Review of Grand Pacific Palisade Resort 10/08
In early October 2008, we spent a week at the Grand Pacific Palisades in Carlsbad, CA. The front
entrance and lobby present a very grand and congenial appearance, although the ‘gift shop kiosk”
is very minimal. It’s not possible to get a quart of milk or loaf of bread there; only a case with
the standard cold drinks and instant coffee, plus some children’s gift items are available.
The check-in included the requirement to sign up for the marketing presentation in order to get
an ocean-view room. We actually down-graded to a 1- bedroom suite as there were only two of
us, but still had to follow this marketing procedure. Otherwise, ocean view rooms go to owners
only.
We did find the marketing interview painless. The person interviewing us could tell from our
history and current ownerships that we would not be interested in their new property being
developed several miles away. When I suggested we hurry things along, she said we were
required to spend the full 90 minutes, and she would try to make it as pleasant as possible. She
took us through the model of the new development ( the model is in the current resort) and it
had some nice decorating features.
Our biggest surprise, even though the resort is located right next to Legoland, was that even in
early October, the resort was filled with families with young children through elementary school
age. Two reasons for this: Schools in the area are on a year round plan with vacations at odd
times, and we apparently hit a week when many children were on school break, and Owners
have day access to the resort public areas: family pool and small water park, and restaurant on
the premises. As this pool area is in a central court surrounded by units, many units hear the
voices of children through their front doors til well after dark. Thankfully, there is an ‘adults
only’ pool and a small spa located some distance from the Children’s area.
We do recommend that those who are trading into this resort request the “C” wing, which has
the best outlook to the ocean. As noted above, it will require listening to the marketing
presentation. There is a $9 daily fee for parking (underground) wireless internet access and daily
local newpaper. The properety is very well maintained with outdoors falling in the category of
excelent.
We found the one bedroom unit spacious and adequate, other than a rather small balcony, that
accommodated a small table, two chairs and a lounge chair, with not much room left over.
However, it worked well for breakfast and for watching the sunset over the ocean. It’s true that
the ocean is about a mile away, as this resort is located on a ridge above the town. In the late
spring (April/May) the famous ‘flower fields’ are immediately below the resort, and would be a
lovely setting; we have previously seen this display while travelinig through.
Area activities abound, especially for those who like the ocean environment. We had a lovely
lunch on the pier at nearby Oceanside, sat on the beach at Del Mar, drove to La Jolla, spent a
day at the Wild Animal Park ( the resort offers slight discount as part of the marketing package,
plus $50 food discount at the resort restaurant), and walked through Legoland during the last hour
of operation ( free at this time of day). We visited one of the nearby California Missions, and
spent some time relaxing near the adult pool.
We would have preferred more on-site food amenities and a nearby place to get small food
items. There is a large Costco ( with gas station) just down the hill from the resort. The resort
programs were not well advertised, and poorly attended. The scheduled “Bar-B-Q” night
featured hamburgers and hot dogs, with the listed salads not available, and ‘bring your own
drinks”. The ‘happy hour’ and jazz night earlier in the week was held in the lobby, and while
food was adequate, it was poorly attended due to lack of promotion. The elevator to
underground parking is notoriously slow.
This resort is focused on families with young children and those without should take note and
plan their days around the ramifications of this.
