Coronado or Del Mar?
 

Hello. We are planning our first trip to San Diego. I am torn between the Hotel Del Coronado and the L'Auberge del Mar. We want something really nice (we've had a really difficult year and are due for a big celebration) that's close to the beach.

Coronado sounds great, but there are such mixed reviews about the Hotel Del. Is Del Mar an equally nice/fun area? The L'Auberge there gets consistently excellent reviews, but I'm afraid the area wouldn't be as interesting as Coronado.

I've never been to southern California, so I welcome any advice! Thanks in advance!

I love the Del, but in your case, I think I'd go for the luxury of L'Auberge. Del Mar is a lovely town, with a nice beach and lots of fun shopping and food.

You can drive to La Jolla and Mission Beach areas in about 10 minutes and to Coronado in 25 or 30 minutes. Other San Diego attractions such as the Zoo and Balboa Park are about 20-25 minutes from Del Mar or 5-10 minutes from Coronado.

Thanks for the quick response! Why do you suggest L'Auberge if you love the Del? Is it that L'Auberge is a more luxurious hotel?

The Del is historic (if you're in the old building), beautiful and right on a long, white sand beach. Big old-fashioned pool, tennis courts, and some the common areas are just gorgeous. Decent food, but better elsewhere in coronado. I spent my wedding night here and have had many friends and relatives stay here and love it.

That said, the rooms are from the Victorian era..small, with wood floors and wood walls, so noise can be an issue if you aren't lucky with your neighbors. Ocean view rooms are very pricey, and many of the other rooms have no view at all.

L'Auberge is new and totally elagant; built for the luxury market, which has not really been tapped in San Diego till now . I've only eaten there, but some relatives who stayed overnight said they felt very pampered.

The Del can be hit or miss on the rooms, food and service and it sounds like you want a sure thing for this particular trip!

Thank you again, so much! This is very helpful. You're right, we do need a "sure thing" after a year filled with loss -- we need to get 2006 off with a bang! That's why I was nervous about Hotel Del. Reviews seems to be so mixed.

Thanks for your feedback on Del Mar.

Oh, I forgot to mention one thing -- we will have our two small children with us!! They are well-behaved so I'm not worried about that, but wonder if Hotel del Coronado might be more fun for them than L'Auberge del Mar. If anyone has any thoughts on that, that would be great. Thank you again!

hmmm, that makes a difference, as Del Mar is much more fun for adults and Coronado is better for families. You could still stay in Del Mar, but it will involve more driving.

Coronado has these great little bicycle surreys (with a fringe on top!) that you can rent by the hour to cruise around town. YOu can also rent regular bicycles - and kid seats too, I think from Holland's. Coronado is the BEST town for biking..safe wide streets, lots of quaint houses and lovely gardens to look at, and a fun park across from the public library at 6th and Orange. You can take a pedestrian ferry from the bottom of orange ave that is a lot of fun. $2 I think? and it will drop you over by the old sailing ship, The Star of India. Lots cheaper than a 'harbor cruise' and just the right length of time for kids. Coronado has a great little dinner theatre. Not sure if it would be appropriate for really tiny kids.

There used to be little paddle boats down on Glorietta bay that you can rent, but haven't done it for a few years so not sure.

The Del is right on the beach and there are opportunities for shell collecting, tide pools, and big boulders along Alameda Blvd that are GREAT fun to climb on. Frisbies are fun if it isn't too crowded.

BTW, when are you going? Water is cold in San Diego till late June/July, so the beach will obviously have different appeal depending on when you go.

With kids, Balboa park will be loads of fun...the Zoo,the train and merry go round out front of the Zoo (not open all year, so check)and the museums are great.Also the Reuben H. Fllet space center with Imax is good.

Also, if the Del still doesn't appeal to you for it's price, the Glorietta Bay Inn gets high praise fom many Coronado people. Check out the pictures as some of the rooms are not as interesting as others. It is right across the street from the Del, and faces Glorietta Bay, so you wouldn't be in a bad location.

L'Auberge is a wonderful hotel, and more modern chic than the Del, but definitely more of an adult place. The beach is a good downhill walk away, and not nearly as nice as the Del's beach. I think the kids would find the Del a lot more interesting. And as long as you don't mind the tourist traffic (and the potential for an older, smaller room -- although they aren't all small) the Del is really a special place. I think that's really the safer bet.

Del Mar beach, a really lovely beach by the way, is one of the most popular beaches for kids of all ages. The beach is across the road from the hotel. Coronado is very nice, too, but please don't think that Del Mar is an adult-only place, it's not.

I agree with Barbara. I love Del Mar, but in your case I might be tempted to lean towards the Del.
Everything that was said here seems correct - but the Del is a classic. As a historic property it may have its glitches, but it is still the Del. If you do not care for one of the smaller historic rooms, you might opt for the Ocean Towers, a modern annex to the old hotel.
I just heard that they are building a new infinity pool and spectacular spa as well as adding some rooms. So you might inquire at the hotel first whether this will affect your stay in any way (on the positive side you might even be able to book a brand new room).

However, if you prefer a quieter atmosphere, the Auberge Del Mar should rank higher on your list. While not at all spectacular from the outside, it is classy. The walk to the beach as outlined before BTW is just a short hop across the street and rails.

The beaches are almost a toss-up IMHO. While Coronado is wider, the one in Del Mar has these nice cliffs in the background that make them scenic. Neither of the two is completely quiet. While on Coronado you might be entertained by the slurping sounds of military aircraft approaching the Air Base, Del Mar has the trains that sometimes blow their horns in order to warn joggers following the rails to be aware of the train coming.

Overall your choice is among the two nicest beach communities I know. Not much where you could go wrong!

Just forgot to outline why I think the Auberge is quieter: One drawback of the Del IMHO is that it attracts crowds of visitors that just want to tour the hotel but do not stay there. Thus, the atmosphere tends to be busy whereas the Auberge is much smaller and appears to be more personal.

Thank you thank you thank you. You've all been so helpful -- although I still haven't made a final decision!! Two more questions since you all seem like great experts on these areas:

1) My son is in a wheelchair. It sounds like the beach access from L'Auberge Del Mar might be tricky in a wheelchair. Is that right?

2) We are leaning towards the Hotel Del based on everyone's feedback, but do you know if the rooms are considered noisy? That would be a real drawback for my noise-sensitive, sleep-deprived husband!! We've booked a suite in the Victorian building.

Thank you again!!!

Oh, and one more thing -- someone asked about the time of year and the ages of our children. We are going in April. My daughter will be 5 and my son will be 2.

You wouldn't be able to cut across the park to get to the beach at Del Mar with a wheelchair, and so it would be a slightly longer walk.

I hope the weather will be good for you, but in April it can still be cool here. The ocean water will be very cold, so your kids will be swimming in the hotel pool.

As hsv said, you really can't go wrong in either place.

The weather in april should be pretty nice - not a lot of fog, relatively warm temperatures. With kids that little, ocean swimming isn't a good idea anyway, so it wont matter that the water is cold. The weather should be perfect for playing on the beach though.

At the Del, there are concrete ramps right down to the sand, which will make it convinient for your son in the wheelchair.

Wow, thanks for the excellent tip on the concrete ramps down to the beach in Del Mar. This will be our first beach trip with a wheelchair, so it's hard for me to think of what will be necessary. Great tip.

Thanks again to all who've responded. Please feel free to provide more feedback if you think of anything else!

There is also a concrete walkway at Pacific Beach/Mission Beach that goes for miles - it would be great for a wheelchair bound person - goes along the beach, lots of restaurants, shops etc and even an amusement park. There are bikers, walkers, skateboarders etc

Also Carlsbad has a concrete walkway to the beach and along the beach ( but not as long as the one at PB)
but both would provide great wheelchair access and I think Carlsbad is one of the nicest beach communities there is

efojdma,

the hint from J_Correa regarding the concrete ramps to the beach referred to "the Del". This is the common abbreviation for "Hotel Del Coronado". Not to be mistaken for "Del Mar"!

A bit confusing terminology in this case!

On the other hand I seem to recall that there is a concrete ramp to the beach in Del Mar, too, just to the left of Jake's restaurant. And from the parking lot to the left of the Motel Del Mar, there is no ramp at all (right by the lifeguards). The only downside is, just as Barbara said, that you would not be able to use a short cut, but rather go around the Auberge. Not such a big deal, though.

Ah, thanks for pointing out my misunderstanding! I'm leaning towards Del Mar, but still really torn!! I still think Coronado might be better for my kids in terms of activities, particularly at the hotel. Can anyone comment on the noise level in the Victorian rooms? I believe one of the first posts above said that noise can indeed be a concern in some of the rooms. Is that in the Victorian section?

Thank you again.

yes the main building rooms are the ones that are less soundproof. The towers are typical concrete highrise, so are quieter.