Last year, we stayed at Homewood Suites at Carlsbad. (a review of this hotel is excellent! ) This hotel is located near Legoland. (only 5 min of driving) Also the city of Carlsbad is located about 30 min driving time on freeway so we rented a car there and used our portable GPS for any guidance. We had no trouble heading to SeaWorld and San Diego Zoo. You don’t really need to stay near there unless you are afraid of driving in the U.S. Your family may save some money by staying outside of San Diego because all hotels in San Diego area are very pricey. Hope this helps you.