Hotel del Coronado — Restaurant in Coronado

We spent four days at the Del Coronado. We came mid October midweek during the slow season and it was a fantastic experience. I appreciate historic structures so we had been looking forward to our visit. We came with low expectations because so often travel experiences are overhyped. Last year I spent more than 130 days in hotels for business so hotels normally don't excite me.

We had booked the cheapest King in the Victorian, but were pleasantly surprised at checkin when we were upgraded to an ocean view with two queens. The view made up for not having one king bed. The rooms was very clean and the craftsmanship was amazing. The bathroom was all in marble, and the shower had a very intricate and captivating marble design on the floor. The crown moulding around the room and windows was beautifully and thoughtfully done. The beds were very comfortable. The rooms have a huge television that is installed in a nice furniture grade box so as not detract from the room.

We enjoyed dinner at Veranda on two occasions. While the pork chops I had were very good, the Wednesday night fried chicken feature was the best fried chicken I had ever had. It included cheese biscuits and a spicy honey sauce that was incredible. My wife had the roast chicken and it was also very good. The prices are not cheap, but that is ok because the quality was very high. We had the coconut cream pie and it was fantastic. Restaurant service was well attentive and there was always someone ready to fill our water glass or take our empty plate. We also ate at the Eno pizzeria and had the Honey and Heat pizza with chicken sausage and featured a spicy honey sauce. Probably the best pizza flavor I have had. We also ate poolside too. I could go on and on, but the food throughout was outstanding with some neat flavors.

We went to the beach for two of the days and enjoyed long walks. They won't let you take rented hotel chairs and umbrellas to the shoreline beyond the lifeguard towers because of what I understand is City Ordinance that prevents it, but if you show your room card at the beach they'll give you towels.

We did an historical tour of the hotel that I recommend if you are into the history of the original hotel. If you are not into this aspect then skip the tour . The tour guide was friendly and enjoyed her work. I can say that every employee that we came across was genuinely helpful and friendly.

One thing to keep in mind is the resort is not cheap both in quality and price. Dinner for us at Veranda was around $150 each night. Lunch was around $70 poolside and I had a breakfast sandwich that was around $16. Pricey, but all high quality. One minor complaint was items in some stores like the candy shop and market were not priced and I found that annoying. It is out of principle that I want to know the price of something before I bring it to the checkout.

This is a busy convention and special event facility so go in knowing there are going to be large groups of people in various areas of the resort at various times of the day. It always seemed the event staff was setting up and breaking down a venue in all parts of the resort and as a result at times the resort has an under construction feel to it.

We had an appreciation for the original hotel. If this doesn't interest you I would suggest you choose one of the other lodging locations at the resort, especially if you have kids because we noticed some have better amenities like fire pits and more direct beach access which might be more important for families than staying in the antique hotel. All in all we will be back, only in off season because I don't think I would want to battle the crowds during the...

My husband and I came here for the start of our honeymoon on Friday the 17th. We had scheduled a photo shoot on the beach for Saturday. I couldn't sleep since I was sneezing all night. I woke up with swollen eyes and looked around for the source of my allergy attack. Then I noticed the collection of dust on the ceiling light. I ended up canceling the photo shoot and filing an incident report. On the report, I asked that the property manager contact me. I didn't get a call as requested. Instead, I received an email from Alex from Hilton guest relations with the following: Based on our records, the hotel should have reached out to you by now for Guest Assistance Case Number 254437370. The hotel never reached out. I responded to Alex's email and contacted the property twice. Today I spoke with Taylor, the front desk manager, who refused to transfer my call to the property manager claiming that this was being investigated by security. She told me that the head of security would reach out to me by 5pm today. I let her know that if no one called by that time that I would post the pictures on Google reviews as a warning to others and her response was "do as you please." It is past 8:30p EST and since no one called, here are the pictures and report as a warning to those who have allergies. I expected better from a $650+ dollar a night hotel. I will be reaching out to Hilton Corporate offices tomorrow.

Update: October 26th. The Hilton guest relations department referred my case back to security. The security supervisor today called me asking personal health questions and blaming me for not letting the property know that I have allergies. He admitted to not looking at the report I filed or at the pictures taken by his security officer prior...

The Del is Dead

The last time I visited this historic resort was more than twenty years ago. It was a magnificent mansion with large, beautifully appointed rooms. Our young family joined others on the beach, building sandcastles and playing in the surf.

Since then, Hilton has murdered the Del in cold, profit-seeking blood. Instead of large, lovely rooms, they’ve created a warren of tiny cells that reek of new-carpet chemicals. The beach, polluted by Mexican sewage, is deserted. It is expensive. There’s no room service, yet guests must stand in long lines to pay $15 for a single cup of coffee (tips start automatically at 18%). Hot water is $2.00. Everything at this absurd resort costs at least five times what it would anywhere else.

At $500 per warren-like room, one might at least expect five-star service. Sadly, no. I made a reservation in April for rooms facing the ocean, but we were given rooms facing the garden. No correction was made, and the service was abysmal. If I had a nickel for every time I passed the lobby and heard guests complaining that they hadn’t received the rooms they’d been promised, I could have paid the ridiculous bill in change.

One guest had his sweatpants swept up by housekeeping and lost forever (they did comp him). Another arrived to find used Keurigs in the coffeemaker and leftovers in the refrigerator. The internet was painfully slow, and the fire alarm was tested repeatedly.

RIP, Hotel del Coronado. I’ll treasure the memories and skip a return visit.

If, for whatever reason, one insists on visiting Coronado and its polluted beach, the Marriott across the street from the Del is a far...