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San Diego California for Some Pampering, Animal Adventures and LEGO Fun
The La Costa Resort and Spa, San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park along with
LEGOLAND California offered a family vacation that brought something
special for each member of our family.
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The desire to showcase a world-class Spa Resort,
especially with the popularity of spa vacations, led us to think
that maybe we could combine a spa resort vacation with a family
vacation. To do that, we needed to find a Resort that catered
to families, had nearby family attractions and offered the best in spa
and resort facilities.
We had found what we were looking for at La Costa Resort and Spa,
located in Carlsbad California. Our older son had always wanted to visit the San
Diego Zoo while our 10 year old son is an avid "Legomaniac".
Nearby LEGOLAND
California and the Zoo tipped the scales and La Costa Resort and Spa got the
nod for our first
www.hotelfun4kids.com "Visit..." to a Spa.
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La Costa first drew my attention when it was picked by the Travel
Channel as one of the Top 10 Fun Family Resorts. Just north of
San Diego, the Resort's new $12 million Spa at La Costa, part of a multi-million dollar makeover, combined with 2 historic world-class
golf courses peaked both mine and my husband's interest as a
resort spa destination. The test was to see if the resort would
fit into a family vacation and that's what we set out to do.
La Costa Resort and Spa
Originally
opened in the 1960's, La Costa is in the midst of a 140 million dollar 2
phase renovation and every part of the resort has received special
attention to detail, recreating a world class luxury resort.
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The Spanish-colonial buildings
have been lovingly restored to a graciousness that has become integral to the whole La Costa experience. |
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Our suite, one of La Costa's 474 newly renovated
guest rooms, featured a king bed with a separate seating area, giving us plenty of room to spread out. |
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Luxury is just part of what is La Costa. The whirlpool tub and
bathroom amenities, including the signature coco mango scented bath gel,
made taking a bath pure indulgence.
In fact, we enjoyed the La Costa special blend shampoos and
amenities so much we had to buy some in the gift shop to bring home with us. |
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The Resort's family pool features a zero entry beach area and a family
hot tub. A water play area will be added soon. The family pool
is located beside the main pool overlooking one of the two golf courses. |
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Currently housed in one of the
original La Costa Bungalows, Camp La Costa offers year round supervised
activities for ages 5-12 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm daily with a night-time
program on Friday and Saturday from 6:00 to 10:00 pm. Babysitting
services for children under five can be arranged.
Coming soon is a brand new
Children's Club to be located in the main clubhouse. Summer
programming will also feature new adventure activities for teens.
Additional resort features
include a new 8,000 square foot high-tech fitness center with spectacular
views of the two top quality PGA Championship 18 hole golf courses.
The Tennis Pro Shop and Racquet Club offers 21 grass, clay and hard
courts so that we had a chance to play some sets one morning in the glorious
California sun. |
The Spa at La Costa
In 1965 La Costa Resort became the
first in the US to introduce a full service spa as part of its amenities
and it's fitting that this resort becomes the first "SPA VISIT" by
www.hotelfun4kid.com. Just entering the 28,000 square foot
facility put me in relaxing frame of mind.
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I was able to tour some of the Spa's 42 treatment rooms, boutique, salon
and café before enjoying a pedicure in the
salon. There is also an outdoor sunbathing relaxation area with
private pool. |
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For even more rejuvenating experiences guests can take advantage of the
services available at the resort's world-renowned Chopra Center. |
San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park
A family vacation to San Diego would
not be complete without a visit to the world-famous San Diego Zoo. Yet we
wanted to discover why this Zoo garners such praise and attention.
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Located on 100 acres just north
of the City's downtown, the Zoo is home to many rare and endangered animals
housed in habitat inspired enclosures.
We were treated to the polar bears
plunging, laughing hyenas eating and turtles playing chicken, at least we
thought they were - its hard to tell.
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exceptional feature of this Zoo was the ability for children to get close up
views of the animals in their natural environments. |
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Here our younger son gets close-up
and personal with a mom and baby hippo.
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All the animal enclosures offer
accessible glimpses into animal lives that is rarely seen - the
elephants love to play with new toys - apparently breaking them is the goal.
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| One of the most popular attractions during our visit was the Panda
Discovery Center, one of only four in the United States. |
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We were treated to a mealtime display as one of the resident giant
pandas enjoyed some bamboo. One of our zoo tips is to visit this exhibit
early in the day to avoid crowds and see lively pandas. |
Here are some more Hotel Fun 4 Kids Tips
for a great family day at the San Diego Zoo:
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Arrive
early - animals are most active in the cool of the morning.
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If you
are visiting with young children, visit the Children's Zoo section first.
This is a great place for younger children to get up close and personal with the
animals in a more child themed area. Going here first lets children
experience this area before becoming too tired to enjoy it.
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Take the
Guided Bus Tour. It's a big zoo and the tour lets you see many areas that
you may not walk to. We choose to walk the areas not visited by the
bus first, then took the bus around after our feet were tired.
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Same goes
for the Skyfari Aerial Tram. Its a great way to get to the Polar Bear
Plunge.
| Located approximately 23 miles to the north is the San Diego Zoo's Wild
Animal Park. Nestled in the San Pasqual Valley, this innovative
facility took us to the heart of the distant Plains of Africa and Asia.
Originally started as a place where the zoo could help increase the
population of rare animals, the park opened to the public in 1972 and has
since offered rare insights into far off continents and their animal
inhabitants. |
| The Elephant Show is a must see. Just how strong these animals
are and how fickle too, (really they run the show not the trainers, if you
asked us) was interesting to see up close. |
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| The five mile Wgasa Bush Line Railway is a 1 hour tour around the
outside of the open plains area of the Park. |
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The train is a great way to see the vastness of the park and get a real feel
of the open savannah. The mom and baby Rhino drew ohhs and ahhs
from all the passengers. |
Other highlights of the Wild Animal
Park include:
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Dino
Island 3D - a robotic exhibit of life-size proportions.
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Scheduled
to open in the fall of 2004 - The Lion Exhibit - a 1 acre habitat that lets
visitors get closer to these predators than ever before.
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Heart of
Africa is a 32 acre walking safari with an opportunity to feed giraffes.
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Petting
Kraal - great for younger visitors
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Photo
Caravans - for a really intimate adventure reserve this special experience.
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Condor
Ridge.
| Our visit showed us why the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park are a
must experience for families visiting southern California. For
our oldest son especially, it was an animal adventure that will never be
forgotten. |
LEGOLAND California
| If you have a "Legomaniac" in the house, as we do, LEGOLAND
California, featuring more than 50 rides, shows and attractions themed
around these timeless and timely building blocks, is an attraction like no other. |
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| LEGOLAND California is geared towards children ages 2 to 12 and their
families with 6 different zones to explore. The park expands on the popularity of
the Lego and Duplo line of building toys with life-size features. |
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Stephen never thought that he would actually drive his own gas powered Lego Car.
He even received his official LEGOLAND Driver's Licence. The
Driving School is for kids 6-12 and there is a junior driving school for ages 3-6. |
| Knights Kingdom was a dream come true for our little swordsman. We
just couldn't leave this area without a little shopping after our ride on
The Dragon. One of LEGOLAND California's coasters, The Dragon
weaves its way in and out of a medieval castle and through a haunted forest. |
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The most fascinating part of the Park for us as parents had to be the amazing
structures that are duplicated in Miniland USA. There are over 20
million bricks recreating 5 US Cities and Regions. The detail is
incredible. No pictures here - you have to see this part for yourself
to believe it. |
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Last but not least what every child wants to do at LEGOLAND California -
IMAGINE, BUILD AND PLAY. The Imagination Zone has a Build and Test,
Duplo area and more for kids of all ages. |
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To have had the opportunity to let our "Legomaniac" live his fantasy at
LEGOLAND California was just one of our VISIT highlights. |
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Well we did it!
We proved that a spa vacation at La Costa Resort and Spa is a
great Family Vacation too!!! This VISIT showed that a holiday
can have something special for each member of the family and be fun
for everyone.
La Costa Resort and Spa offers a special LEGOLAND Package that
includes accommodations, buffet breakfast for two adults and 1 child*
and three one-day tickets to LEGOLAND California. *Additional
Child options available. Restrictions do apply. |
For more information on Family Attractions go to
San Diego Family
Attractions
For more information on Hotels and Resorts go to
San Diego Hotels and Resorts
www.hotelfun4kids.com"Visits
..." is an unique opportunity that encourages you to ask us
questions about the Visit location. Go to www.hotelfun4kids.com/contactus.htm
to submit your question and we will do our best to answer
it. By
Maureen Hall
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