Hotel Del Coronado – It’s Beautiful

We decided to be tourists in our own town on New Years day and headed south to the famous San Diego destination, the historic Hotel Del Coronado.  After some quick calculations, we figured we had not been down to this treasure in about five years.  I know….bad San Diegans!

The Del, as the locals call it, is about a half hour drive from our home.  Like most, we drove over the Coronado bridge to make our way onto the island.  When doing this you get to enjoy this beautiful view.

Isn’t downtown beautiful, and to think it’s January!

Once at the hotel you are greeted with this beautiful sign in front of the hotel lobby but it’s quickly dwarfed by the stunning architectural wonder right in front of you.

 That’s my incredible husband in the photo.  So glad he enjoys seeing these works of “art” with me.

One of my main reasons for wanting to visit the hotel was that I had heard for years that they had added an ice skating rink on the beach side of the hotel.  It just sounded intriguing to me to have “ocean” and “ice” meet in Southern California. Here are a few of the shots of the ocean on one side, and the ice skating rink on the other.

This was definitely a popular spot for tourist and locals alike but hats off to the Del for making this comfortable for everyone.  There were plenty of seats if you wished to sit and take in the skaters and even coffee and hot chocolate bars to keep you and your tummy toasty.

Once we left this area we headed over to what I believe was a new gift shop since my last visit.  I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the typical hotel gift shop with everything imprinted with the hotel logo.  There were many items that I would not hesitate to purchase for my own home, or the homes of my clients.  Also, the prices were very fair, another pleasant surprise for such a landmark hotel.  Here are a couple of examples.

We then went past a place I hope to return to soon . . . the spa!   I’ll look forward to returning and taking a look at how this spa has been designed and decorated in desire to spoil their hotel guests

In this photo you have to love the gentlemen sitting outside . . . I’m assuming they are waiting for their ladies.  Brownie points guys!

We then headed to the courtyard of the hotel.  I was a little disappointed to see that the gazebo that I had fallen in love with years ago had been removed.  It was always like a walk back in time to see that gazebo which was always graced with big old white wooden rocking chairs.

What was a surprise was to see this courtyard all decked out for the holiday season with faux ice displays and mountains.  I’m sure that prior to Christmas that Santa must have greeted the little ones in this area.

We then headed into the hotel lobby where you will see many of the stunning aspects of the hotel, you  can be read about then, and the history of the hotel here.

This is the hotel elevator, which is still in use.  Isn’t it a beauty!  Here you can see a glimpse of the very artistic woodwork that adorns the lobby.

Look at the ceiling in the hotel lobby.  Unbelievable hand carved wood work.

After I stopped drooling over the woodwork we headed over to yet another gift shop right off of the lobby.  It has some great items for your decorating needs and once again nearly all of the items were NOT dripping with the hotel logo, you could use them in just about any home.  Here are a few examples.

Oops there is that great man again . . . off to the right.

As we were in this gift shop I over heard the very knowledgeable cash register attendant telling another guest about a great place at the hotel to have a glass of wine and enjoy an ocean view.  I quickly introduced myself, asked for forgiveness for over hearing the conversation, but asked for directions to that little Hotel Del oasis.

The sun was setting and it could not have been a better time to head to this little gem and have some vino and an appetizer.  You could sit outside or inside, but we opted for inside because it was becoming chilly, although there were heaters outside for those that dared.

Beautiful sunset on the first day of 2016.

 We opted for a couple glasses of wine, some artisan breads and meatball appetizers.

It was so pleasant to sit near the window, sip our wine, enjoy the sunset and people watch.

Then, it was time to head home but only after trying to catch a few more shots of the hotel lit up for the evening.

If you’re visiting our beautiful city any time soon, place Hotel Del Coronado on your schedule, you won’t be let down.

Now off to start my design goals for 2016.  I’m sure I can incorporate some of those Del details in a couple of homes.

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