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Omni San Diego
Six words that describe my weekend at the Omni San Diego: baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and lemonade. OK, make that lemon water (out by the pool).
That’s what you get when you spend a weekend at a four-star hotel that just happens to be connected to the Padres baseball team’s home field (PetCo Park) via a walking bridge.
I’ve stayed at the Omni before. San Diego’s Gas Lamp District is my absolute favorite weekend getaway destination, and I’d rather stay at the Omni than pretty much anywhere else. The accommodations are modern and luxe. It’s right across from the convention center and steps away from all of the great restaurants and shops that make the area such a fun place to visit.
But I’ve never gone to a Padres game. And that was the sole purpose of this particular jaunt down south. (The hotel’s All-American Baseball Package includes two tickets to a Padres game and apple pie delivered to your room. You also get free valet parking and breakfast. Not too bad for $249 a night.)
Don’t get me wrong. I’m an Angels fan through and through. But it never hurts to spy on the competition, right?
We booked our stay while the Baltimore Orioles were in town. My husband and I skipped out of work a little early on Friday and headed down to catch the evening opener. We had time before the game, so we relaxed in the lobby lounge and watched the throngs of blue T-shirt-clad baseball fans walk past the Omni’s ginormous floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall windows on their way to the long line at the stadium entrance right next door. We lingered until just a few minutes before the scheduled start. Then we walked a few steps to the staircase that took us to the bridge, which led us to a second-floor gate, where we were greeted by a smiling ticket-taker and immediately directed to our seats. We didn’t have to wait – not even for a minute. (Oh, how I love special treatment.)
The stadium itself is beautiful. Its sandstone façade sports modern architecture, with a palm-tree-lined courtyard at the main entrance. Inside the stadium, there’s an area for families – complete with a huge sandbox. After all, it is PetCo Park. Except the sandbox here is for kids.
After the game, we headed into the Gas Lamp District for a nightcap or two – OK, three. Since we were within walking distance of the hotel, we decided to embark on our own little bar crawl.
First at bat: Oceanaire Seafood Room. We make sure to stop in for a cocktail or dinner – or both – every time we’re in San Diego. This place knows how to shake up a classic martini with the best blue cheese-stuffed olives. My mouth waters just thinking about it. We’ll go there just for that. The seafood is darn good, too.
Next up: Lou & Mickey’s Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge. This is the perfect place to go after a game. There’s an expansive dining room and a good-size bar – all decorated with an early- to mid-20th-century vibe. The menu is pure Americana – steaks, chops and hearty appetizers like crab cakes and fried calamari. (Don’t worry, though, you’ll find some lighter options as well, like the seared rare yellowfin tuna.) To drink, I ordered a basic vodka tonic.
Rounding it out in third: McCormick & Schmicks, right inside the Omni. (It’s best to end a bar crawl close to home base.) I ordered a specialty black-salt margarita that I spotted on the menu. It was a home run.
The next day, after a quick workout in the hotel’s fitness center and a little pool-time, we ventured beyond the district border for lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant: Ortega’s. If you’ve ever been to Puerto Nuevo – that famous lobster village in Baja – then you may have dined at a sister restaurant. Puerto Nuevo is home to several Ortega’s restaurants – all owned by the same family. One of the brothers opened this particular bistro in the Hillcrest area several years ago. You can get the same fabulous Puerto Nuevo-style lobster, complete with handmade flour tortillas and beans. But there’s so much more to the menu. My new delicious discovery: Chicken Mole Enchiladas. To complement the meal, I ordered a Prickly Pear Margarita. I couldn’t have been more pleased. Both were addicting. In fact, we stopped there again the next day on our way home. It was a great way to end our stay.
Oh, and by the way, the Padres won that Friday night game 3-2, and the hot dogs were delicious.
Where: Omni San Diego, 675 L St., San Diego
Phone: 619.231.6664
Web: omnihotels.com
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That’s what you get when you spend a weekend at a four-star hotel that just happens to be connected to the Padres baseball team’s home field (PetCo Park) via a walking bridge. I’ve stayed at the Omni before. San Diego’s Gas Lamp District is my absolute favorite weekend getaway destination, and I’d rather stay at the Omni than pretty much anywhere else. The accommodations are modern and luxe. It’s right across from the convention center and steps away from all of the great restaurants and shops that make the area such a fun place to visit. But I’ve never gone to a Padres game. And that was the sole purpose of this particular jaunt down south. (The hotel’s All-American Baseball Package includes two tickets to a Padres game and apple pie delivered to your room. You also get free valet parking and breakfast. Not too bad for $249 a night.)Don’t get me wrong. I’m an Angels fan through and through. But it never hurts to spy on the competition, right? We booked our stay while the Baltimore Orioles were in town. My husband and I skipped out of work a little early on Friday and headed down to catch the evening opener. We had time before the game, so we relaxed in the lobby lounge and watched the throngs of blue T-shirt-clad baseball fans walk past the Omni’s ginormous floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall windows on their way to the long line at the stadium entrance right next door. We lingered until just a few minutes before the scheduled start. Then we walked a few steps to the staircase that took us to the bridge, which led us to a second-floor gate, where we were greeted by a smiling ticket-taker and immediately directed to our seats. We didn’t have to wait – not even for a minute. (Oh, how I love special treatment.) The stadium itself is beautiful. Its sandstone façade sports modern architecture, with a palm-tree-lined courtyard at the main entrance. Inside the stadium, there’s an area for families – complete with a huge sandbox. After all, it is PetCo Park. Except the sandbox here is for kids.After the game, we headed into the Gas Lamp District for a nightcap or two – OK, three. Since we were within walking distance of the hotel, we decided to embark on our own little bar crawl. First at bat: Oceanaire Seafood Room. We make sure to stop in for a cocktail or dinner – or both – every time we’re in San Diego. This place knows how to shake up a classic martini with the best blue cheese-stuffed olives. My mouth waters just thinking about it. We’ll go there just for that. The seafood is darn good, too. Next up: Lou & Mickey’s Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge. This is the perfect place to go after a game. There’s an expansive dining room and a good-size bar – all decorated with an early- to mid-20th-century vibe. The menu is pure Americana – steaks, chops and hearty appetizers like crab cakes and fried calamari. (Don’t worry, though, you’ll find some lighter options as well, like the seared rare yellowfin tuna.) To drink, I ordered a basic vodka tonic.Rounding it out in third: McCormick & Schmicks, right inside the Omni. (It’s best to end a bar crawl close to home base.) I ordered a specialty black-salt margarita that I spotted on the menu. It was a home run. The next day, after a quick workout in the hotel’s fitness center and a little pool-time, we ventured beyond the district border for lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant: Ortega’s. If you’ve ever been to Puerto Nuevo – that famous lobster village in Baja – then you may have dined at a sister restaurant. Puerto Nuevo is home to several Ortega’s restaurants – all owned by the same family. One of the brothers opened this particular bistro in the Hillcrest area several years ago. You can get the same fabulous Puerto Nuevo-style lobster, complete with handmade flour tortillas and beans. But there’s so much more to the menu. My new delicious discovery: Chicken Mole Enchiladas. To complement the meal, I ordered a Prickly Pear Margarita. I couldn’t have been more pleased. Both were addicting. In fact, we stopped there again the next day on our way home. It was a great way to end our stay.Oh, and by the way, the Padres won that Friday night game 3-2, and the hot dogs were delicious. Where: Omni San Diego, 675 L St., San Diego Phone: 619.231.6664 Web: omnihotels.com |
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