So yesterday my kid had a junior tournament at Barnes Tennis Center, right? And I’m thinking – crap, we gotta find a place to crash that won’t have us driving an hour through San Diego traffic at 6am. Pulled out my phone and just started hammering away on hotel sites around Point Loma.
First – The Disaster Attempts
Searched “tennis hotels near me” like an idiot. Got fancy resorts with courts but zero close to Barnes. Then remembered last year’s mess at that nasty motel where some dude kept revving his motorcycle at 3am. Nope. Not again.
The Actual Useful Search
Changed tactics hard:
- Zoomed map EXACTLY on Barnes’ parking lot
- Searched “hotels” with 2-mile radius
- Filtered instantly for “swimming pool” cause kids go nuts without it
- Clicked “free breakfast” checkbox – tournament mornings are chaotic enough without cooking eggs
Boom. Three decent options popped up within a 10-minute drive.
The Contenders
First one looked perfect online – tennis-themed decor and everything. Called them: “Oh our shuttle? Yeah that stopped running in 2019.” Scratch that. Second spot had wild pricing – $159 when I searched, $299 when I clicked through. Screw that bait-and-switch. Third place? Basic chain hotel, but the manager actually answered my call at 9pm. Solid.
Family Proofing
Dragged the whole crew there pre-checkin to inspect. Key things I eyeballed:
- Pool fence height (toddler could’ve climbed the first one we saw)
- Breakfast area chaos level (avoid places with one tiny waffle maker for 200 people)
- Actual drive time to Barnes at 6:30am (GPS lies!)
The winner had outdoor corridors – huge for loading gear without elevator battles.
Execution & Lessons
Booked two queen beds with sofa bed combo. Pro tip: Packed crockpot for overnight oatmeal since hotel “hot breakfast” meant cold cereal. Morning of? In/out in 25 mins flat including loading three racquet bags and a cranky 9-year-old. Worth every damn penny.
Biggest takeaway? Call directly. Those third-party sites show phantom pools and magical shuttles that don’t exist. And always do the dawn test drive – turns out “10 mins” is actually 6 without traffic.