The La Quinta Carlsbad is only about 1/2 mile from the Beach and is in a fantastic location for a "Beach" vacation. The rooms are clean and the bed I slept in was very comfortable. But the Hotel was built 30 or 40 years ago in a Motel world, so while the rooms are an adequate size, they are still smaller than many you will find in this country. In Europe, of course, these rooms would be huge.

This 3 story La Quinta does have elevators, but sometimes the stairs are faster. The rooms face to the outside with covered walkways, but in the rare few times of bad weather in Carlsbad, if it is windy, you may get wet walking to your room.

Breakfast at this location is just OK. They have a waffle maker which makes decent waffles and they have hot oatmeal (not instant), cold cereals, inexpensive and somewhat dry pastry with small dabs of something sugary that resembles fruit jam, various types of bread, hard boiled eggs, various juices, and milk.

One of the important things for me in any hotel is their internet service. I measured 1. 44 MegaBytes per second download and the same speed for uploads. If all you need is Email and web browsing, the speed is very satisfactory. Streaming videos may buffer a bit and you shouldn't expect to download any very large files.

My room was close to the front of the Hotel and we did not hear the traffic from Interstate 5, which passes directly behind the Hotel. Step outside on the walkway, and the noise was fairly loud. I'm not sure how the road noise is in the back, but I would suggest getting a room near the front, just to make sure.

All in all, the Hotel/Motel was a good, comfortable place to spend a night, and was a bargain for being so close to the beach. One room was a decent size for 2 people, but is much too small if you have children, as many people will have if they want to visit the close by LEGOLAND.

Probably the most important thing to consider, though, is that this La Quinta is clean. If you are looking for a clean room with comfortable beds, this is the place to stay.