Carlsbad Family Travel Guide! Where to Stay And What To Do
Carlsbad, CA is such a beautiful coastal, Southern Californian destination that it really should be on your travel bucket list. From the South Bay area like in the Palos Verdes Penninsula where we live, it’s an easy 1.5 hour drive making it perfect for us to easily drive to for a weekend getaway. And it has lots of family-friendly attractions that make it totally worth the excursion. Read on for my guide on where to stay, and what to do while there!
WHERE TO STAY
The Sheraton Carlsbad Resort and Spa proved to be the perfect home away from home. We were hosted there this past spring break and were quite impressed with their roomy suite. 
We couldn’t ask for anything more as a family of 3 but this extra large hotel room could have comfortably accommodated a family of 5.
It included a King sized bed, a separate room with 2 twin beds, a lounge area in between the two, a balcony overlooking sunset every evening, 3 TVs, a bathroom with separate bath/shower/toilet area, and your other typical 4star amenities in the room (fridge, conditioner, coffee station, wifi etc). What surprised us besides the 3 in-room TVs were the complimentary gelato certificates, fun pool slide and the fact that our key could unlock the neighboring Westin hotel’s facilities. With our one hotel key, we had access to 2 gyms, 2 pools, a beautiful spa, and 2 restaurants and lounge areas. I loved that!
We found that the 4 star ranking here was well-deserved. The grounds were immaculate and the grand palm tree lined, floral entrance was wow-worthy and would make any jaded traveler excited upon arrival. The receptionists were SO friendly and helpful, and our server, Anna at The 7 Mile Kitchen, (the gorgeous indoor/outdoor restaurant on – site) made us feel so at home. We especially loved the 7 Mile Kitchen. 
Everything tasted so good there that we insisted on having two of our family friends come join us for a meal there. It’s such a beautiful and family – friendly atmosphere with kids’ menus, crayons, heat lamps for the outdoor area, and good old American fare.
I also appreciated that the hotel had a Starbucks on-site too which allowed for a quick grab and go breakfast for our busy days out. Speaking of…
WHAT TO DO
Besides hitting their fabulous restaurant, pool and spa on-site, you might want to venture off property and check out all that Carlsbad has to offer! Here is our top list for a weekend getaway in Carlsbad:
1). Legoland. You can walk to Legoland from The Sheraton Carlsbad Resort and Spa! What a perk! 
2). The flower fields and the outlets are next to one another and like 6 minutes away from the hotel. Shopping and flowers?? Yes please!! Plus this flower field is amazingly popular with the kids.
They’ve thought of everything from engaging scavenger hunts, to gem mining, to an insanely Instagramable playground to the most colorful tractor ride the kids will ever take.
3). The beach and (city highlight) Carlsbad Village are just about a mile away. And the hotel provides complimentary trolley transportation to/from! The colorful architecture, and beachside, mom and pop stores and restaurants are really quite charming and worth the visit! 
And the beach, well it’s as glorious as you’d imagine from a Californian beach!
4). golfing (The Crossings at Carlsbad Golf Course) is right by the hotel.
5). San Diego is also just about 35-40 minutes away, so you can also easily access all that San Diego has to offer. 
(Think the San Diego zoo, the Safari Park, Sesame Place, Balboa Park and museums)
All in all, we highly recommend visiting Carlsbad and the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort and Spa. 
We hope you enjoy your future trip there and hope that this list gave you some great starting points for planning that trip! Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment telling me what your favorite place to visit in Carlsbad is if you’ve been or what you’d most look forward to from this list if you’ve never been!
