Sheltered from the street by shops and clever landscaping, the L'Auberge blends gracefully into its postcard-perfect setting. The glass-covered entry leads to a regal, skylighted lobby with marble floors, leather armchairs, plush sofas, a fireplace, and a wall of French doors and windows. The resort-casual ambience appeals to leisure and corporate travelers, honeymooners, and locals on weekend getaways.

Fresh from a total renovation completed in 2006, the smoke-free US Grant offers opulence, grandeur, and gracious hospitality in the heart of the city. Specially commissioned Native American artwork is exhibited throughout the public areas and in guestrooms. The resplendent lobby itself is a work of art: white Italian Carrara-marble floors with gray veining, hand-milled carpets, hand-carved ceilings, and polished mahogany woodwork.

What to expect: Celebrities and well-heeled travelers choose this award-winning, 40-acre tennis resort for its high-quality service and secluded surroundings. Guests enter a tranquil lobby with fresh flowers, rattan chairs, newspapers from across the country, and an adjacent fountain courtyard. The Mediterranean decor is marked by hand-painted tiles and lush landscaping.

Amenity highlights: Rancho Valencia offers 18 hard tennis courts and expert instruction through clinics and private lessons (surcharges). Other recreation options include an outdoor lap pool and a full-service health spa with complimentary fitness equipment and classes. The resort’s acclaimed restaurant serves French-influenced California cuisine, and room service is available 24 hours a day.

Aficionados of California Craftsman architecture appreciate this meticulously designed resort, which features original Gustav Stickley furniture, Judson Studio leaded glass, pottery, paintings, and other period finery within the cherry-paneled lobby and public areas. Professional golfers, scientists, and families with children all fit in easily.

A mixture of vacationers and business guests can be seen meandering on the hotel’s lushly landscaped property, which includes waterfalls and tropical plants.

Business and leisure travelers frequent this resort as much for its style and cuisine as its golf, tennis, and spa facilities. The Mediterranean-style main building has a red-tiled roof and a lobby with a wood-beamed ceiling, tile floor, and international antiques, including Oriental rugs, formal European portraits, sculptures, and Asian wall hangings.

This smoke-free Hilton sits atop oceanfront bluffs, neighbor to the Torrey Pines Golf Course, the Torrey Pines State Reserve, and The Salk Institute. SeaWorld® is 11 miles away. This full-service hotel caters to medical and biotech visitors, golfers, and beach-going families.

The refurbished interior of the landmark Hotel del Coronado resort complements its wedding-cake exterior of white siding and red-roofed turrets. A uniformed operator still runs the original birdcage elevator, though the controls are now automated. The vast lobby is filled with families, conventioneers, San Diegans on weekend getaways, history buffs, and those imagining the days when Hollywood's elite trod the grand staircases.

This sleek, sophisticated property completed a renovation in December 2008 and has a resort feel while offering the services of a luxurious city hotel. The amenities attract business travelers as well as casually clad vacationers. Reception and concierge desks are at opposite ends of the marble-bedecked lobby in the east tower; the west tower is 300 yards away, via an outdoor walkway.