Play & Stay Deal at the Pearl Hotel, San Diego

The Pearl Hotel at Point Loma, near Downtown San Diego is a boutique with a strong personality and maintains a fun, easygoing environment for guests (especially poolside after sundown). The location - One block from San Diego Bay and 10 minutes from the Gaslamp Quarter - is excellent as a base camp for San Diego vacations. Best part of the deal is that the hotel is relatively cheap, when you compare the rates (starting from $153 at the Pearl) with other San Diego hotels.

But it gets better. If you think of yourself as lucky, you might want to give their 'Play & Stay' special a try. Way it works is pretty simple - You land up in person at their front desk after midnight, and you can book any available room for $79 (plus taxes). Now even if you compare that against their lowest standard rate, you end up saving $74 per night. And what do you have to do? Wait until after midnight to go in and get yourself a room.

Have to warn you, though. When there's a convention in progress, or something big, like Comic-Con or the SD County Fair, or a big Padres game at the ballpark, or even holidays like the 4th of July, it can become virtually impossible to get a room in the area at the last minute. So before you think about Play & Stay at the Pearl, you might want to check your calenders and San Diego event listings, and make sure you're not going to end up on the streets.

Guestroom amenities include desk and chair, free Wi-Fi access, Roku SoundBridge Radio, and 32" and 42" LCD televisions. Special mention needs to be made of the fabulous pool at the Pearl. Even though the hotel is not so big as to be called a resort, the poolside atmosphere - with the cabanas, and dining service and cozy nooks - makes it a fitting place for parties and get togethers.

Info: 1410 Rosecrans Street (at Fenelon) San Diego, CA 92106; 877-PEARL-SD; www.thepearlsd.com/