Margaritaville Hotel San Diego Gaslamp Quarter

The pool

• Rooftop pool
• Downtown San Diego's largest
• Gaslamp Quarter
• 5 o'Clock Somewhere Bar

Why it's on the list

Rebranded from the Kimpton Solamar in 2023 after a gut renovation, and the rooftop came out the other side as what the operator calls downtown San Diego's largest rooftop pool. The Gaslamp is right below and 5 o'Clock Somewhere handles the drinks — sillier than its neighbours, and a bigger swim than any of them.

The stay

Margaritaville is the one that refuses to take itself seriously, on purpose — the former Kimpton Solamar, gut-renovated and rebranded in 2023 as the brand's first city-center hotel on the West Coast. It keeps the same Gaslamp corner near Petco Park, so you get the walkable downtown base without the luxury-tier bill. At $$ it's the value play of the district — the pick if you want the rooftop pool the operator bills as downtown's largest and a vacation mood over designer restraint; skip it if the island-life theming would wear thin by day two.