It is the first year for Holiday by the Bay! Opening night was Friday, December 10th. 2016. Carolers, Santa, Pageantry and Military were out for the unveiling of this new seasonal event! A ribbon cutting! Ice skating, hot chocolate, crafts and cookie decorating by day...food and beverage booths, a beer garden, fire and ice by night! And who can resist holiday movies and ugly sweater contest and skate night! Oh what fun! #HolidaybytheBay #SanDiegoBayfrontHilton #TripleFunWeekend read more

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Like others, I discovered this place through Groupon, but I didn't buy the tickets on Groupon which was $15. Instead, I did a bit of digging and decided to book a room for the night through the Hilton website. The promo came with 4 tickets to the Holiday by the Bay event, which I thought was worth it for $150 with room and 4 tickets. But the price is different depending on when you go... I did mine on Thanksgiving day. Overnight parking is $35, or $20 if you are only going to the event. Keep in mind, most of the activities and attractions cost extra. Each ticket is $3, and they vary between 2 or 3 tickets ($6 or $9). Likes: - Very festive and lovely. - Lots of space. - Location is perfect right by the bay/waters. Views are incredible. - Unlimited slide rides. - Light show syncronized with music. - "Snow" - Selections of food/snacks/drinks So-so: - Did the stocking decorating which was fun, 3 tickets = $9 - Did the cookie decorating, was alright. Giant cookie, but 3 tickets = $9 - Kids did the ice bumper car - 2 tickets = $6. Too expensive for a ride that only lasted 2 minutes? - Son did the reindeer (bull) ride, too weak. All in all, we went on a night where it was almost empty. I would recommend they do a flat $28 fee which includes a wristband to try any and all rides unlimited. The stocking and cookie should just be 1 ticket, but limit the number of patch decorations to two instead of six. They can also consider adding a few more local art/craft shops from local vendors, similar to Christmas markets in Europe... Just a thought if anyone from Hilton is reading this. Nevertheless, we really enjoyed the experience, loved the views, and the great holiday kickoff. I may even consider having this be a Thanksgiving tradition. read more

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3 1/2 My kids had fun and that was the goal. I am a San Diego native, but live in North Cali. I always enjoy coming home and since it was the Holiday month, I wanted to do something fun for my kids. Let's talk logistics...entrance is $20 for adults or $15 on Groupon. Kids are $15. The cost includes the snow slide only as far as attractions. The holiday light display surrounding the ice bumber cars is beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed the displays as the light colors changed with the holiday music. You can purchase an upgraded ticket which includes tickets at a small discount price. I believe I paid $33 for kids, which was a $3 discount. Considering I have a family of 6, 4 kids ages 4,5,8,13 I purchased a fireside lounge in advance. The lounge is yours for the night. I'm all about convenience. Parking is $20 flat rate and is located at the hotel. I stayed at the hilton, so this did not apply to me. Kids has FUN!! Ice slide was fun for kids and adults. Not a long wait time at all. I went on Sunday the 16th. My kids went down the slide about 20 times. You must be 40" so my 4 year old just made the cut. I couldn't get her to stop going. Stocking making. Kids enjoyed. Cost 3 tickets, so $9. Cute decor. They have a small ball pit that the kids can play in as well. Cookie making..we did not do because we were full of other food, but it looked fun for the kids and it cost 3 tickets, $9. The cookie is pretty big. Bucking Reindeer, 2 tickets, $6. My 13 year old did this about 3 times. He's not really entertained with much, but he enjoyed this so that was great. The down side was the food that came with the lounge. The lounge is a $50 min food purchase and it seems they needed to put a little more thought into that. The cost of the lounge food was pretty high$$$. Our lounge fire pit had to be modified a couple of times, so that was a little annoying. s'mores (totally not worth the cost) they give you this metal contraption to roast the s'mores, but that basically burned all the crackers. When we complained, we kept getting the "unfortunately" word thrown at us and that there was nothing they can do. First of all, no one roast the whole s'mores, you roast a single marshmallow....right people! We were told sticks were a weapon, so they didn't have any. Who the heck is coming to this holiday event?? Side note. The corn dogs (which are big and prob the best food option at $8.75) come on a big long wooden stick. We used that stick to roast our remaining marshmallows. Cocktails at the Yule lodge were good, expect the pay the regular cost of about $12. There were a couple of complaints, but PHILLIP and TY made everything better and our night was enjoyable. THANKS GUYS! We stayed at the event from 6:30-10p. The even runs until 11, But by 9pm it's was pretty empty. We stayed until late because we stayed at the hotel, so all we had to do was walk across the street once we were tired. As far as the cost, there could have been some things that were more on the lower end. If you do all the activities and have 2-4 kids, this can add up. I also chose this event opposed to Coronado Hotel ice skating because it was much more affordable and they had more options for the little ones. read more

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The presentation of the Holiday by the Bay is one of the best in San Diego. I've been ice skating other places and none of them have been as beautifully decorated as the Hilton. The lights setup and bar are beautiful additions to the ice rink. The staff at the ice rink were lovely. They were very friendly and seemed to genuinely care about the experience we had. The rink is a little on the small side and isn't the best when busy, but the atmosphere makes it well worth it and you can always pop off of the ice for a break when it gets frenzied. The one downside we noticed was the drunk people coming out of the Gaslamp to ice skate. They caused a lot of chaos on the ice and there was no one there putting a stop to it. While incredibly minor, it did impact our time and was distracting. read more

My children recently had a wonderful experience ice skating in 65°+ weather by the bay. The rink was a decent size, was decorated with lights that were suspended overhead, and the surrounding area decorated in spirit of the holidays. There's also a nearby Starbucks (outside of the Hilton) within short walking distance of the rink, perfect for a cup of hot chocolate or coffee afterwards. read more

Holiday by the Bay - Skating Rinks Near Me - San Diego, California

Wow I have not been this ripped off in a long time. Even with $15 tickets (Groupon) for admission for adults you need to buy tickets to do rides. $6 (2 tickets) to do the bumper car for a 45 second ride... really?!?! Everything is extra... hot dog with soda $16.75... cookie decorating (3 tickets) $9, stocking decorating $9. The ultimate package for kids is $38 and it only includes admission and 7 tickets.. each attraction 2-3 tickets. If you want to sit it's $75 for lounge area otherwise wear comfortable shoes. The only highlight is that it was not busy since it's so expensive most people won't do it. I will give them credit that it looks great and very festive. The staff is very friendly and it has a fantastic location in from of Hilton on the water. This used to be an ice rink and those were the positive reviews I saw before we went. Kids did have a lot of fun but for $150 not worth the price tag! read more

Holiday by the Bay - Tubing- included in admission - Skating Rinks Near Me - San Diego, California

Such a fun night out with the fam! Awesome set up and lots of fun activities to get you in the Christmas spirit. They'll validate your parking ticket for a flat rate of $20. read more

Holiday by the Bay - Skating Rinks Near Me - San Diego, California

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The slide is most definitely my family's favorite and you get to go as many times as you want. There was barely ever a line. We enjoyed the cookie decorating too. There was a mechanical reindeer!! Can't want to come back again with friends. read more

Holiday by the Bay - Ice slide - Skating Rinks Near Me - San Diego, California

Rip off. Nothing more than a simple slide and overpriced food. Stay away. 25 per adult, 20 per child just for the slide. $20 more for parking. Do the math and go spend your money else where. Not too crowded so most people knows it's not worth it. read more

What a magical holiday wonderland! A great family holiday experience with an ice slide, bumper cars, stocking decorating, and a few more things! There is a "Yule Lodge" bar for adults to grab a drink and wonder around the festivities. Check it out! The lights are spectacular! read more

Holiday by the Bay - Skating Rinks Near Me - San Diego, California

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Wayyyyy too expensive to get in. The only thing included is the tube rides. Great and all except it's so expensive to get in. They should lower the price to get a bigger crowd. Not many families here, maybe 20 if that. I've spent less $$ at the county Fair. It would be perfect if the price was more appealing. read more

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We walked down here after Thanksgiving dinner and had the best time racing down the slide!! Adam and the crew working were awesome. The bar had a great selection of whiskey. The snow machine was filling the air and the decorations were fantastic. Also rode the reindeer ride but I think they went easy on me. I signed a waiver expecting to get thrown off!! Thankful for everyone who worked on Thanksgiving. read more

My kids had fun at this event and it has potential, but there were some issues. Yes, it's expensive but I don't mind that so much as it keeps the crowds down. Hopefully my little list below will help you decide if it's worth it! The slide was super fun. We reserved a fire pit and that was a bit disorganized...there was some confusion about who could take us over there and we got passed back and forth for awhile. We finally got there and it was a cute space and nice to have a base BUT... 1. We had a "waiter" as promised but we could only order from a very limited menu and we had to get our own cocktails--which were about 5 feet away, so I didn't really understand that. 2. We got the smores, which cost $30 and came on a tiered stand; but no plates or napkins or anything like that were provided..imagine a bunch of sticky kids and no napkins. 3.We ended up getting some other food from the food stands for ourselves, but within the fire pit area there was no place to set food/drinks/etc except ON the firepit itself...dangerous for the kids and it was too hot for beers and cocktails. I came back from the slide to a hot, ruined $10 beer. 4. There was no security around; every time we got up, someone was sitting in our area when we came back; and someone stole most of our $30 smores (these were replaced, albeit too late as we were ready to leave before someone showed up with more marshmallows) 5. Some more pillows and blankets would have been nice. Everything had a thin layer of condensation on it (which ok, its by the BAY--but maybe wipe it down). read more

I went with friends and had a really good time! I bought a funnel cake, decorated a stocking, and rode the ice tube ride. I am pretty sure I saw Drew Barrymore there too, so it was a great night! read more

If I could give this place 0 stars I would. This is such a scam. $25 to get in and the only thing free is the ice slide. Everything else cost an arm and a leg. I spent $56 just to get in and ride the bumper cars once with my boyfriend. Could have gone to Disneyland. It was already half the price of a single day ticket lol read more

Such a great time! The ice tubing slide was a huge hit and the light show was awesome. Ice bumper cars were a family favorite. This is my new favorite Christmas activity...I will be back for another one of those gingerbread lemon martinis! read more

This was a great event!! Super FUN. We reserved a private fire pit and it was really nice to have food and drinks while surrounded by the lights and activities. We enjoyed everything. Cookie decorating, riding the reindeer, bumper cars, sledding... It was awesome!! Definitely would do it again. read more

Holiday by the Bay is a unique holiday event that is perfect for a date night. Loved all the cocktails in the Yule Lodge. You are never too old to get on the bumper boats. We laughed as we slammed into one another. Also, I personally am not an ice skater so I was happy to engage in a different type of holiday activity this year. A must do! read more

All the fun of a Bavarian Village without the Air Fare! From the moment we walked through the gate our senses were filled with fresh gingerbread baking, Christmas music throughout the park, snowflakes in the air and a synchronized light show that goes off every hour. I know some are saying its expensive- go for the groupon, take the trolley or come after 6pm and street parking is free! Also the experiences are worth it! You can go down the slide as many times as you like, race your friends, there is never a line. Look at it like a county fair-you pay to get in and for the activities and the food-no surprise there. Most importantly it was an awesome experience for our kids- even the teenager had fun decorating the giant Christmas tree cookie and stockings- the materials are not cheap. It was so fun for the whole family and there is nothing like it in Southern California. We loved it! read more

Well the kids had a nice time but it was way over priced and not necessarily something I would do again next year. Admission is $15 each through Groupon so my fam of 4 is already $60. Parking is $20 with validation. Kid's decorated a stocking for $12 each. Bumper cars were $6 each. Hot chocolate was $6.50. So the grand total was $110.50! The slide, which was included, was a nice little thrill and there was even a moment where you feel like you're going to die and then you stop safely and want to do it again. The so called light show was just a bunch of flashing lights surrounding the bumper car area. When we went to decorate stockings it was complete chaos in the little cabin it was held in. It was over crowded and hot inside and they had a ball pit with a ton of kids and all their shoes were scattered on the floor. And I wouldn't necessarily call it decorating. You basically pick a color for your stocking (red, blue, or green) then pick 4 little characters that they will hot glue on for you. I was also hoping for more picture taking opportunities but the Christmas decorations were just ok. read more

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This is a joke lol overpriced which the ticket includes the entrance and getting to slide down the main slide. That's it. Everything else can be between 6-12$ EACH activity that's there and not very good quality. Food is expensive. I don't remember the state fair charging this much for the entrance at least. If you're gonna charge people up the ass 25$ (maybe lucky if you get a coupon for 15$) then more should be provided. Sure the few lights are nice but you can walk around in a total of 5 minutes and that's it for this. Definitely don't recommend this unless you don't like big crowds and spending pointless money read more

Awful! This place is a serious waste of money!! I was so excited to take my family and 2 year old son and was totally let down! Everything is extra money and the parking alone is 20 bucks!! Worst Christmas experience ever!! read more

If you're going to spend your money, find something else to do. Stupid expensive for what you're getting, prices for things you have to pay for inside are steep... plus you have to pay $20 to park. It's even worse if you're 8 months pregnant, because they have literally no places to sit unless you're willing to pay $75 dollars for a seat in the lounge. Just go somewhere else. read more

So much fun!! The ice slide is great for kids and adults have fun too! Ice bumper cars are fun too. The Lightshow is amazing! We'll definitely be back!! read more

I had a great time with my wife and kids, for sure the way to go is to get a reserved fire pit. We ordered hot chocolate with s'mores. Btw the fire pit and sitting area is yours for the night so you can go and come as you please so that's very convenient with kids if you go and do something then want to come back to chill for a bit and leave your stuff there too. My family and I had a great time and the kids enjoyed themselves very much. I already turn into a 5 year old child during the holidays but definitely a nice experience and puts you in a festive mood. We took a lot of pictures and the kids got to decorate stockings and cookies not to mention the unlimited times they got in the slide. It is a little pricy but I have 3 kids and we were there for a bit so I do think I got my money's worth. The staff was really friendly and helpful. read more

If I can give this a zero star I would. Everything was way too overpriced to the point where it just took away from getting into the holiday spirit. Price for admission was still expensive even with Groupon. Once you're in, you still had to pay more to do anything except the slides. We reserved a bonfire pit which was $80 and then on top of that you had to pay a minimum of $50 on food and beverage. On their menu, you can order a s'mores kit for 4 people and that was $49. You get six pieces of graham cookies, six marshmallows and slivers of Chocolate. It came with a contraption to make the s'mores but it was horribly designed where the chocolate pieces in the middle were falling into the fire. It was so disappointing and so upsetting for how little we got for what we paid. Who comes up with these price points?? We did the bumper cars which were $3.00 for a 90 second ride. We timed it. I would recommend saving your money for something much more worthwhile. read more

Way way too expensive for what it is. We paid the Groupon price and it still was too expensive. The guy in front of me in line was demanding a refund. I called ahead to check prices and they gave me the incorrect information. The slide is fun but not worth the price. You can only go on the bumper tubes once and it's such a short ride. Everything else is really expensive. The stockings are $9 each and all you do is glue a couple stuffed animals to the stocking. The gingerbread cookies are $9 each and they are super small. Definitely not worth it. read more

Beware. Very disappointed. We paid $100 for 5 of us to enter the event. The only thing that was included was a slide. After 3 times down the slide we wanted to do something more. Every other activity cost about $6-9 to enjoy. Food was overpriced and not appetizing. To top it off parking was $20. Feel like we were taken advantage of. So bad that kids were even complaining. The ice rink the previous year was so much better! read more

I took my family here this past Saturday and had the best time! The space was so festive and decorated wonderfully. My two boys (age 2 & 5) were running rampant with all the fun things to do. My 5 year old and I did the bumper cars a few times and his smile grew with each time...so fun! We then raced down the ice slide at least a dozen times....fair warning, if you your kid is as competitive as mine you're going to want to try and lose a couple times, but it's tough because the heavier you are the faster you seem to go! While my oldest and I were doing those activities, my wife and youngest kid were making ginger bread cookies and stalkings. Both boys loved the ball bit and probably spent an hour jumping into it and burrowing themselves. When mom and I needed a quick break, we stopped by the sweet treat vendor and grabbed a marshmallow snowman dipped in chocolate for the boys, and let the kids enjoy that in the Chalet, while we had a much deserved cocktail. While enjoying our drinks and sweets, we had the perfect view of the light show that is synced to Christmas music, which lasts about 8-10 minutes. It seems to go on every 45 minutes or so, so there is plenty of time throughout the night to catch it.....the best part (for the kids at least), is that during every show, snow starts falling from the sky....very cool! I highly recommend this place for both families and date nights....everything about it really gets you in the spirit. read more

Our whole group had a great time at Holiday by the Bay! There was something for everyone. The kids decorated cookies, we hung out at the bar, and we all enjoyed watching the light show. It even snowed! read more

Not enough for the price. It should be a wristband for participation and a minimal fee for just entering if at all. Very cute setup but for $20+ its just not worth it. And their circuits are overloaded so lights turn on and off at entrance save your money read more

I wish I could give it a 0 star. This place is a SCAM! Two minutes after we accidentally purchased the wrong date they charge us $5 extra to change it to the correct date. Whatever we brushed it off. Then we find out that every ride and activity inside has an additional cost and the hot coacoa is $6 for a very small cup. Fries are $10! Which would have been ok but it was also extremely gross. Actually all the food was horrible. The security hounded us about going to the bathrooms which are located right outside the venue after she scanned our tickets and watched us walk out to use the restroom she didn't want to let us back in so we showed her our stamp that she stamped and she's like we'll I can barely see it. Wtf. upon leaving she put her nose in our drinks to check if they were non alcoholic. I was disgusted of the entire experience. The slides were fun but the entire advertisement is completely misleading. Every city has their own Christmas tree lighting and events which are free so please go do that first . read more

My granddaughter had a blast...we did the giant cookie decorating, stocking decorating, deer/bull ride, and multiple ice tubing trips. Thank God we could afford it because it was expensive. I kept thinking how sad that so many families would not be able to afford this wonderful event for their kids. Corporations should be a little less greedy and remember who they are doing this for. Children. Definitely an event for the families that aren't struggling. Between my husband buying the drinks, my daughter buying the tickets and myself buying the food, it didn't set us back too much. Just couldn't understand why they had to make it so difficult for families to afford. Not everyone has a 3 working adult budget. read more

Expensive, not worth the money. The ticket only covers the slides, everything else is extra.

Omg horrible!!!! Total rip off. I went this past Sunday. First off I paid 80$ to basically just to get in the place. Does not include anything but the ice slide. And how many times can you do that before it starts getting old. We went to CHILL in Long Beach last year huge event had ice skating free shoes mr and mrs Claus story time and a lot of other attractions and live bands. The ice skating was 4$ each and unlimited with free entertainment in the middle. Then every area was a different country with their holiday traditions so I thought that's how this was. WRONG!!! Each attraction was 2tickets each ticket 3$ EACH keep in mind they only have ice bumber (5min long) and reindeer riding (5min long) then two stations stocking making and ginger bread decor each 3 tickets so 9$ for each one. You will spend a lot of money super tiny place no santa we went no live music and no snow. Trust me not worth it! Go to the queen mary Long Beach get your money worth! read more

A complete scam. Only one complementary activity for kids. If you plan to go thinking that this is a similar event to the Christmas events organized previous years at Petco park you are totally wrong. Better save your money. The 7 tickets included in the extended ticket will only be good for 1 bumper rides + 1 decorating cookies +1 reindeer ride. That's all! read more

DO NOT COME HERE!! THE ICE SLIDE IS NOT WORTH IT! This place is WAY overpriced for the service you would expect. The entire operation looks like it was set up in less than a night. Anyways, the 30 dollar ticket ONLY buys you access to the ice slide. For anything else, you need to buy tickets. And get ready to spend your whole paycheck on tickets. It's like 4-6 tickets per attraction with each ticket being $4. What a scam! read more

I really want to love this event. The ice slide is the best feature and the guy checking tickets was the best employee at this place. If you are hungry eat before. We waited 45 minutes for food after we ordered one of which was a hotdog already prepared at the grill. The waitress from the lounge area kept coming and taking all the food as it was coming out and people that ordered at the stand were waiting for a long time to grab their food. The waitress was incredibly rude in addition. When we asked for a manager we were told by the employee she was in the bakery and we "couldn't miss her she was the big girl". We ordered churros that seemed like they were made last week at the bakery. At least the bakery employee was very pleasant and threw out all the stake churros. The restroom was so incredibly foul smelling we had to leave because the children couldn't go. The idea of this event is great but the management of it is awful. If you decide to come be prepared to pay $20 for parking and bring warm clothes it is chilly! read more