La Valencia Hotel vs Grande Colonial La Jolla

It’s probably pretty obvious that with such incredible year-round weather, many of the hotels in San Diego have incredible pools!

But no two pool experiences are the same. So let’s compare the pool areas at these two hotels.

Pool and Ocean View from a Room at La Valencia Hotel

The Pool at La Valencia Hotel

I’d say that the pool at La Valencia is quiet and peaceful. It’s a good size and has plenty of chairs and umbrellas.

But what really stands out is the view from the pool. Lounging with a drink you’ll have a front-and-center ocean view. Simply put, it’s just amazing!

Swimming Pool at the Grande Colonial La Jolla

Grande Colonial La Jolla Pool

For me, the pool at the Grande Colonial hotel is nice, but nothing special to boast about.

There’s no view of La Jolla shores, it’s kind of small, and has other fairly lackluster features for my taste. I don’t hate it, but this article is about being honest, and that’s what I’m doing here.

Pool at La Valencia Hotel

Our Pool of Choice: La Valencia Hotel

There really is no comparison here.

With Grande Colonial’s lack of defining features to make it stand out, it’s easy to see why La Valencia is the pool of choice between the two!

A hotel’s rooms can often be a breaking point for many guests, making them the reason for choosing to stay at that hotel, or not!

So which of these two hotels offers a better room experience?

Garden King Junior Suite at Grande Colonial La Jolla

The Rooms at La Valencia Hotel

La Valencia’s rooms offer both glamor and style for guests, as well as luxury and upscale amenities like plush bathrobes and imported linens in addition to great views.

The hotel has a large offering of room types with its suites leading the way. The Icon La Valencia Suite in particular is over 1000 sq. ft and includes vaulted ceilings, a wraparound terrace and outdoor fireplace!

Suite Bedroom at La Valencia Hotel

The Rooms at the Grande Colonial La Jolla

Grande Colonial’s rooms offer a variety of features depending on the room, ranging from walk-in showers to oceanfront views to large sleeping quarters.

The hotel also has a wide variety of options from Colonial Queen to a Grand King as well as a menu of suite options, many with ocean views. With that, there really is a room type for everyone.

Winner? It’s a Tie!

With both hotels offering similar hotel room features, it’s difficult to decide which one is better than the other. Therefore, we’ve decided it’s a tie between the two.

While both hotels are located very close to each other in La Jolla Village in downtown La Jolla and within walking distance to the ocean, they still offer some distinctly different experiences for their guests.

Let’s take a deeper look at the locations and what you can do at each hotel.

The Beach and Swimmers at La Jolla Cove

What Can You Do at La Valencia Hotel?

La Valencia is a bit closer to La Jolla Cove than Grande Colonial by about five minutes, as well as closer to the San Diego International Airport (SAN).

It also offers live music at the hotel every weekend and is one of La Jolla’s only hotels with beachfront access.

Kids Love The Children's Pool in La Jolla

Things to Do at Grande Colonial La Jolla

Grande Colonial also offers a solid menu of onsite options from in-room massages to a fitness center to bike rentals for cruising around La Jolla.

For my money, the location to the beaches doesn’t get any better with La Jolla Cove and the Children’s Pool just steps away.

It’s also worth mentioning that the restaurants and stores of La Jolla Village are some of the best in San Diego are right around the corner.

Winner? Yet Another Tie

With both hotels offering such diverse and distinctly different things to do from one another, we simply couldn’t choose between the two.

Both are winners in our book!

Now that we’ve explored the lobbies, pools, and what’s around the hotels, let’s now explore an adult favorite: food and drinks!

Bartender Making Drinks at La Valencia Hotel

A Look at La Valencia Hotel’s Dining Options

La Valencia is one of La Jolla’s historic hotels with two onsite bars, La Sala and The Whaling bar, with the second one dating back to 1949 (and a personal favorite of mine when I come and visit).

There is also a restaurant onsite called the Mediterranean Room that has great views of the ocean, and of course, excellent food!

Bar at Nine Ten Restaurant at the Grande Colonial La Jolla

The Grande Colonial La Jolla’s Food & Drink Options

The Grande Colonial has an attached award-winning lobby bar called NINE-TEN Restaurant & Bar. It is a great bar to get a drink and a bite to eat and I’d highly recommend it.

Lobby Bar at La Valencia Hotel

The Best On-Site Food & Drink Options: La Valencia Hotel

While I love the bars and restaurants at each hotel, I just can’t get enough of the history that drips from The Whaling Bar at La Valencia. Not only is the atmosphere better than what’s offered at the Grande Colonial, but so is the food in my opinion as well.

So the winner of this round is La Valencia.

Ocean and Pool View at La Valencia Hotel

With an excellent poolside experience, a large variety of activities to do, both onsite and offsite, a great pet-friendly stay, and an exceptional historic bar to drink and dine at, La Valencia Hotel is our overall pick for the hotel to select between these two La Jolla heavy weights!

Overall Winner: La Valencia Hotel