2hotels in Coronado
 

My husband and I will be in San Diego the first week in Feb. Coronado sound like a fun place to be for a couple of days. I am deciding between Glorietta Bay Inn and Hotel Del Coronado. What do you think? Any other suggestions?

Coronado is a wonderful place to stay. Hotel Del is historic, large, on the beach. Don't know much about Glorietta Bay but others here have mentioned it if you do a search.

I have stayed at the Del quite a bit and always enjoyed my time there. We have always stayed in the older section, and some rooms are small, but others are quite spacious. I do not have any personal experience with Glorietta Bay so can't comment. Love the Del though!

No experience with Glorietta Bay either, but some with the Del, too. I second what my predecessors say: The Del is nice for what it is: A historic ocean front resort of considerable significance.
Prices are steep indeed - and sometimes I feel it is a bit overpriced. What also can be annoying is the throngs of people touring through the hotel but not staying there. <b>But</b>: It is a great location and despite the amount of traffic it gets still charming. The beach is glorious.

My hubbie and i stayed for a few days at the historic Hotel del Corondo while I was pregnant and we were looking for a peaceful place to get away but stay in CA. I loved the place. So much interesting history and delightful architecture abounding with rich, gleaming wood everywhere. The beach/pool lounging is excellent, and staff attention is really great. Also the restaurant (although it was four dollar signs expensive, at the least) was soul enrichingly delicious with impeccable service and presentation and oh, did i mention it is right on the beach. There is a pool with a pool-side bar, live music in the evening. Yummy ice-cream store along the breezeway. This place made me almost believe i was in Hawaii for a moment here and there with the pretty long beach and exotic blossoms around grassy/beachy pathways. If i read that there was a major airstrip right next door, i might be disuaded before i checked this place out. It's no bother. I really look forward to going back again when our pocketbooks get fat enough, that is!

This might be obvious to most, but..
Be careful..if you drive south kinda randomly along the coast, you might get fed right into the border cross road, as we did. It was a harrowing experience, where we were pulled over, harassed and extorted from by a Mexican police officer.

You can't accidentally cross the border into Mexico. There are very clear signs when you get close to the border. One of them tells you it is your last chance to exit before the border crossing. The border crossing at San Ysidro involves sitting in line before you actually cross. There are no small, side roads into Mexico.

yeh...well, i know it sounds so ridiculous, but it did happen that way. There was an opportunity to &quot;last exit,&quot; but the traffic was bad and we missed it. Then we could not turn back. We crossed the border just trying to turn around! We are not normally total idiots, but it did happen to us and the way we were treated once over the border was really..really bad. I look back on it and rib myself thinking &quot;how on earth did that happen&quot; and &quot;we must just be idiots!&quot; So i should clarify, to any other beach hugging idiots..be careful.

oh..yeh..you are right..there are no small roads across the border. What does happen if you miss that last exit, it that you are herded into a cue to drive over the border. If you take the first exit and a sign marked Return to US border or something..you might get hijacked by the local police, is all i'm saying.

I appreciate all of the information about the Del, but was wondering if anyone has stayed across the street at the mansion(Glorietta Bay Inn) where it is quietier and less people going through.

Being a native San Diegan and have stayed at both places and friends too, I prefer the Del even though Glorietta Bay is darling but for the extra $50+ a night to stay at the Del is well worth it! I prefer the new section of the Del (Towers) unless you get a suite and there is some great restaurants in Coronado..I go to the Brigantine across the street from the Del which has the best happy hour for seafood and drink.. local hang out..Great beach and walking in town.
Loew's is great down the way but you have to drive everywhere...and don't worry if you drive south you won't be going into Mexico on some side road..

Go to TripAdvisor.com and read ALL the reviews about the &quot;Del&quot; before booking any room there.

We stayed at the Glorietta Bay Inn several years ago and liked it very much. We did not stay in the Mansion but in one of the more contemporary rooms on the side. The room was very comfortable and we had a view of the bay. I loved the living room where we had our breakfast. You also could eat outside. The parking lot is right out front. We walked over to the Del and were some of those tourists wandering thtough the lobby that someone else mentioned!!!

The Del is a old world hotel, so the lobby and surround are beautiful but the old rooms are tiny, old and basic. Stay in the new towers.

For less money, and great character stay at the Hotel del Cordova. Not on the beach but across the street from Hotel Del, and right on Orange Ave with restaurants and shops.

Ask for detail about the room you book, there is a large variation in sizes and layouts. And the cafe in the hotel has AWESOME breakfasts; very European style.

Primavera Ristorante for very good Northern Italian food. Lambs Player Theatre puts on excellent shows. Both on Orange St w/in walking distance of Hotel Cordova.