Gay San Diego San Diego City Guide

Mellowed by its fabled surf swells and cloudless skies, San Diego hangs loose as California’s second largest city. Here, Southern California is at its best—sprawling beaches kiss the chilly but swimmable sea that locals roller skate and bike alongside on winding paths watching pick-me-up games of beach volleyball that carry on until dusk when the bonfires begin. Don’t stress; San Diego impresses beyond beach culture with its lively Gaslamp Quarter full of galleries, restaurants, and one-of-a-kind boutique stores. Mr Hudson has you covered with the best of the city, but don’t be afraid to ask the tan and smiling locals for a few of their favourite tips. For your definitive San Diego gay guide, you’ve come to the right place.

The best hotels in San Diego

Let’s start this gay San Diego travel guide with a roundup of the best places to stay in San Diego. Opt for the Gaslamp Quarter where the highest concentration of hotels, nightlife venues, and restaurants make the city accessible by foot. The Hotel Palomar San Diego houses 184 luxury rooms and suites, the best of which are balcony suites where you can sun tan in privacy before cooling off with a dip in the hotel’s elegant pool. At 22 stories, the hotel shows off every angle of downtown. Nearby, the small boutique Keating Hotel prides itself on “Soho style with California sex appeal” turning a historic brick building into 34 modern loft-like suites. Guestrooms are called “stanzas” and are decorated by the design team Pininfarina, which leads luxury brands Ferrari and Maserati.

All summer long the Andaz San Diego hosts some of the city’s hippest pool parties on the largest rooftop deck in downtown San Diego. For the top VIP experience, book their signature suite: two levels with a spiral staircase that leads to a private cabana by the pool. But of course, no one parties harder than the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego where a nightclub bumps in the basement and guests zip back and forth from the many bars and restaurants of the hotel, starting their days with a long shower in double rainfall spout showers.

If you can forego the pool, The US GRANT emits the timeless grandeur of its 1910 opening with ballrooms and ritzy chandeliers. Fourteen U.S. presidents have stayed at the hotel, a member of the Starwood’s prestigious Luxury Collection, and strolled its rooftop gardens.