We stayed for four nights in July with our 2 boys ages 6 and 9. The hotel made our children feel welcome at every turn beginning with a welcome gift from a treasure chest upon check in. We arrived at noon, well in advance of regular check in time and were escorted directly to our room.. The room is a nice size, had two queen size beds with very comfortable linens, pillows etc. The bathroom is quite large, two sinks, separate toilet area, shower stall, tub and small tv, which the kids loved as they had never watched tv during a bath before!

The small balcony was unfurnished, but when I called down for some chairs, they brought up very nice cushy chairs and a table immediately. We had a golf course view which was lovely. Our room was so quiet, there was no need to sleep with earplugs.

Complimentary coffee was available in the lobby each morning with mini muffins and fresh lemonade and cookies in the afternoon. If you miss the morning coffee, there is a gourmet coffee shop with excellent coffee right on the main floor. They also have bagels and yogurt for those who prefer a light casual breakfast.

The lounges by the pool were very comfortable and the servers were all very pleasant. There are a few pools here, one is adults only and is quite large and a huge hot tub.
They lit the fire pit for us at night so we could roast marshmallows. They also offer s'mores through in room dining for $20 per person if you like.
We had lunch at the golf club which was nice and they thankfully had a children's menu.

The resort is very luxurious and the service all around was excellent, particularly the concierge. They were very helpful and knowledgeable about everything we needed.
The resort is in not within walking distance of a town/shops. You need a car. It is close to attractions like Sea World, Lego land and Downtown San Diego - maybe 20 minutes to each attraction. Very close to La Jolla as well and various shopping malls. This worked out great for us as we struggled with whether or not to stay at the Four Seasons in Carlsbad. We are thrilled that we chose the Grand as the location was much better for us than staying further north and the resort was certainly on par with Four Seasons in all aspects. The Four Seasons is however closer to the beach and offers a Beach Butler service. I am not sure if the Grand offers this yet.

The spa looked beautiful, but the staff was not too eager to let me look around. Since we were with the kids, I didn't get a chance to use the spa, but would not hesitate if we came back alone. I used the gym twice. It was very well appointed with many different cardio machines - treadmills, elliptical, step mill, bikes etc. Lots of free weights and weight machines, bosu and gym balls. Personal tv's on most equipment, lots of water, fruit and towels. I went for a run and upon my return was greeted at the front door with a towel and cold bottle of water! How nice!

My kids used the games room once ($15/ child per hour). It is supervised and they have video games like Xbox, ping pong, lots of crafts. They staff there were super nice to the kids. It would be an idea for them to open in the evenings so parents could have dinner on the property while the kids are being entertained. So far they are only open til 5pm. The resort provided us with tennis racquets and balls. There are 2 courts.

We really loved our stay at the Grand and will return if the prices don't rise. I highly recommend this new resort.

Spent 10 days recently at The Grand Del Mar, just outside San Diego, California, and cannot praise it enough. We booked it from the website when some of our first choices could not offer us the dates we wanted. I'm so glad of that as The Grand Del Mar was fab! It has only been open 10 months so they are still building a reputation which is partly why I wanted to get my comments out there. I visited with my husband and teenage daughter and we all were very impressed with buildings, staff and the setting.
All rooms have lovely views of either gardens, pools or golf course. One of the things we enjoyed the most was the fact that there are four swimmimg pools, one for adults only and no mobiles allowed! it was great to relax and read without the noise that accompanies families splashing and shouting around the pool. There were a lot of families staying ther, mostly with very young children, and they had a beautiful pool and child pool with also a paddling area and some sand to play with, all in a very beautiful setting with plenty of umbrellas and cabanas to shade little ones when the sun got too strong.
We went there primarily to relax as we sandwiched our stay between two visits to New York and it fulfilled our needs superbly. If you want to go out and about, Los Angeles is only a two hour drive away and there are loads of other places nearby such as San Diego town, the Zoo, Sea World and also brilliant shopping malls and outlets.

Large, beautiful rooms in beautiful building on beautiful grounds. For the price I expected a snobby staff, but was happy to find they were all very friendly and happy to go out of their way to point out neat elements of the hotel ("Would you like to see the chapel? It's beautiful!").

Each room had a balcony overlooking one of the pools or the golf course. The bathroom had a little flat screen TV, a soaking tub, & a separate shower stall. You get your own pair of slippers & an expensive shower cap. We had a truly yummy lunch in the bar and then dinner in the second-best restaurant. We ate outside and enjoyed live music and a Bentley car exhibition. I wondered what the best restaurant was like.

We asked for a late check-out & they assured us we didn't have to rush. We didn't want to leave.

Outstanding, took our breath away upon arrival and then touring this property. They left nothing out in providing a very upscale place. Our room was very big ( overlooking the adult pool/spa) and the bathroom was huge and lavash with tile, marble shower, twin sinks, and enough towels for 6 people. Another nice touch was a complimentary ride int a restaurant we wanted to go to for our anniversary. It was a great ridr in an upscale car------ what would you expect! We will return if the prices dont rise too much