Gay San Diego
Gay San Diego – Hillcrest
Are you planning on a trip to San Diego? Undoubtedly you will wind up in Hillcrest at some point, the majority of the gay bars and clubs are located in Hillcrest with a few in Down Town, North Park and Old Town.
Hillcrest has a great selection of restaurants, coffee shops and boutique shops to keep you busy for days. There is an abundant supply of furniture shops, however much of what you see will be nearly impossible to take back on the plane with you and may be a bit pricey to ship. There is a nice selection of clothing shops that have a nice array of lightly used clothing and new designer labels. There have been higher end shops that have come and left over the years, the average gay resident in San Diego cannot afford such clothing. As beautiful as San Diego may be it is not known for big industry due to its high cost and lack of quality talent, I have hired many people in San Diego and have found them to be very lazy and without experience. I am originally from San Diego myself.
The majority of gay bars, clubs and restaurants are centrally located on University Ave, the range stretches from 3rd ave to Park on the far other end. The West end of Hillcrest has Urban Moe’s a fun lively large bar with generous outdoor seating and a large range of diverse events every evening, check their site for details. Fiesta Cantina is also near Urban Mo’s on the West end and is a very open bar with great drinks and a lively crowd. The Brass Rail is also on the West end on 5th St, this bar is one of the oldest and has a difficult time creating an identity for itself so I cannot tell you what crowd you will find as it changes all the time. #1 5th Ave is also on the West end, it is a large venue with outdoor seating in the back, the staff is friendly and they service a wickedly strong cocktail, this bar typically serves a more mature crowd but has a wide range of patrons.
The south end of Hillcrest has a gay hotel called the Park Manor Hotel, there is a very large bar on the roof. Every Friday early is a happy hour that starts around 5pm and gets packed! They have great views of Hillcrest and downtown, I highly suggest if you are not staying at this hotel to stop by for the happy hour, it is a ton of fun and you will likely meet some fun locals or tourists. Some of best hotels are in the Gaslamp District, I suggest hotels from the Starwood chain like the W.
Centrally on University you will find Flicks a small video bar that has a pool table and has a nice range of events nightly. I have had some great times at this bar over the years. Just steps away is Rich’s a large dance club that tends to fill up after 10 or 11pm, there is commonly a cover charge and their drinks are a bit on the pricey side. Recently a club called Universal was just across the street with a mix of Metro Sexual’s and twinky 20 something gay boys. This place had attitude and the staff was very snooty, I was not sad to hear they went under. Baja Betty’s a wonderful restaurant and gay bar is also in the center of Hillcrest with great food, service and a fun crowd. Baja Betty can be quite a mess during Cinco de Drinko or Cinco de Mayo the 5th of May a big Mexican holiday.
On the East end of Hillcrest is Numbers, a large multi room dance club. Numbers is generally your 20 something crowd and has great music, usually a cover charge and pricey drinks on Park. Just across the street is the Flame another dance club with a nice range of events depending on the night, check their website to see what is going on as it changes. 100% worth the trip, my absolue favorite gay bar is on the other end of Park is called Bourbon Street. my personal favorite bar that has a generous patio out back and multiple bars, this is not a dance club but is a ton of fun. Bourbon St now serves food as well, their events change from night to night so check out their website to find out what you are into. Just around the corner is Cheers a small gay bar with a pool table, the staff is friendly and the crowd is a nice range of both younger and older. You will also find Lei Lounge a bar/restaurant right next to Bourbon St. The food is really good, the service is great, there are some really hot waiters there!
Like many gay centers, Hillcrest has a nice selection of gay gym’s. You can find 24 hour fatness err fitness which is located on 5th near University, I went to take a picture of Gold’s and found it to be closed. Also, I been asked several times if their are any Gay Bath Houses in San Diego, there is a very large one centrally located in Hillcrest called Club San Diego, on 4th ave.
Hillcrest Restaurants
While visiting Hillcrest you must eat at either the Tractor Room or Hash House a Go Go, located right across from each other on 5th. They get PACKED! be sure to plan on getting their early in order to get a table.
San Diego Pride is a very large event, the celebration is found all around Hillcrest but the focus of the event will be found in Balboa Park, just south of Hillcrest. The pictures below are of the part of Balboa Park where they setup the festival. Balboa park is very large so be sure you know where you are going. During pride taxi’s are a commodity that is very scarce, you will see tons of rickshaws around. A word of warning, these guys are not cheap and you could pay 3-10x a normal taxi fare. Make sure you ask how much before you hop in, they will try to lure you in. Some of these guys are rather hot, and may be fun to watch sweat while you get a ride to your next bar.
Bourbon Street Hillcrest – Gay Bar – Restaurant
Bourbon Street Hillcrest – Gay Bar – Restaurant
Bourbon Street is by far my favorite gay bar in Hillcrest or San Diegofor that matter. Technically this area is called University Heights but to make things easier we will just call it Hillcrest.When I lived there I spent most of my time at this bar, for the most part the staff is very friendly and the drinks are very strong. Bourbon Street has 4 bars, one up front, 2 out back and one up stairs but is usually never open unless for a private party. This place is pretty big, but is not the biggest gay bar in Hillcrest. Bourbon St is a bit off the beat and path, its located at the most northern part of Park Blvd. There are now a few other gay bars in the area so you have some other options. The venue changes from night to night so be sure to check out their website to be sure what is going on, some nights are girls nights so you may want to check in advance. Bourbon Street has pool table and like any decent gay bar a popcorn machine! Lei Lounge, which is a very cool restaurant and bar is just next door and just next to that is a new place called Small Bar, which I have not been to yet and Cheers a small gay bar that has been around for quite some time.
Bourbon Street has a pretty decent sound system and they have different DJ’s all the time.
Today I went back to Bourbon Street and found it renovated in a good way, they have opened up the outside area, quite dramatically. They now serve food, which was excellent and the drinks are strong and worth the money. Tonight they had a drag show, that even I a very skittish gay guy around transvestites to be fun. Now that they serve food, which was very good, I am a picky eater. The bar staff and waiters are very friendly and attentive. My favorite bar tender Mark has been there for years and is still in action. He is a great guy, tip him well if you see him.
We have added a video of a performance of an amazing Cher Impersonator, filmed with the permission of Bourbon’s amazing Chuck the GM.
I could not tell there was a guy under the highly admiral makeup and costume. This video is rather large and was taken with an iPhone, so please excuse the shaky parts. We tried to edit this as much as possible. Since it’s in HD I would suggest only trying to download this movie if you have a fast data connection.
Bourbon Street also has an upstairs room that is for private parties and other events. Be sure to contact them to see when they have availability.
Bourbon Street Drag Show – With Cher Large Video, may not be great on a phone.
4612 Park Blvd, 619-291-4043
Filter Coffee Shop – Hillcrest
Filter Coffee Shop – Hillcrest
One of my all time favorite coffee shops located in the heart of Las Vegas is Filter, previously I was in love with a place called the Living Room which is now gone. Filter has tons of seating, which commonly is fairly packed and they are open 24 hours a day.
The crowd is commonly students, however you will find some older folks as well, but for the most part 20 something’s. Filter has free wifi and serves some of the best coffee in San Diego, weather you are looking for an espresso or just a drip coffee. Watch out, some of the coffee is so powerful you could be up for days if you are not a caffeine addict like myself.
Beyond great coffee, and tea, they also have a nice selection of Panini sandwiches. Lot’s of very decadent pastries and deserts as well as a very friendly staff. As I only visit San Diego half a dozen times a year, it is great to be able to go back to this shop and unwind and enjoy some great food and strong coffee.
Filter has some unusual seating, tables and chairs that are so miss-matched but are fun to look at. They also have a few large sliding glass doors that open up to some outside tables.
Unfortunately they have only one bathroom which is usually occupied, but not that big of a hassle. An unexpected feature that most places in Hillcrest lack is a few parking spots but you need to go into the covered garage behind the coffee shop and make sure to only park in the designated spaces. Otherwise you could wind up circling for a long time to find a space.
If you where out drinking and drove, this is a great place to get some late night food into you and let the alcohol work its way out before risking the nasty police who are on commission regarding how many DUI convictions they get in one calendar year. DUI’s are a huge money maker for the city and they heavily patrol the Hillcrest area.
San Diego Gay Beach – Black’s Beach
San Diego Gay Beach – Black’s Beach
Black’s Beach is considered by some to be the most popular nude beach in America. And with good measure, it also happens to be summer destination for droves of gay men (who would have thought it!?) After you scale the somewhat lengthy hike down from La Jolla’s Torrey Pines all the way to the sand, turn right to find the secluded gay area. Any day of the year this beach is popular with exhibitionist surfers who leave their board shorts behind to surf in their birthday suits. Not a bad sight.
During the summer, it’s just not the sporty bros who come to Black’s however, and anyone from ripped hotties in speedos to hunkier older men in… well, also speedos, soak up the sun of Southern California. A great place to get rid of that tan line. But the naked bodies aren’t the only sighting you’ll be able to appreciate once you’re here. Dolphins are known to swim up close to the shore on warmer days. If you do want to bare it all, just make sure that you are in the state park section of Black’s Beach. Nudity is not allowed in the part ran by the city.
Gay Friendly Cities
Gay Friendly Cities
I and many of our amazing contributors have been all over the US and over the world. I am adding this page to try and help you determine if a city is friendly enough to visit. Some places can be down right dangerous, for example its illegal to be gay in Jamaica, I have heard many horror stories.
But Moving on to my current home to start.
Austin - Is a very gay friendly town, a very large selection of Gay Bars, very gay friendly hotels like the W. The new W is actually just around the block from Oil Can Harry’s. Great restaurants as well, Santa Rita, Kerbey Lane Café and South Congress Cafe too name a few. It’s sorta like San Francisco in a strange way, and a big music town.
Denver – Is an amazing, mostly gay friendly city. This city also has its share of religious nut cases who cause some trouble from time to time. From what I know of, there isn’t a specific gay hotel in Denver. However you have many options
downtown, including the Westin and Sheraton, which are both gay friendly. The mile high city also gets more sunny days than any other major city in the US. The Westin actually has this fairly strange indoor-outdoor pool, its rather unique as well as a gym. The famous Palms steak house is attached and is very good. Personally I prefer to patronize gay owned restaurants, so I wind up at Hamburger Marry’s a very large gay bar/restaurant/drag show. You can find a good selection of Denver’s Gay Bars.
Las Vegas – This one is really on the fence for a full recommendation. If you have other options, I think you should consider them. Even with such a huge service industry, overall Las Vegas is not all that gay friendly. Promoters like J.Son are
trying to change that; he was able to convince the Luxor to host the only weekly gay pool party throughout the summer season. In the 90’s their spa became a little hot spot for gay men, however the Luxor had security in they’re at all hours throwing them out. This is a big change in direction. On the other hand you have hotels like the Encore who have pages promoted online about being gay friendly. They forgot to tell their staff about that. Even the high priced hookers wouldn’t leave me alone; she couldn’t believe I was gay.
Las Vegas has only 1 all gay hotel that is clothing optional called Blue Moon Resort, located just West of the North end of the strip. On the strip there is one gay nightclub called Krave. It is not open every night, there is always a high priced
cover and the drinks though strong are very expensive. It’s on the south side of Planet Hollywood off Harmon. Just east on Harmon a few blocks and a right turn on Paradise will get you into what’s known as the fruit loop. You have multiple
bar options here, 8 ½ and Piranha are connected, and this is a higher end bar/dance club. As well as Gipsy, which is just next-door. Across the street you will find Buffalo, a mixed crowd with pool tables. Just to the right of Buffalo is an adult video and toy store. Across from The Buffalo is Free Zone, make sure you check out their calendar before going, they host many ladies nights as well. There are quite a few more gay bars, my personal favorite is Charlies which is located West of the strip off Tropicana and on Arville in what looks like an industrial business building. Starwood has one hotel just east of the strip on Flamingo, its a Westin, has a small casino as well.
San Diego - My home town, most of the gay activity is centralized in one area called Hillcrest. You will find a nice selection of gay bars, restaurants of all types, gay gyms like 24 hour fitness, and shopping galore. However, like San Francisco there are few hotel options. There are tons of gay friendly hotels in down town San Diego near the Gas Lamp District that has great restaurants, shopping and gay bars. San Diego offers lots of beach options, however I believe all of the beaches are now alcohol free and the police will check coolers. San Diego does not have a very user friendly public transportation system, so consider renting a car.
San Francisco - Ok yeah, duh San Francisco is a very gay friendly town. You might be surprised to know that its not the highest population of Gay people, Dallas I believe is number 1 then Los Angeles and then NYC. San Francisco is very diverse, although the Castro is the heart of anything Gay, you can find gay establishments all over the city. The city is broken into many districts, The Castro, The Haight, Lower Haight, Nob Hill, Lower Nob Hill, Union Square, Fisherman’s Wharf is a huge tourist trap, avoid at all cost. The older gayborhood was on Polk St. so you can find a few bars in that area as well. I can’t think of any major hotel in the city not being friendly, now some of the smaller cheap “weekly” rate type places. The largest concentration of Gay Bars is in The Castro, then in SOMA there are some of the more leather, daddy type places. My current favorite bar in The Castro is Blackbird, a laid back gay bar with an awesome staff. My other favorite is a wine bar called Blush, amazing wine, food and people! San Francisco also throws and incredible pride event every year, you just missed it this year but if you have the chance you must see it. The Castro has very few options when it comes to lodging, I would suggest trying Union Square. Most of the best shopping is in Union Square. There are also several options for gay gyms in The Castro, 24 Hour Fitness and Gold’s Gym to name a few.
Seattle – Other than the lack of warm days, Seattle is extremely gay friendly with the majority of activities, including bars and restaurants are located in Capitol Hill. Very close to down town, it’s a bit of a hike if you choose to walk it. The hills are nowhere as steep as San Francisco but if its cold enough you will regret not taking a cab or driving. Be very mindful of the parking signs, they have some of the strangest parking restrictions I have ever seen in the US. They do not color the curbs either, my first visit I wound up getting a nice fine, nowhere near a fire hydrant.
Like Portland, there is a large hipster community, however not as intrusive. Washington State also has the highest taxes on alcohol so when you walk into a dive bar and get charged $10 for something most other places would be $4-5. Gay Bars and Night Clubs list.
As any big city, Seattle has tons of hotel options. My personal favorites are Starwood properties. The Westin is one of the largest and is not owned by Starwood, it is a franchise. They are undergoing renovations; their new rooms are very nice if you can get one. Some of their older rooms do show their age, ask if you can get a remodeled room. We have a short list of gay friendly hotels in Seattle.
This article is a work in progress and not close to being done.
US Grant San Diego
US Grant San Diego
Another Starwood option in San Diego is the US Grant, also located in downtown San Diego. Not far from Hillcrest, where pretty much anything gay in San Diego is to be found. They do have a gym, I believe its included in the room charge. This is one of the most beautiful hotels in all of San Diego. All Starwood properties are gay friendly and this luxury hotel is no exception. You will be treated well here, if not call Starwood and tell them what happened, I have seen what happens to a hotel GM of Starwood when I have called in complaining about how they treated a gay customer. I will not say which one, but the problem was corrected very quickly.
If you are planning on visiting for San Diego Gay Pride, you want to book your room early. It’s a very well attended pride, in July so its really good weather. This hotel is also not far from the Gas Lamp District either.
If you travel a lot and want the Starwood points or stays towards status, you must book directly with Starwood, they claim to guarantee the best rates. However they denied my refund from the price on expedia before, so don’t put a lot of faith in it.
Direct link to the US Grant on Starwood.com
I find hotels.com has some of the best rates and great customer service, a direct link to the hotel is below.
Sheraton San Diego
Sheraton San Diego
A slightly older Sheraton, however it is very well kept and very centrally located in downtown San Diego. They have an indoor pool, parking available, they list them selves as Sheraton Suites, so it may be possible that all of the rooms are of good size. All Starwood hotels are gay friendly and this hotel is no exception. Be it that I lived in San Diego most of my life I have never stayed in a hotel down town, but I have been in the lobby of this hotel and its very clean.
This hotel is attached to the Symphony Hall, so make sure you do not book a room during a performance, it could be a zoo. If you are planning on coming for San Diego Pride, I recommend booking early.
A slight word of warning, anywhere in downtown San Diego, watch you back especially at night walking around there. San Diego has its Gay Hate Crimes, its a Republican town. Just be smart, use a cab, don’t take chances. This hotel is also very close to the Gas Lamp District, where some great shopping, dinning and a few bars are located.
If you wish to earn Starwood Points, you will need to book directly with their website, they guarantee the best rate, however there are so many buts to the budget hotel booking engines so don’t assume they will credit you. I have been screwed before.
Direct link to this Sheraton on Starwood.com
An alternative is to book directly with hotels.com, I have had good luck with their prices.
Direct link to the Sheraton on Hotels.com
701 A Street San Diego, California 92101
Club San Diego – Gay Bath House
Club San Diego – Gay Bath House
Club San Diego is centrally located in the heart of Hillcrest, just steps away from Mo’s and Fiesta Cantina. This bath house is rather large, they have a hot tub, steam room, dry sauna, video rooms, private rooms and lockers. They have 2 floors and this place is pretty large. They usually only provide you one condom and no lube, so think ahead and either bring your own or buy some when you first get in. I am not knocking anyone for going to a gay bath house, but use your brain and be smart.
I found the staff to be pretty nice, tipping them when you get a new towel is just a nice thing to do. Those guys don’t make very much money.
3955 4th Ave, San Diego 619-295-0850
San Diego Gay Zoo Party
San Diego Gay Zoo Party
One of my personal favorite circuit parties at the San Diego Zoo. Nothing is funnier than watching families leaving the zoo and are freaked watching all of the boys coming into the party. Sorry if I am repeating this so often, but San Diego is well known for their agressive DUI/DWI arrests, if you can take a cab. Don’t give them a reason, they will pull you over and if you admit to even one drink they will test you. It’s just not worth it!
The last time I went the kids that worked in the park, who where old enough where serving the drinks at the party. It was fun to watch them, a slight bit of horror, but more interest and curiosity than anything.
The San Diego Zoo is right next to Hillcrest and is also next to Balboa Park where the San Diego Pride Festivities are held.
If you like a sea of hot shirtless boys, this is your party. It is held out door’s and the music is great. From what I can tell the prices are $85 in advance and $100 at the door. Yikes!
The DJ’s listed are Wayne G, Joe Gauthreaux, and Price Poppycock
The Handlery Resort & Spa / Gay Pride Host Hotel
The Handlery Resort & Spa – San Diego Gay Pride Host Hotel and Pool Party
So apparently this year 2011, San Diego Gay Pride’s host hotel is The Handlery Resort. This hotel is NOT located in Hillcrest nor is it even close to walkable. Its in the tourist trap hotel circle, but that’s not too far from everything. Just realize, it would take you at least an hour to walk up a very steep hill to get from The Handlery to the event. I would assume there are shuttle busses, parking will be very difficult during pride. Be aware the San Diego Police are hard core on drinking and driving, they will be all over this event hunting.
On Saturday July 16th, the Handlery Resort is hosting the second annual Gay Pool Party, that should be a blast, hot guys running around in very skimpy swim wear. If you are a fan of these types of pool parties, The Luxor in Las Vegas hosts a Gay Pool Party every Sunday through the summer.