SAN DIEGO: Hotel del Coronado

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After visiting the Hotel del Coronado many times over theyears, my wife and I decided to spend two nights at the historic property tocelebrate our 20^th anniversary just after U.S. Thanksgiving. Thereis a lot to recommend about the Hotel Del but there are also some caveats,including prices that I found very expensive - even by resort standards.
The Hotel del Coronado is a fixture on Coronado Island,across the bay from San Diego. Although technically the end of a peninsula,Coronado Island was chosen by Elisha Babcock and Hampton Story in 1885 as thelocation for the destination hotel they had envisioned. They chose the sitebecause they believed the railroad would choose San Diego as its westernterminus, thereby virtually ensuring a steady flow of tourists. Read more about The Del's history here.
Today, nearly a century and a quarter after its opening in1888, The Del’s red roofs have become an iconic symbol of the hotel and thearea that surrounds it.

Courtyard of Victorian building

The grand lobby of the hotel is quite impressive, with highceilings, dark woods, and an elevator operated with the requisite elevatoroperator. The grassy courtyard of the Victorian building, the main historicalstructure, is just off the lobby. The pounding surf of the Pacific Ocean isonly steps away, providing guests easy access to sand and sea. During theholiday season, the hotel erects an ice rink, allowing guests to ice skatewhile looking at the beach and the ocean – a unique combination indeed.
The Del offers a spa, salon, fitness center, severalswimming pools, and dining venues including 1500 Ocean, Sheerwater Grill, theBabcock & Story Bar, the Crown Room, ENO, and the Sun Deck Bar &Grill. 
While my wife and I appreciate in principle the preservingof historic hotels and especially love the fact that they keep alive the charmof bygone eras, we prefer to stay in more modern surroundings. Fortunately, theDel has both.
Guest rooms run the gamut from rooms, lanais, and suites inthe hotel’s original historic Victorian building to more modern accommodationsin the Ocean Towers, California Cabanas, and luxury cottages and villas at theBeach Village.

Room in historic building

The gentleman at the front desk who greeted us upon ourarrival offered to show us a room in the historic building – a room that wasactually situated in one of the hotel’s red turrets. While it had been recentlyupdated with all the modern amenities, its size was limited by its location.Preferring less cozy accommodations, we opted for the room we’d originally beoffered: a corner room located in the Ocean Towers.
Completed in 1973, the Ocean Towers have many west-facingrooms that offer stunning views of the historical structure and the beachbeyond while providing more contemporary and spacious accommodations.

Room 6711

We selected a package that offered our Resort King guestroom at the rate of $425 for the first night and a 50% discount for the secondnight. Obviously, prices will vary by season and availability.
Our room, 6711, was on the top floor and was quite generousat about 325 square feet. Ceilings were easily 10’ tall. The room included asitting area with a couch and coffee table, a desk/work station, largeflat-screen TV, mini-fridge, a balcony, bathrobes waiting in the closet, ahairdryer, iron and ironing board, and what is called a “partial ocean view,” as shown below.

View from room 6711 at dusk

Service at The Del was very good, with almost every stafferbidding us a “Good morning!” or other greeting. On our first morning, we askedto have the room made up as we left for breakfast. We returned a short whilelater to find our request fulfilled.
Service in the various on-site shops was also generally quiteattentive, and prices were reasonable enough that we picked up some souvenirsfor ourselves and some gifts for the grandchildren.
Part of the attraction of a resort like The Del is theconvenience of having everything on site so guests needn’t go off-propertyunless they choose to do so. For that convenience, experienced travelersrealize and accept that meals and other services are going to come at apremium.
However, there is a point beyond which one starts to feeltaken advantage of. In my estimation, there were areas where The Del pushedbeyond that point.
Resort charge provides little value
In addition to the room rate, The Del levies a $25 per nightresort charge which The Del’s key folder says includes complimentary local andtoll-free phones calls, high-speed Internet access, daily newspaper, in-roomcoffee, and access to the fitness center. It also includes a $20 discount ongreen fees at the nearby La Costa Golf Course and discount tickets to many ofSan Diego’s attractions.
While charges for daily newspapers and local calls are fairlycommon, most hotels provide most of the other items covered by The Del’s resortfee without any additional charge. Travelers who neither golf nor takeadvantage of the discount tickets, therefore, receive very little value for thefee.
By comparison, the resort fee at a property I recently visitedin San Antonio’s Hill Country was $28 per day. It covered high-speed Internet accessin both the guest room and common areas, access to the hotel’s extensive water park and basketball courts, tenniscourt access with racket rental, two “welcome” cocktails, discounts at thehotel’s shops and some restaurants, and was largely offset by a $50 diningcredit for my two-night stay.
Poor connectivity
We’re well into the 21^st century; there’s simplyno excuse for slow internet connections, especially at properties located inmajor metropolitan areas.
The “high-speed” Internet access covered by The Del’s resortcharge wasn’t high speed at all; it was an anemic 0.75 Mbps. For comparison,access at my in-home office is 25 Mbps. When guests initially log on, they areoffered the option of buying faster access for $9.95 per day, but consideringthat high-speed Internet access is already supposed to be included in theresort fee, that should not have been necessary.
Food prices beyond‘resort expensive’
Visiting the Babcock & Story Bar one evening for happyhour, we ordered wine and nachos from what I considered an extremely limitedhappy hour menu. The nachos were not at all well-prepared, which is especially unfortunateconsidering we were in Southern California where Mexican food is practically astaple.
When time came for more substantial meals our experience,coupled with high menu prices, dissuaded us from trying The Del’s other diningvenues. For example, I thought the lunch prices of $24.50 for fish and chipsand $18 for two sliders at the Sheerwater Grill were far too high. Dinnerprices at 1500 Ocean were commensurately more expensive.
The area around The Del has literally dozens of restaurants,from fast food to fine dining, so we had many options within easy walkingdistance. However, being forced off-site detracted from the resort experiencewe’d gone there to enjoy. In my opinion, The Del needs to pay closer attention toits competition when setting prices for its diving venues.
Parking
Self-parking in The Del’s open parking lot is $30 per night,quite a bit higher that the daily rate of $12 at a municipal garage literallyacross the street. Granted, that does not include “in and out privileges,” but$20 per night would have been more in line, especially considering that someother nearby hotels offer free parking, including at least one that offers parkingin an underground garage.
The Hotel del Coronado is definitely charming and worthvisiting to see the history, browse the shops, and perhaps have a glass of wineand a nibble. However, a healthy budget will be a prerequisite for those whochoose to spend the night.

Photos by Carl Dombek
Click on photos to view larger images



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