Cardiff by the Sea Lodge

Wow! What a beautiful place to stay! So unique. Each room has a different theme. Gorgeous Ocean views… Go to the top floor & sit in the jacuzzi or sit on the patio & enjoy the view & ocean breeze.
The staff is very professional & friendly. Definitely must return!

This place is a pit and complete waste of money — it’s old, run down, falling apart, dusty, dirty, gross, etc. Not worth even one star!

Wonderful stay here! Rooms are so much fun! Uniquely decorated and wonderful views! Front desk associates were so very friendly … Check in and check out! Thank you for an amazing time!

Main reason for the 4 stars is because each of the three staff members we meet & spoke with we’re absolutely wonderful. That were super nice & VERY helpful. We had a couple minor issues but they were overly accommodating. The owners are very lucky. Otherwise it would of been a 2 – 3 star because price doesn’t justify it.
Now the hotel itself… It’s clean, No bad smells, by a great pizza place as well as by an awesome health food place. The rooms do need considerable updates! Lots of little things that are a bit out of the norm for a hotel of this price.
In our first room… Outlets are loose. Not really any internet. The décor is themed, but it’s ehhh. The sink & toilet are tiny & low, chips in the ceiling paint, full, not queen bed, weird see through no privacy shutter bathroom doors.
Water pressure is great & hot.
Our second room… it was a little better. Apparently it was an upgrade we were given because they didn’t have the original room ready on time. It had a better view. They didn’t charge us, but the normal price is again a bit too much. Décor & room items still outdated & in need of minor fixing.
The second absolutely wonderful thing about this hotel is the roof top patio, fire pit & Jacuzzi. It’s wonderfully decorated with a variety of pots & plants.
I believe they are waiting for city approvals to completely remodel this place. Mother drawing mock ups in the lobby look great. I’d love to come back after that to check it out.

I love this lodge! Tucked perfectly in the coast, you’re treated to lovely views of the ocean from the gorgeous sky deck. They have lovely rooms with different themes. My favorite is called Reflection and there are mirrors EVERYWHERE! I absolutely love it.
They have complimentary coffee in the morning. The overall ambiance is very peaceful and relaxing. You can walk to a few shops and restaurants and also a ⁷⁄₁₁ which always seems to come on handy.
My only complaint is the there is no microwave in the room. But that wouldn’t stop me from staying here. I love it here, my new favorite get away!

We fell in love with this hotel. I had a great experience when making the reservation. The girl was so friendly and helpful. I was so excited to go on a vacation. We drove up to this cute little place and we immediately impressed. Upon our check in, we met Johnson who showed us to our adorable room and helped carry our luggage up. He was very friendly and made us feel very at home. Our entire stay was made extremely special by the staff. We were already planning our next trip while we were there. We love this hotel and thank so much to the staff for everything. Simply amazing.

I just wanted to let everyone know how great Cardiff by the Lodge was. It is in the best location to spend a relaxing weekend. Just walking distance to the beach, and great food. But a special thanks to Johnson the manager, he was awesome, he really made our stay excellent, he was always super accommodating. We highly recommend Cardiff by the Lodge to our family and friends.

So sweet and so accommodating. We have a very cute, quaint room (the French Room) for our mini vacation after our wedding. Honeymoon is in October. We asked for towels for the rooftop jacuzzi, and before we had changed to our bathing suites, they had already started up the bubbles on the jacuzzi. A few minutes before sunset, the front desk gal came up and started the fireplace on the roof. While we were waiting for sunset, we were able to see Dolphins swimming right off of the coast. They also offered us a wine key and champagne glasses upon learning we were newlyweds.
As far as room goes, it is pretty large for San Diego area, comfy bed, extra pillows (a must for me) and very French (as advertised). Short walk to the beach, several stores and some delicious eateries. While there is definitely a bit of aging character to the hotel, I would rather stay in a small, local owned joint with character than a predictable chain any day. Breakfast and coffee in the lobby were an unexpected surprise. Can’t wait until I get to stay in my next themed room on our next SoCal trip!

This place needs a serious reno. After looking at several rooms, we settled on the one that smelled the least. It also had no door on the bathroom! You could see the toilet from the bed in the bathroom mirror which was totally weird. Our key was very difficult to use. Yes, key. Like actual key. But the worst part was «breakfast». A couple bagels were hiding under the package of 2 English muffins left in the bag. A couple yogurts swimming in water, not ice. No creamers for the coffee and crumbs and dirty dishes everywhere. When I asked the girl who was busy texting behind the counter if there were bananas, she replied «oopsy!» And brought out 4 brown ones. It was fairly disgusting and for the price we paid (about 250 a night) very embarrassing to say the least. Please think again before staying here. We won’t be back.

The staff was friendly at the property but seemed understaffed. The jacuzzi was broken on Valentines day and frankly dirty. We should have looked at it before hand, but we put on our suits and went up there so we had time before dinner. Once the staff could get a minute to check on it (30 minutes after we reported it being ice cold) she dumped chemicals in it and said wait an hour to an hour and a half. This is not a negative comment on the staff she was extremely nice and even offered to get us something to drink as they do not have a vending machine on site. She did all she could with the tools available to her.
In the room it was unique, I kinda liked the tropical theme of the paradise room but the bathtub would not drain. When taking a shower you were standing in 3ft of water. The breakfast was a joke, to say it was a continental breakfast is a real stretch. I had a yogurt cup and an apple, but I guess you could have had an English muffin still in the package from the grocery store…
The hotel was quite and the location is awesome but needs new management. I called before writing this review to give them the chance to make it right, but her comment to me was that she did not feel they overcharged? Then said the holiday inn express was $ 600 a night on Valentines day, which I doubt if bought in advance maybe day of, however it’s irrelevant as not once did I mention the cost of the room as I felt it was very reasonable but please don’t market key features like a rooftop jacuzzi if you can’t keep it in operation.
I would have expected some gesture for us to stay in the future when the jacuzzi is working not for free but maybe an upgrade or something, I just was told I could have stayed at the holiday inn express for more?!? Lame. It’s ok, it’s not all bad but I would not put it on your list of places you want to check out.

Such a wonderful place! We stayed in The Southwestern room. Great view. Wonderful continental breakfast. Very cute.

Upon looking at a few gorgeous pictures of the hotel, we decided to book this place via HotelTonight.
Upon check in, Travis led us to our room — Room 107 — Cullen Room… pretty sure the worst room at the inn. Once he opened up the room for us, I immediately asked if he can upgrade us or put us in another room. He said he could for additional cost and also said they are pretty much close to being booked. He then said he can check and let us know while walking away while telling us this. Pretty rude. Anyway, what he said was pretty much lies, didn’t hear from the guy after. It’s not hard to look at the inns website to find out which rooms are booked or available. There were probably about half the inn’s rooms available upon checking.
Another review on here was also about the Cullen room. If you get that room, you are pretty much screwed. it is VERY old, smells, carpet was dirty, dust sat on top of everything, bed literally 4 feet off the ground and yes the bed does have a huge dip in the middle of the bed. Saw bugs crawling the restroom in the middle of the night. If I could give this room zero stars or even negative, I would.
The only good side of the inn is the view upstairs at the rooftop garden. However, everything is pretty old. Flowers seem dead, paint peeling everywhere. Didn’t go into the jacuzzi as there was another couple but did sit and enjoy the sunset at the fire pit.
This inn really needs a facelift and inn keeper really needs to work on their customer service to make their guests feel welcomed. If there are other rooms available, why not upgrade them to a better room to make your guests have a enjoyable stay?

Our neighborhood is on fire. We had a mandatory evacuation this morning, it happened so fast we escaped with minimal belongings and our two small dogs. In attempting to find a place to settle down for the night and watch the news documenting the Carlsbad Fire (hoping we don’t see our house) we were able to snag a room here, not realizing they didn’t accept dogs.
Calling to plead our case given our extreme circumstances, asking to speak with the manager, and being told she stepped out and then being hung up on… well. Let’s just say that if you tell them your house is on fire, they don’t care about you even then.
EDIT: We were contacted at 12:41 AM by the manager via email with apologies and now stating that they would accept dogs. Too little, too late.

Thoroughly enjoyed my stay. Excellent service. Amazing rooftop. Can’t beat the location. The room was clean and met all my needs… even a mini fridge.
The bathroom could use a door, since I liked to leave the windows in my room open but had to close them every time I had to use the restroom.

Great room, fire place and comfy couch to relax in front of the fire.
Great breakfast area facing the ocean.
Cozy and cute!
Service staff could be friendlier. I felt they were cold and not really hospitable. I would have given them a five if the staff were friendlier.

I stayed there three days last month, and it was the most amazing hotel that I’ve ever been to.
The location is perfect, it only takes you 2 – 3 mins to walk to the beach. The 7-​eleven is right across the street, and many restaurants are located within 5 mins drive.
The room is nice and clear, and each room has a different theme. My room was the mirror theme, there is a lot of mirror in the room, and I really like it.
Also they offer free breakfast, and the rooftop has a JACUZZI! I have to say that I don’t want to leave there…
And for sure, I will visit there again!

A getaway at the Cardiff Lodge was just what my family and I needed.
WHAT WE LIKED:
Staff was very friendly and helpful, especially Chris and Susie. They fulfilled every request we had, including a DVD player for our kids to watch movie.
Other reviewers I read were down on the complimentary breakfast, but my wife, two-​year old, and I all loved it. Fresh fruit, yogurt, hard-​boiled eggs, bagels, coffee. What else do you need?
Each room is themed differently, which speaks of creativity and care. The room didn’t have the pristine, sterile feel of a hotel, but more like a guest room in someone’s house.
This place has a spectacular view of the Cardiff beach from its rooftop. Great for stargazing too. Not to mention, the rooftop itself has a firepit, jacuzzi, and tables for guests’ enjoyment.
Underground parking! If you’re there off season, no problems finding a spot.
Finally, there is a generous discount for licensed ministers, which we took advantage of.
CONS:
The rooms are great, and we made it work with two small kids. However, at least the smaller rooms are probably not ideal for families with kids. And there are lots of stairs around the place, so keep an eye on the active ones.
All in all, we definitely plan to be back.

Great location!
Great views!
Charming vintage beach B&B.
Cute rooftop and nice jacuzzi!
Breakfast was great, albeit simple but great anyways. Fruit, yogurt, oatmeal packets + hot water, you know a standard continental breakfast.
The rooms were clean and service was great, they brought us a bucket of ice, a wine opener and two wine glasses upon request. Very helpful!
Each room was themed. It gets kitchsy cheesy décor really really quickly. My biggest complaint was there was no door on the bathroom?! Really I don’t think I’ll ever be to that point in a relationship where I can pee with the bathroom door open. Plus there were mirrors everywhere in the bathroom so there really was NO privacy. A little weird.

My first experience here, trying to make a reservation, was not so good and I tried to get a refund from Groupon. Groupon would not cooperate, even though the lodge would.
So, we went for a two night stay, expecting the worst.
The place is lovely. The room was large. There are gardens all around. And the architecture reminded me of a treehouse. It would be fun for kids to run around, though I didn’t see any kids there.
The breakfast was fantastic for a continental breakfast.
My only suggestion is that they stop trying to upgrade people who bought the groupon. Maybe they could just offer the groupon rates to everyone and not give groupon a cut.
I would definately go back.

Well we have called 4 times and each time the woman who answers the phone has a great excuse why she can’t talk.
We stayed there and it was ok.