San Marcos · Hotel shortlist
The best hotels near San Marcos Square
Amara Nwosu Africa
These are my five favourites in San Marcos, out of the 5 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.4 down to 3.5.
All five are within 2.8 km of San Marcos Square.
Highest rated of the five
Lakehouse Resort
★★★★★4.4 from 1,806 reviews
Lakehouse Resort comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.4 from 1,806 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.
It is a 4 star property, found under poi and around $148 a night on the dates we checked.
Why it works for this trip
- Poolsomewhere to cool off between walks
- Spatreatment rooms on site, no booking a taxi for it
- Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
- Restaurantdinner downstairs on the night you land
- Bara drink without going back out
All five, ranked
-
1
Lakehouse Resort
★★★★★4.4 from 1,806 reviews
900 m from San Marcos Square, about a 11 minute walk
- Pool
- Spa
- Gym
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Parking
-
2Ayres Hotel Vista / Carlsbad
★★★★★4.7 from 959 reviews
1.9 km from San Marcos Square, about a 24 minute walk
- Pool
- Spa
- Gym
- Bar
- Parking
- Pet friendly
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3Extended Stay America Premier Suites- San Diego - San Marcos
★★★★★4.3 from 234 reviews
1.6 km from San Marcos Square, about a 20 minute walk
- Parking
- Pet friendly
- Air conditioning
- Accessible
-
4Residence Inn by Marriott San Diego North/San Marcos
★★★★★4.1 from 604 reviews
1.9 km from San Marcos Square, about a 24 minute walk
- Pool
- Spa
- Gym
- Bar
- Parking
- Kitchen
-
5Days Inn by Wyndham San Marcos
★★★★★3.5 from 787 reviews
2.8 km from San Marcos Square
- Pool
- Restaurant
- Parking
- Pet friendly
- Kid friendly
- Air conditioning
How this list was put together
5 San Marcos hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating first and on how close they are to San Marcos Square second, then took the top five.
Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.
The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.
What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.
Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.
Amara Nwosu Africa
Books holidays a year ahead because court calendars demand it, then travels hard for three weeks. West Africa most years to see family, somewhere new in between.
Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.