This Best Western is probably the best hotel for its price in La Jolla. The room rates are very reasonable, especially given its location right in the heart of La Jolla, within blocks of the beach and all of the most desirable eating and shopping areas. The rooms are simple, but perfectly nice and with cute seaside-themed decor. Many of the rooms have decks and ocean views, and are still reasonably priced. Both breakfast and parking are included in the price, making it an even better deal for your money.

The hotel staff is also extremely helpful and kind. We had the unfortunate experience of being there for the occasion of a funeral, but they made every effort to make our experience as pleasant as possible. They offered us a special rate, and extended it to family and any others associated with our party.

I highly recommend this hotel for anyone on a budget in La Jolla.

If my wife and I had been looking for a luxurious hotel experience we'd have stayed at La Valencia. However, our plan was to spend time everywhere but the hotel except to sleep so we looked for a hotel that met only two criteria: 1) it had to be in the Village of La Jolla within a short walk to everywhere - the ocean, shops on Prospect, Girard St. etc.; 2) it had to be relatively inexpensive.

In that respect, the Best Western Inn by the Sea fit the bill and we were just fine with it.

On the upside:
- Location, location, location. I can't overstate that.
- Friendly and helpful desk staff
- Good cleaning staff. Timely, thorough.
- Breakfast was good.
- Free wi-fi and two bottles of water each day.

On the downside:
- The rate we got was for a first-floor room with a patio. Ours was adjacent to the pool and the breakfast room was next to the pool. Nobody used the pool and we usually left the room before heavy breakfast traffic and noise started so it wasn't an issue for us.

- Other parts of the hotel may have been renovated but ours was not. The room could use fresh paint as could the hallway leading to it. The bathroom fixtures could be replaced. The inside of the dresser smelled a little musty, although we didn't need to use it.

- My wife thought the beds were too hard but I didn't mind them at all.

- The TV is HD capable but the signal is not, and most of the channels are all infomercials anyway.

Neither up nor down: parking costs $12 day and is a hassle, but that's how it is in La Jolla. It's nice just to have a place to park that's not on the street.

Bottom line - would I stay there again? If my needs were the same, sure. I'd also check it out again if I wanted something more, based on people's positive reviews of the renovated rooms, assuming I can get one higher up.

Another reviewer mentioned that the rooms were refurbished....when....1980? We have stayed at many BWs and I can tell you that this property was a big disappointment. We used points for one of the two nights' stay and paid for the next. We asked for a top floor and were assured we'd have one....nope! But the one thing; aside from the lack of attention this property has received over the years; that really iced the cake was ......the left side of the bed was worn down so it felt like I was going to roll off onto the floor all night. The pillows were not good either. Nothing worse then not being able to get a good nights sleep. Will not be back to this location.

Spent our last five nights there as we found La Jolla an ideal spot for visiting the San Diego area. Afterwards was surprised to see some negative comments , but then realised these are from before the total refurbishment. Concur with all the positive reviews and found hotel well run. Comfortable, rooms with balconies , best to get floor 4 /5 . Apparently many rooms do have microwave/fridge so just a question of specifying on check in. Great value at around $130 / night given the area.