[trip style = budget conscious + sun]
What The Pearl Hotel is a compact throwback recalling its groovy 1959 beginnings. Fashioned around a vintage, oyster-shaped pool, the 23-room hotel is misted in mid-century, whimsy and San Diego's quintessential beach life. It's a place where shag carpets hobnob with driftwood and in-room 'pet' Siamese fighting fish.
I shacked up at The Pearl for a few nights in June, and wish I could have stayed longer. By morn, Mr. Trip Styler and I would take out the complimentary cruiser bikes for a spin around nearby Shelter Island; by aft, we'd lounge at the pool sipping lemon water under a living wall of succulents; by eve, we'd explore our sand and city surroundings. We were in our element.
MORE PHOTOS BELOW
Rooms are efficiently designed with all the amenities you'd expect from a swell stay---wifi, cushy bed, flat-screen TV, etc... The decor is the modern side of mid-century mod, mingling clean lines, whitewashed tile bathrooms and a beach-hued color wheel. I viewed the room as a place to sleep, the rest of the hotel's splashy scene was that inviting.
Sadly, our pearly pause in Ron Burgundy's stomping grounds did not coincide with a Wednesday, the night when summer dive-in movies play. Next time I visit I will coordinate my overnight with a movie night, so I can watch Top Gun or Point Break poolside.
Trip Styler approved.
Where Parked between marinas and a residential neighborhood along a busy street in the Point Loma neighborhood near San Diego Bay, The Pearl is two blocks from the ocean, and an 8-minute drive from the San Diego Airport {SAN}.
When San Diego's surf and sun abounds year-round. Winter temperatures hover around 18 degrees Celsius with a touch of rain, and summer clocks in at a breezy 26C. May and 'June gloom' can be a little grey when morning clouds linger.
Who/Why Vintage updos are your thing, both the hairstyles and the hotel facelifts. It's no surprise, then, you feel at home while on the road in a 1950s motor hotel that's been retro- and reno-fitted to its original glory---with a few mod amenities for good measure.
Cost Rates start around $100 per night and include WiFi, morning coffee from local roaster Cafe Moto, use of the hotel's cruiser bikes, and a fish in your room. Bring earplugs to this adult-only hotel to guard your beauty sleep from street noise or outside chatter.
Trip Styler Tip: Parking at the hotel is $10, yet there's plenty of free spots in the residential neighborhood surrounding the hotel.
Photos
More Roam+Board The Templar – Toronto Encuentro Guadalupe – Mexico Hotel Havana – San Antonio The Amersand Hotel – London Mount Engadine Lodge – Canadian Rockies Lava Lava Beach Club – Hawaii Island Ace Hotel – Seattle The Wickaninnish Inn – Tofino The Burrard – Vancouver Hotel de Glace – Quebec Alcazar Palm Springs – California Jumeirah Zabeel Saray – Dubai Makena Resort – Maui Find more R+B hotels featured here, plus our it list of worldwide hotel picks.
[photos taken by @tripstyler]