My husband, who is a history buff that appreciates vintage architecture, was very enthusiastic about touring the Hotel del Coronado when I announced our Labor Day 2019 trip to San Diego. Wanting to get into parts of the hotel we might not get unless we were hotel guests, I decided to book a hotel "Legendary Tour".
Parking
All parking at the Hotel del Coronado is valet, so we used the Parkopedia app to find $5.00 parking operated by Laz in the Bank of America parking structure just one block northwest from the hotel on B avenue. It was actually a very scenic walk from our parking spot to the hotel because of all the little boutiques along Orange Ave.
Early Arrival
We were told to arrive 10 min early for our tour, but we arrived much earlier so we could do a little exploring ourselves. We checked out the beautiful foyer, a very expensive gift shop, and the very ornate original box elevator.
Meanwhile my daughter did cartwheels in the courtyard and played hide-and-seek in what appeared to be a sun-room off the lobby.
Legendary Tour
We met our tour guide and group at the tour sign in the Thomas Lawn just outside the Crown Room facing Orange Ave.
The 90-minute tour is largely a history lesson, starting with the founding of Coronado to how the hotel came to be what it is today. The tour guide showed us on her iPad how areas of the property used to look "back in the old days" versus how it looks now. We also learned about
- The founders of Coronado
- How the Hotel was built
- Current renovations to the Hotel to bring back its original glory
- The architects of Hotel del Coronado and the Queen Anne architecture style
- Victorian customs
- The filming of "Some Like it Hot"
- The story behind the "Windsor Cottage"
- The ice rink on the beach
Imagine this lawn as an ice rink in the winter! - And the Desert Tree
I had hoped to see parts of the hotel we would not see get to see as "tourists off the street." We saw:
Historic buildings across the parking lot from the hotel that once served as servants' quarters and laundry rooms for the hotel's rich clientele (these are now administrative offices for the hotel)
A miniature model of the upcoming renovations
The stained glass window on the third floor at the back of the hotel
The "Some Like it Hot" porch that was boarded up – we wouldn't have known what it was unless someone pointed it out to us
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| There are plans to re-open up this boarded up porch from "Some Like it Hot." |
The Crown Room
The Ball Room inside one of the towers (the "tower" is really just a very high ceiling, which got closed off in the 1960's and will be reopened again soon)
The Desert Tree from "Some Like it Hot," which we would have passed up ourselves, were it not for our tour guide
The Desert Tree was our last stop on the tour. After that, we snacked on the balcony overlooking the pool and cabanas.
Then, newly "badged" with our tour stickers, we decided to do a little more touring on our own.
Our Own Tour
On our Legendary Tour, we had walked by a "wall of fame" adorned with photos of famous guests, and through a hallway of shops (of course!) We had smelled the sweets from the "Spreckels Sweets & Treats" shop and decided to go in. There were candy bars I don't think I would have seen anywhere else like Jalapeno Bars and Potato Chip Bars. But they were $7.00, so we decided to go to the Sundae's at the Del ice cream shop instead.
I got the watermelon sorbet and my family got chocolate ice cream. We didn't see any prices listed (or maybe we just didn't look.) It turned out to be the most expensive ice cream we'd ever had at $6.50 a scoop! But my sorbet was almost as creamy as ice cream and oh-so-good, and my family said their chocolate was really rich! So if anyone wants really rich ice cream for the price of a meal, this is the place to go.
Glamour at 75% Off
Lucky for us there was a 75% off sale happening at the Del that day. So we got to dress like rich people at a quarter of the price. I got a dress, and my daughter got a shirt. So posh!
Then our tour had to come to an end because, alas, we only bought 3-hr parking.
Have you been to Coronado? Where did you go? Please share in the comments below. Happy touring!
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