The Sofia Hotel is a darling boutique hotel. The location is perfect: walking distance to Horton Plaza and the Gas Lamp district, and only a few minutes from the airport. The hotel’s ground floor is home of The Currant Restaurant, an American Brasserie. The decor is rich and sultry, with dim lighting, velvet upholstery, and ornately carved wooden furniture. Overall, the interior has a sexy, French feel, swanky enough for Mr. Burgundy himself. After a long day of sales calls it was an ideal, quiet place to relax and asses the successes and challenges of the day. Mussels in white wine, tomato and shallot sauce with frites helped too!
After an early dinner, I took advantage of the nearby mall to shop off the cals from the salty frites. I had every intention of checking off some items from my Christmas shopping list, but blew my cash on myself at Forever 21. Oops! With only five more holiday shopping days left, I wish I’d been more productive! My shopping fail behind me, I headed back to the Sofia to wind down and prepare for the following day. Dusk in downtown feels relatively safe for a young woman traveling alone, but drifters abound and the earthy scent of Mary Jane lingered in the air. With the city’s amazing weather, I’d be in San Diego in a heartbeat if I was a REAL drifter. I maneuvered through a sea of skaters, dread-headed hippies, and friendly schizophrenic s and returned to the comfort of the hotel.
My top-floor, corner room was cozy, clean, and provided everything I needed to experience maximum comfort. From the seventh floor, I had an entertaining view of the action on Broadway. The room itself was tastefully decorated with sage green walls, chocolate velvet drapes, and ebony wooden furniture gave the room a modern, updated appeal in the older, brick building. The only thing missing was a nice glass of scotch!
The Sofia is ideal for a business traveler (free Wi-Fi) or a romantic weekend (complimentary bicycle rentals) so I would absolutely return for a stay. One surprising con is their lack of breakfast options (none!). My body still functioning on Central Standard Time, I was starving by 8am Pacific! The Currant was closed, there is no room service, and no continental breakfast option! Fortunately, there are a handful of restaurants nearby, including The Coffee Bean right next door.
The following day was spent at SeaWorld hosting one of our corporate partners at an appreciation event. Most of the day was all business, but we squeezed in one park attraction, A Shamu Story. It wasn’t as flashy as other Shamu performances I’ve seen, but it focused on the trainers and the whales and how they develop relationships and teach these mighty creatures to perform while staying mentally and physically healthy in captivity. The learning capacity of these animals is amazing, and the few killer whales that are kept in captivity to be studied provide benefits for their brothers and sisters in the wild.
When I had to leave Cali, I treated myself to a drink on the plane, in honor of Ron. Stay classy San Diego! I’ll be back soon!
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