Hotel del Coronado

When Bryce and I began planning our last leg of the trip into San Diego, we debated and debated where to stay.  My very first wish was to stay at the Hotel Del Coronado.  It's been on my bucket list of hotels for a long time, we love old hotels and it would give us some beach time.  I was worried that traffic on the bridge would be bad getting back into San Diego (it wasn't), that for the cost of a room the hotel wouldn't live up to expectations (it did) and that it would be too crowded with tourists looking at the hotel (it wasn't).

Coronado was absolutely lovely and from the moment we stepped out of the car I felt we had made the right decision.  It's simply a beautiful, grand old hotel.  From the cage elevator to the iconic red roofs to the old wavy glass in the windows it speaks to workmanship and a lifestyle from long ago.

As soon as we checked in the children received a bag with a map of the hotel, a magnifying glass and clues to each location.  Running around the hotel looking for clues was a great way to get familiar with the hotel!  The reward was ice cream in the ice cream shop!

Of course, the beach was a lovely part of our stay.  We watched the sunset on our first night and though it was cool for much of our stay we also got a gorgeous, warm day to relax in the sun.  It was perfect after being on the go for the first part of our vacation!

 Though we didn't eat every meal at the Hotel Del, we did have a few and they were delicious!  Sitting outside (with heaters on) by the ocean with a beautiful hotel in the background makes it hard not to enjoy yourself!  I also had the most delicious, and beautiful  drink- lavender lemonade.  It was so good, I have to try to replicate it!