We've been to San Diego 3 out of the last 4 years. We love it down there. We have stayed at the Welk Resort all three times. We fell in love with it on our first "adults only" trip. We honestly did not know what to expect. We did an exchange with our timeshare, and it was available, so we gave it a shot. I must admit, my expectations really weren't that high. I remember some elderly family members talking about Lawrence Welk, and I kind of assumed the hotel would be dated. Boy was I wrong...so, so wrong!
It is located on 450 acres in the hills of Escondido, with two golf courses. The grounds are truly beautiful. The rooms have all the comforts of home. These are not your average hotel rooms. They are beautifully appointed luxury one to three bedroom suites and villas, complete with living room (with sofa sleeper), kitchen and dining areas. Many have washer and dryers. Some have fireplaces.
The rooms are just the beginning. The hotel amenities are out of this world, with 5 recreation areas, complete with at least one pool each, and at least one spa. Two of them even have water slides and splash pads, and one of them is an adults only area. The rec centers at each of the areas are all unique in their own way, specializing in specific things. You'll find a fitness center (with classes you can take), ping pong, pool tables, shuffleboard, horseshoes, volleyball, basketball, foosball, rock climbing wall, kids game room, fire pit (with s'mores nights), and more. You and the kids can hop on a computer, watch a movie, play with legos or with one of the board games they have.
They have a theatre with live shows, a mini-mart type store, and dining. There is one fine dining restaurant, a few snack shacks (sandwiches, burgers and more), and a Pizza Hut. They also do a couple BBQ nights, and an outdoor party complete with dinner. Just pick up some food at the Farmers Market (held onsite), drive down the road to the grocery store for supplies (or bring some food in ice chests with you) if you want to do some cooking. Forget your bathing suit? There's a store you can pick one up at.
But that's not all! They have an amazing activity schedule with classes, entertainment and parties. You truly could stay at this resort and not venture out to do local attractions. One night there was a band (with dancing), another night there was a great musician by the fire pit to listen to, and another there was Karaoke! We watched a movie by the pool one night at the Dive-In (some spent the entire movie in the pool). There was so much more we could have done in the evenings, like the Escape Room, Beer Tasting, and Mixology drink classes. They also have a San Diego Tour and Hollywood Tour you can sign up for.
The kids were not left out. They had classes for them, like the pizza making class the kids took, arts and crafts every day at one of the rec rooms, a spy class and so much more. We took a drone class and watched kids do a 3D printing class. We took a tie dye t-shirt and a candle making class. The list just goes on and on. You could make your own sundae or fish in the catch and release pond. They even have a music room with instruments you can play. They give you a complete schedule when you check in (and we were emailed the schedule ahead of time, so we were prepared).
This was our third time there. The first time we had no idea any of this was going on, and had our schedule packed full. I think we made it to the famers market. The second time, we utilized the pool and rec rooms, but still didn't take any classes. This time, I was determined to get in some of the activities and classes between our days out and about. I really want to go back again, and try more of what they offer.
As I mentioned, this was a trade through our timeshare, but you can book them without being with a timeshare. You can also buy timeshare "owners" weeks on sites like Redweek and ebay for usually less than the normal rental rate.
They are located at 8860 Lawrence Welk Dr Escondido CA 92026 (760)749-3000
