200 Years at the Hotel del Coronado
January 22, 2008 by Mary Jo Manzanares
Filed under Food & Beverage, Hotels, Places to Stay, Things to See & Do
One of my favorite hotels here on the west coast is the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, California.
Fondly called the “Hotel Del,” the resort opened 200 years ago, and since then has hosted 11 U.S. presidents (the first was Benjamin Harrison in 1891), European royalty (it’s rumored that the Prince of Wales first met Wallis Spenser Simpson at the hotel) ,a host of stars of stage and screen (Charlie Chaplin, Humphrey Bogart and Brad Pitt), and many other names pulled from the headlines (Thomas Edison, Babe Ruth, and Charles Lindbergh).
The Hotel Del is frequently photographed, and easily recognized by its Queen Anne architecture and red-shingled turrets. It’s a fairy-tale looking resort situated on a beautiful sandy beach on the Pacific Ocean.
My favorite memory of the Hotel Del is having coffee one foggy morning on the beach. As I left the water side to head back to the hotel, it felt like I was engulfed in the fog and as my walk took me closer to the hotel, it appeared almost like a shroud, sort of looming out of the fog. It’s the kind of sight you would expect to see in a movie, and there it was. Right in front of me. It sent a little shiver down my spine.
Even if you haven’t been to the hotel in person, you may remember seeing it the movie “Some Like it Hot” with Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, and Tony Curtis (in photo above). It was also seen in “The Stunt Man,” “My Blue Heaven,” and “Somewhere in Time.”
Rates at the hotel don’t come cheap. You can find the occasional promotional rate in the $275 range, but most times you should expect to pay more than that. The on property restaurant, stores, coffee shop, and even the ice-cream parlor all come with similar high price tags. While it’s worth every penny of the price, and the hotel pulls out all the stops if you let them know you are celebrating a special occasion, I realize it’s out of the range of many travelers.
The next best thing to staying at the Hotel Del is to just visit and tour the hotel. Many of the public areas, as well as the beach area, can be toured without checking in and spending the night. But if you can swing it, I’d recommend splurging on lunch or even an ice cream sundae, and experiencing the romantic, fairy tale setting.
The Hotel del Coronado is located at 1500 Orange Avenue on Coronado Island (map it).
Photo credit: Hotel del Coronado
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The more I read about this place, the more I want to go — thanks for the write-up, definitely adds to the intrigue. Found some more Hotel Del pics: http://www.resideo.com/us/california/coronado/59976984.hotel?u=1 — I love the look of this place!
While the Hotel De Coronado is lovely. Somewhere in Time ,was filmed on Mackinac Island, at the Famous Grand Hotel. Just setting thr record straight.
The Hotel del Coronado will celebrate its 120th anniversary on February 19, 2008. Not quite 200 years. This little error certainly does not distract from this fine article.
Nado – I had the dates right, but somehow my math skills went on vacation.
It is the 120th anniversary.
My family and I went there for a convention as well as our family vacation and we just LOVED it!!There is so much to do you will ot know where to begin.Ofcourse we began at the beach but who wouldnt?If you are looking for a good place to take your family this would be the perfect place! A problem though is that if you do not have the money I suggest you start saving up now!It is very expensive so like if you would want to buy a souvenier for an affordable price then you do not want to check out the Hotel Shops.I nearly fainted when I saw the prices!