I was a little nervous booking this hotel but overall we had a good stay. The rooms definitely show their age and need renovation, but the beds were comfortable and the location was fantastic. There is a deck on the roof with tables, chairs and a grill. This was a great feature for us to enjoy a bottle of wine and watch the sunset. The owner was very friendly and accommodating. Be sure to request the queen room on the 3rd floor, which has an extra set of windows and is adjacent to the roof deck. This room seemed to be more updated, and much brighter and quieter.

but this lodge is very pet friendly and welcomed our 70 lb bulldog mix for an extra $20. The hotel is friendly and funky. What we liked the best was the feel of being in the real La Jolla and not on the tourist strip. Location is easy walking distance to galleries, shops, beach and restaurants and the owner's are happy to recommend their favorites. (Try Cafe Uropa for b,l or d. Great food at good prices and music on Fri night). Free parking but had to drive to Ocean Beach for a day at the beach with our dog. La Jolla doesn't really have any place for dogs to run without a leash. Some folks recommended the dog beach at North Beach in Del Mar, but dogs have to be on a leash there. OB seemed to have a more gentle surf and lots of friendly dogs and owners. Our dog appreciated the chance to run in and out of the surf without a leash.

I have never written a review before but I use tripadvisor.com religiously so I think it's only fair that I share my opinion.

Just to give you an idea of who this review is coming from, we are an upper-middle class family of 2 adults and an 18 and 16 year old from NY. We hate pretentious places and are not picky (have stayed at holiday inns and best westerns) We don't need super contemporary furniture or someone following us asking us if we need anything. All we expect is a clean room, a good location, and basic amenities.

Now, La Jolla Village Lodge has the friendliest staff! We arrived late and the woman at the front desk knew exactly who we were, offered to recommend a few restaurants with kitchens open late, etc. She showed us a map of the area and said that she has beach chairs and towels for us and that the beach is just 2 blocks away. We went for a stroll to check out the beach and.... it was not the BEACH! La Jolla Village Lodge is 2 blocks away from the cove which is nice to visit but definitely not somewhere you go to relax amidst the sand and waves. And, this hotel does not have a pool so that's not an option either.

Our room was pretty filthy. This is a pet friendly hotel so I'm sure that had something to do with it. The rug was stained and the bed linen was really rough. We also saw a little roach underneath the bed. The room decoration was horrendous but who really cares? The table had a glass top that wasn't attached... thereby making it useless and utterly impossible to put anything on it without moving the entire glass top. There was also a window in the bathroom that made everything visible to whoever walked by.... However, there was a microwave and mini-fridge. The AC worked well. BUT do not even try to get an internet connection here! It was abysmal and seriously frustrating when we tried to switch hotels.

The free breakfast consisted of frozen bagels (and not even based on a NY opinion) I would have rather not been offered a breakfast because I was continuously disappointed.

I would recommend this hotel for someone who is on a very tight budget, is driving down and appreciates the free parking, is staying in La Jolla for only a night or two and wants to see the village and coves rather than relax on the real beach (La Jolla Shores Beach) which is 1.5 miles away! And dont try driving there because parking around there is horrid (again coming from someone who parks in NYC for free)

One of the people in our family is very frugal and opted to pay 200 dollars more a night to move to the La Jolla Shores Hotel which allowed for us to have a relaxing vacation and see La Jolla the right way (and was not pretentious at all)

Although La Jolla Village Lodge staff are super friendly, you forget their smiling faces as soon as you walk into your room! If you are on a budget, dont stay here, go to Mexico.

La Jolla Village Lodge isn't for the snooty, pretentious, look at me crowd (thank god). It has real people who run it and make you feel like out of town family guests. No corporate rules and regulations with the "screw you we are here to make money attitude" that you'll find at most places these days in coastal California.

We booked a ground floor room so we could bring our our 90lb American Bulldog with us and he was welcomed with out hesitation. The property was well cared for and clean. The room was nicely decorated, it had a king size bed, nice plasma tv, microwave, mini fridge, coffee pot, and a small cafe style table to sit at. The bathroom was a bit small and more counter space may be desired by some, but it certainly wouldn't deter us from staying again. The decks on the 2nd and 3rd floors are nice and provide a nice place to sit with out having to be in the room. All be it limited, the morning continental breakfast had tasty items and made for a good start to the day.

From the hotel/motel/lodge it's a short few block walk to just about everything La Jolla has to offer. Our dog was a welcomed guest at restaurants recommended by the staff and thus he went everywhere we did.

All in all, a great couple days and we will go back as soon as our schedule permits.