1. Balboa Park Inn
City: Hillcrest, CA
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (619) 298-0823, (800) 938-8181
Address: 3402 Park Boulevard
Description: Does Paris in the ’30s appeal to you? What does The Jungle Nook conjure in your imagination? These are the names of just two of the Balboa Park Inn’s 26 uniquely decorated luxury rooms in a complex of four Spanish-colonial buildings. Paris in the ’30s has a romantic wood-burning fireplace and a dreamy canopy bed. The Jungle Nook has handpainted floor-to-ceiling murals in a jungle motif, a separate kitchen, and a private door to the sun terrace. The Beach House is wheelchair accessible. Nestled in a quiet residential neighborhood on the north edge of Balboa Park, the inn is a short walk to the San Diego Zoo, museums, shops, restaurants, and the Old Globe Theatre. And it’s just a few minutes’ drive from downtown and the Gaslamp Quarter. Fruit and pastries are standard breakfast fare served either in your room or suite, on the sun terrace, or in the peaceful courtyard. This is one of the rare bed-and-breakfast inns that welcomes children. In fact, kids younger than age 11 stay free when sharing accommodations with their parents. Cancellations must be made seven days in advance of your scheduled stay.
2. Britt Scripps Inn
City: Hillcrest, CA
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (619) 230-1991, (888) 881-1991
Address: 406 Maple Street
Description: Just a few blocks from Balboa Park, this turn-of-the-20th-century mansion has recently been restored to its original Victorian luster. Follow the commanding, curving oak staircase to the second-story bedrooms, each decorated in bold combinations of period color such as mauve, cranberry, dill, and taupe. Beds with 1,000-thread-count sheets, downy duvets, and multiple pillows are simultaneously romantic and sleep inducing. At the foot of the staircase—and the original stained-glass window decorated with birds, butterflies, and other natural elements—are a baby grand piano and a parlor where evening hors d’oeuvres and wine are served. Breakfast is made to order each morning in the adjoining dining room, or you can eat outside on the wraparound porch. The converted carriage house at the back of the property is the most private of the nine guest rooms.
3. Ace Hardware
City: Hillcrest, CA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (619) 291-5988
Address: 1007 University Avenue
Description: Looking for some nuts and bolts? You’ll find them here, along with thousands of things you’d never expect to see in a hardware store. Time after time we hear locals say they stopped into the Hillcrest or La Jolla Ace Hardware and had a hard time leaving. There’s just so much to look at. Along with traditional hardware items, check out the plants, gift items, antique hardware pieces, and all those other little things you never thought you needed until you saw them here.