offer various different types of activities during the week. On Friday night they had a live band come and play. There was wine, beer, snacks and raffles. It was a lot of fun to sit and enjoy the music!
The best part of the CBINN was that they had access to the beach. It was a 5 minute walk from the hotel. Suuuper convenient! The steps in the picture above lead right up to the hotel. We took a walk at sunset and it was the most gorgeous sight ever. I love beach sunsets, they're kinda the best.
To Eat//
The Daily News Cafe has to be one of the best place we ate the whole trip. It was a breakfast/lunch restaurant that was right next door to our hotel. Talk about convenient! We ate there both mornings. The staff was friendly, helpful and attentive. The servings are huge and my mom and I split breakfast both times. Their biscuits were soooo good. I coulda eaten about 5 more!
We ate at Pizza Port for dinner one night, as we were craving a good pizza pie and it was within walking distance from our hotel. Boy did they deliver (no pun intended)! It was one of the best pizza's I've eaten. We had the Pizza Roma which had Canadian bacom, pepperoni, sausage, onions, black olives, bell peppers and mushrooms on a perfect crust. It was heavenly.
We also ate at Norte, a Mexican restaurant also right next to our hotel. It was per recommendation of the staff so we decided to try it out. Like I said in my recap post, it was the absolute worst Mexican food I've eaten. It was bland, the salsa was more like mild sauce from Taco Bell and the staff barely waited on us. I would not recommend going there.
A few other places we ate at that aren't in Carlsbad but are near it is The Habit Burger Grill and The Coffee Bean.
The Habit has amazing sandwiches. I always get the Chicken Club and it never gets old! It could be that I get it once a year but hey who really knows.
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This was my first time going to The Coffee Bean but I've heard lots of things about it via social media. I got their dark chocolate latte and holy crap this was the second best latte ever. First being the carmel brulee latte from Starbucks. It was like dark hot chocolate on crack. It was the best thing ever. I'm really sad that I can't get one here.....
To Do//
The beach obviously! We went to the beach right outside our hotel which I think was the Carlsbad State beach.... but I'm not totally sure. It was a really nice beach, clean, not too populated and nice to walk around or catch some sun.
The hotel was on the main strip that ran through Carlsbad. This is the 'main' intersection through town. The Victorian style building is actually a really cool surf shop called Sun Diego. Right next to it had another little shopping area with restaurant and boutiques. One restaurant was a recommended Italian place called Gregario's. It's on the list to try next time! There was a lot of places that were in walking distance from our hotel. We didn't venture out too far but we saw lots of shops and buildings.
We went to the Carlsbad Premium Outlet mall and I could have easily spent all day (and all my money) there. It was filled with designer outlet stores like Barney's, Ralph, Coach, Michael Kors, etc. My personal favorite was the Kate Spade New York store. I died and went to Kate Spade heaven.
While we didn't have a lot of time to spend doing touristy activities here's a few that would be fun to check out!
SoCal Surf lessons
2 Stand Up Guys Paddle Board lessons
California Watersports
Sunset Sails Boat tours
Overall I would definitely, definitely, definitely recommend checking out and staying at the Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort. We had nothing but an excellent experience and we'll definitely be going back. Everything was of the highest quality from the rooms, to the service, even the complimentary coffee was good! Also check out the Daily News Cafe and Pizza Port for places to eat. And check out the Outlet Mall and the beaches and water activities for sure!
That's it my review and mini guide of where to stay, what to eat and what to do while in Carlsbad! It was such a great place to get away and have some vacay time. I love Carlsbad and will definitely be travelling there again!
Where do you vacation at? Where do you stay, go to eat and do while you're there? Leave me a comment sharing your recommendations! :)
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