A family-friendly resort by the Oceanside, CA beach. Between the delicious food, polished service, and tasteful rooms, there’s something for everyone here.

This stay occurred in May 2023

Booking

We were looking for a use for Jenn’s $200 Amex Platinum (personal) annual credit with Fine Hotels & Resorts. We decided to use it at The Seabird on our way back up to LA after our one night at the Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas. It just so happened that the best timing that worked out for us and the rates at both hotels was Mother’s Day weekend.

The Fine Hotels & Resorts booking portal is designed to give elite-like benefits on your hotel stay. Despite using Jenn’s Amex Platinum card to get the credit, I was successful in adding my details to the reservation, including my Hyatt Globalist number. That enabled me to earn elite credit with the stay and also gave us the normal Globalist benefits we’ve come to love.

Rates for this Saturday night stay were nearly $500. That’s a bit painful, but the $200 credit came as expected on her Amex credit card statement, and a price just under $300 felt a bit more reasonable. The stay also came with a $125 property credit, which we used for dinner (reminder to make your dining reservations on their website as it’s very popular). The credit further helped pencil out the high rate.

The hotel recently changed categories and is now Category 6 (between 21,000 and 29,000 Hyatt points per night). It felt a bit of a steal when it was Category 5, but not any longer. The hotel has been charging high cash rates, with this hotel and its sister hotel Mission Pacific as the best properties in town. So I get why they would raise the points price but it doesn’t feel as good of a deal using points now.

Note this hotel has a $46 daily resort fee. I’m not generally a fan of resort fees–I wouldn’t mind as much if there is a way to opt out if you don’t want the included services–but I can understand some fee here for the beach amenities they offer. Though I wouldn’t put the fee anywhere near where they require it. Thankfully with Hyatt, both full points bookings made by anyone or any booking made by a Globalist will have the resort fees waived.

Earning Hyatt Points

An excellent option for earning Hyatt points is the Chase Ink Preferred. Currently, my refer-a-friend link offers a massive 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points that can be transferred into Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio for spending $8,000 in the first three months. Note this is a business credit card, but you may be eligible for your side gig and not even know it.

The personal Hyatt credit card (not a referral link) is also a good option for earning Category 1-4 free night awards, useable at this property. But the current sign-up bonus is lackluster (30k points for $3k spend, and then earn at 2x on everyday spend for the next $15k within the first six months). I’d advise waiting for a better offer.

Arrival and First Impressions

We showed up at valet where friendly agents helped us quickly. Yes, there is a cheaper self parking lot unaffiliated with the hotel across the street, but I didn’t want to deal with the marginally higher risk of break-ins so I went with the hotel option for added peace of mind. This is our second time staying at The Seabird (not including our one time at the Mission Pacific) and the kids seemed to remember the hotel.

At check in, the agent had some extra gifts for us all. The adults each received a glass of sparkling wine. The kids each received a toy from the wagon. Yes, with so many options, they were paralyzed as they struggled to figure out exactly what they wanted. Once the kids figured it out, we were quickly on our way.

One quick note—with the weekend being Mother’s Day, the hotel was sold out and so I was not given an upgrade over the room I booked. I suspected this to be the case as I reviewed room availability before our stay, but it was nice that the agent directly referenced that I should have been eligible for one, rather than avoiding conflict.

The Room

Our room for this stay was 652. This room faced the pool and gave some tilted angles of the ocean. It was also quite a walk from the elevator, which forced us to get in our steps. The room itself is clean with little signs of wear, and the theme throughout the hallways and even in the room felt a bit nautical. Even the lamp inside the room was cute, shaped like a sea bird. I am a fan of the theme here. There is plenty of natural light, and the noise wasn’t too bad if you had the sliding door closed. The only downside I could find about the room itself is the glossy table making it difficult to use an optical mouse.

The water bottles included with the resort fee are cute, though the size of the opening makes it a tad difficult to clean them.

The bathroom here is gorgeous, with an excellent shower. The water pressure is good and the controls don’t require you to get soaked as you turn on the water. Toiletries are by Apothia, which was fine.

As mentioned earlier, the room faced the pool. The pool didn’t feel very heated, which meant most people crowded the small hot tub. Regardless, it seemed like a popular spot to be at during the day, so keep your window closed if you don’t like the noise (it was perfectly fine when sleeping).

Hotel amenities

First off, we were given a map of the properties that helped show where common areas are at. If you’ve been here before, you know the drill, but it’s nice when a resort hotel provides guidance on where to find things as I’ve been guilty before of getting lost.

Next up is the small card detailing the benefits for Hyatt Globalist status. Perhaps the most important item on here is the generous breakfast benefit ($40 per person per day, up to two adults and two kids). Note that given the popularity of the hotel with Globalists, it can be hard to secure 4pm late checkout, but historically I’ve been fine getting 2pm. This hasn’t been a big deal for me since I usually leave on Sundays to go back up to LA, and northbound traffic slows to a crawl if you stick around until lunch.

Lastly, we received a flyer on the benefits for Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts. Note that 4pm is guaranteed, so this is one area where you can be treated better than Globalists. The breakfast benefit is only up to $80 and it does not stack with the Hyatt Globalist breakfast benefit.

There is a comment on the paper that we will receive a welcome amenity, but unless the kids toys were the amenity, we didn’t receive anything else.

Breakfast at Piper

First off, I’d recommend making breakfast reservations here prior to your stay for each morning. The restaurant is popular with locals and there doesn’t seem to be dedicated slots for hotel guests.

Additionally, we were here on the morning of Mother’s Day. There were two options for us for breakfast, a reduced a la carte offering at Piper or some expensive buffet in a conference room ($110 adults, $65 kids). The Globalist breakfast benefit could be used for either, but the buffet seemed over the top—why would I consider a $400 breakfast after tax and tip ($240 after Globalist benefits kick in). What did they serve here? I wasn’t told even after asking about it.

That then leads to my only issue with the restaurant. The hotel proactively reached out to me to ask when breakfast I would like and if I would like a reservation. I responded I would like a reservation and they immediately come back with the comment “there are no times available for you”. After some back and forth and getting a manager involved, I was able to secure a reservation. It’s a pet peeve of mine when a company asks if I want something but then doesn’t give it to me. Why ask in the first place? But I digress…

The restaurant decor is beautiful and the food here is excellent. The Globalist breakfast benefit will more than cover the meal unless you’re adding in alcohol (our first time here they proactively gave a cocktail menu but now I think you just need to ask to cut down on their costs). The service is also excellent here.

In fact, overlooking the reservation issue above, I’d go so far as to say this is my favorite hotel breakfast within the US (I reserve the right to change my opinion in the future). The fact that the bill gets covered in full is a large reason why I’m loyal to Hyatt.

Dinner at Piper

Since we had a $125 property credit to use up, we decided to eat dinner at Piper as well. Dinner was about as good as breakfast, with an excellent staff and plenty of good options to choose from. There is a kids menu and even those are thoughtfully prepared. This is one of the better options for dinner in the area, but just make sure you secure a reservation.

Resort Activities

On our first stay at the hotel, they had arts and crafts time for kids on the weekend. However, during our stay, weekend activities were gone and instead only options during weekdays existed. It’s a bit of a disappointment since the kids enjoyed it previously.

They also advertise a movie playing at the pool, but it didn’t seem to interest many. I’m not sure if the lack of crowds were just based on the movie chosen or if it was something else, but we sadly couldn’t watch the movie from the comfort of our room.

Perhaps the best resort amenity here is the access to beach chairs and umbrellas. To access the benefit, head across the street towards the beach.

You should find a staircase leading down.

The place where you can get towels, chairs, and umbrellas is a bit nondescript. I did a double-take before realizing this is the correct place to go. For non-hotel guests, they charge an exorbitant $15/chair to rent. But at least staff will carry it all over to your desired spot and will set it up for you. They will also take it down for you. You just need to leave your room key as a deposit. And yes, they have some beach toys you can borrow if you don’t have your own.

Near the pool is the Shelter Club, a place where you can get some food or play games to pass the time.

Of course, if you’re like us, you can go down to the pool when everyone else is slow to wake up and have the place all to yourself. We mostly hung out in the hot tub.

Fitness Center

Also near the pool is the fitness center. I took some time here to work out and the kids decided to imitate. Given I was the only one in the gym, I didn’t mind them accompanying me. There is a decent variety of equipment here.

Odds and Ends

Perhaps this warrants its own post, but if you’re ever curious as to whether the front desk properly coded your room for a late checkout, go on the app and try acting like you’re checking out. It will ask what time you want to schedule it for. I didn’t take a picture of how it looked earlier, but the app only showed times in the morning. That required me to go downstairs and have a chat with the front desk. After doing so, I could see times all the way to 4pm as available to check out.

If you’re here for the beach, note that the sand is quite soft. Waters can get rough near the pier and lifeguards don’t allow swimming in certain spots. This is a beach worthy of a vacation.

If you have small children, note there is a playground right by the beach. We’ve spent quite some time here and it is popular.

There are some small shops along the beach and pier area. If you get tired of the food at the hotel, you could make your way over here for modestly cheaper options.

Recommendation: Yes

The hotel isn’t as much of a bargain now that it’s a Category 6 Hyatt hotel, but I still find it to be an excellent option with good dining about 30 minutes north of San Diego. I would absolutely consider coming back.

If you decide to come here by Amtrak train or Metrolink, the hotel is only a block away from the station. So save yourself the drive and go take the train.