With the uptick in travel, now is the time to map out your plans for the new calendar year – especially when it comes to one of the most popular times to jet set: the November and December holidays.
That time of year may seem as distant as the relative who showed up to Christmas Eve dinner this year uninvited, but if you’re looking for a family-friendly place that would make even Clark Griswold up the ante on his lights and décor, reserve your room now at the iconic Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, a resort city in San Diego, before it’s totally booked.
The Hotel del Coronado’s holiday theme and specifics change year to year, but let me paint a picture of what the 2024 Holiday season entailed. We visited the weekend before Thanksgiving, and there is no place I have been in the past that kicked off the “most wonderful time of year” (As Andy Williams so famously put it) quite like this property. Just to give you an idea, the lobby Christmas tree - one of 10 themed trees around the property - had over 10,000 lights and 2,000 ornaments on it.
Our first night there, we cozied up on plush outdoor couches with eggnog in hand at Frostbite Lounge with a crackling fire table to keep us warm. We had the clearest view in one direction of the majestic Coronado Beach sunset and the waves of the Pacific Ocean lapping at the shore, and in the other direction ice skaters practiced their best moves on the hotel’s famous beachside ice rink surrounded by twinkling lights. Our daughter, who was 21-months-old at the time, especially loved when the Zamboni cleared the ice between sessions.
Following that, we headed to The Laundry Pub, an on-site dining venue in a historic beautifully-restored laundry building, featuring an 1880s era bar - and some of the best martinis with blue cheese olives we had during our visit to California. This place not only served up delicious comfort food, but also provided hours of fun for our 9-year-old son who played the Pirates of the Caribbean pinball machine, skee-ball, pop-a-shot and more before, after and during our dinner. The best part? No need for kids to beg mom and dad for more money to continue playing; every machine is complimentary. Don’t miss the Cluck & Waff - buttermilk chicken atop a pecan and bacon waffle served with sweet peach butter and agave syrup infused with rosemary. It was one of many delicious dishes we enjoyed.
Just when we thought the night could not bring any more magic than it already had, we headed over to the Lightshow Spectacular on the Founders Lawn, adjacent to the hotel’s main entrance. The grove of Norfolk Island Pines towering over us lit up for 10 minutes in perfect synchronicity with the holiday jazz music dancing out of the speakers. The show was truly – as named – spectacular, and rivaled even the most famous New York City holiday light shows we frequent each year on the East Coast.
Among the other highlights of our visit:
*A day spent at the Olympic-sized Cabana pool in a Family Cabana complete with a pack n’play where baby napped for a solid 2 hours. Yes, the pool was very warm in late November and yes, we enjoyed some quiet time and a pitcher of spicy margaritas during her snooze. Our server provided everything – swim diapers for the baby, packets of sunscreen, even sunglass wipes.
*A morning at the Ocean Explorer’s Club for our 9-year-old son where he learned more in 3 hours at the touch tank followed by a trip to the beach tide pools -bucket and shovel in hand - than he would have in his third-grade classroom back in Connecticut
*An evening in a Beachside Igloo enjoying poutine, sliders – and again, eggnog (‘tis the season) – followed by s’mores roasting at our own private bonfire in the sand just steps away. There’s nothing like roasting marshmallows with the Pacific Ocean in the background that screams, “Welcome to California.”
The Hotel del Coronado truly has everything you need onsite for a perfect getaway – except lions, tigers and bears … oh my. But luckily, the world-famous San Diego Zoo is only a quick 15-minute drive from the property, and it was the only thing that could peel us away from this incredible place.
2025 is shaping up to be an extra special year for The Del with two new restaurants, Nobu Del Coronado and a new ocean-view dining spot, Veranda, slated to open in the spring. On February 15, the first restored guestrooms in The Victorian debut with the completion of the six-year, $160 million dollar revitalization journey in June 2025. The new rooms – located in the original 1888 beachfront hotel building that hosted celebrity guests like Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin - celebrate the Victorian era in a stunning way.
We visited a bit too early to enjoy the new rooms in The Victorian but were very happy staying in The Views, a building with modern rooms featuring exactly that - breathtaking views of the beach and the Pacific from our balcony.
No matter what time of year you visit, this property blends history, top-notch hospitality, dining and entertainment flawlessly.
For more info, visit https://hoteldel.com .
