Despite the chilly weather, went down to Carlsbad for a quick trip. I was not able to get a big enough room at the
Hilton Grand Vacations Club at Mar Brisa. The group was spread out between the
Westin Carlsbad Resort and Spa and the Hilton.
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Westin Carlsbad King Room
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| Hilton Grand Vacations Club MarBrisa |
Both hotels are essentially across from each other separated by a parking lot. The room location in the Hilton (inside the Cove neighborhood) meant it was a five minute walk to get to the Westin. When I visited the Concierge, I was given a discount card for all the restaurants in the area including those in the Westin and Sheraton. It makes me think that the three hotels are franchised by the same hotel group. I later found out that the Legoland operator does own all the hotels within the complex. Parking everywhere is about $25 a day except if you are a HGVC owner. That appears to be the only exemption from the parking fees.
In my last stay at the Hilton, I was not near the private entrance to
Legoland but was able to get a shuttle over. In this stay, I'm right next to the entrance which makes it easier to wander into the theme park. I made plenty of use of my annual pass purchase from Costco!
For dinner, I opted to stay close and ate at 20|Twenty inside the Westin. I was really impressed with the quality of food and service. It was on point and quick. Not cheap but if you check in on Yelp you can get a 20% discount OR, if you are staying at the Hilton, you can get a 15% discount.
The next day, I used all my breakfast vouchers for the group at 20|Twenty. The breakfast was pretty tasty, a little slower in service but I did enjoy the bottomless mimosas. Of note, there is a two hour limit on the bottomless mimosa. On menu, there are beignets in name only as they really are donut holes stuffed with chocolate. Tasty but not what I'd call beignets.
Spent the day at
Legoland. I'm still impressed with the churro cart with chocolate dipping sauce near the food court. The pizza is also pretty good in Ninjango land. The family deal is $37 and includes three personal pizzas, two salads and four drinks which can't be beat. I went on the new ride, Deep Sea, and found it entertaining. I liked the mix of lego animals and real fish swimming around. It is similar to the Nemo ride at Disneyland but better.
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| Legoland Deep Sea entrance |
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| Legoland Deep Sea |
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| Legoland Deep Sea |
Dinner was at
264 Fresco. Overall, the food was good but the service was spotty. The lag in times were too much. We had two tables turn over around us before we could get food. They did try but it wasn't impressive especially compared to the Westin. Pricing was similar as well which also made 264 even less impressive. The restaurant is also on the list of discounts for Hilton guests but the percentage is less (10%). I wouldn't mind returning but I'd rather go to 20|Twenty for the same price point.
On the last day, breakfast was at
Toast Gastrobrunch. It was a cute spot and not too far from the hotel. The house specialty, coconut pistachio kanafee, was interesting but not something I would get again. Overall, the food was good as the group ordered pancakes, benedicts, and omelettes.
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