Come with us on a tour of Coronado’s fabulous hotels – three luxury resorts, historic mansions, bed and breakfast properties and smaller boutiques along Coronado’s “Main Street,” – Orange Avenue. One’s just right for you!
Loews Coronado Bay
Part of the prestigious Loews Hotel chain, Loews Coronado Bay opened in 1991 on a private peninsula just north of the Coronado Cays. Its 439 rooms include 37 suites and feature luxury at every turn: 300 thread count, 100 percent cotton bed linens, Keurig coffeemakers, in-room safes, flat-screen TVs and minibars.
All rooms feature balconies or patios, with views of the Coronado Bridge, bay and the Pacific, just a stone’s throw down the causeway.
The marble bathrooms and deep Japanese-style soaking tubs at Loews make bathing a pleasure, especially when paired with 100 percent combed and ring-spun cotton bath sheets, lather skin and body care products, make-up mirrors and hair dryers, and “Ultimate Doeskin” robes.
The resort’s signature restaurant, Mistral, under the direction of fifth-generation French chef Patrick Ponsaty, takes diners on a delicious journey of the Mediterranean coast. Robust, intense flavors are prepared with innovative techniques and infused with fresh herbs from the resort’s garden.
Loews’ Sea Spa features 15 treatment areas for massage, facials and body services, spa manicures, steam room, sauna and a relaxation lounge, a complete fitness center and aerobic studio with group and private classes.
Loews loves pets and offers your best buddy special treats, bedding, water bowls and other goodies.
The resort’s three tennis courts and swimming pools overlook a private 80-slip marina that’s also home to the Gondola Company, where gondoliers will escort you on a romantic tour of the Coronado Cays.
(619) 424-4000 • 4000 Loews Coronado Bay Road
Hotel del Coronado
Since 1888, the Hotel del Coronado, with its iconic turrets, has been the ultimate seaside resort, entertaining royalty and presidents, hosting large weddings and intimate dinners and being the “destination Sunday brunch” for hundreds of thousands of families over the decades, or should we say, more than a century.
Spread upon 28 acres of oceanfront (ranked the No. 2 best beach in North America by Dr. Beach), the Del now offers 757 guestrooms, in addition to its award-winning 1500 Ocean restaurant, and popular “Shops at the Del” arcade. 
In 2007, the hotel unveiled more than $150 million in luxury enhancements including a world-class spa, state-of-the-art fitness center and the cottages and villas at Beach Village. These 78 secluded two- and three-bedroom beachfront guest rooms and suites all feature the Del’s classic red-shingled roofs, spacious dining areas and “great rooms” with cozy fireplaces and gourmet kitchens with top-name appliances.
The Beach Village complements the hotel’s existing accommodations in the original Victorian building, and the more tropical feel of the Ocean Towers and the California Cabanas surrounding the resort’s main pool.
Room amenities include the Del’s signature line of personal-care and bath products, plush terry robes, television with HBO, in-room safes, and turndown service (upon request).
(619) 435-6611 ∑ 1500 Orange Ave.
Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa
The 16-acre waterfront property that today is Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa was built in 1988 concurrent with the building of Tidelands Park. The resort opened as Le Meridien at Coronado; Marriott took over the property in 1997.
Flamingos welcome you to the resort of 300 guest rooms, including 27 suites. Most rooms are in the main hotel where courtyards of the two three-story towers feature lush landscaping and a walk-in aviary. Many guest rooms feature stunning panoramic views of the resort’s main pool with lounge chairs at every curve, palm trees, San Diego Bay and the Downtown San Diego skyline. There’s also an enclave of 20 “Villas” — one- and two-bedroom suites, with a Villa pool, a nice setting for honeymooners or couples celebrating anniversaries. The resort’s spa offers massages, body wraps, facials, manicures, therapy baths and other luxuries plus gym, lap pool and tennis. The resort’s private pier is a great place to board a water taxi to San Diego.
The Marriott’s lobby bar, Tides, offers signature cocktails each evening, while Current restaurant serves fresh California cuisine and a popular breakfast buffet.
If you’re in the mood for a good night’s rest, you’ll want to indulge in the new “bed from Marriott,” featuring down comforters, designer duvet and fluffier pillows. Aah…
(619) 435-3000 • 2000 Second St.
La Avenida Inn
La Avenida Inn is a charming property in the center of Coronado, offering 29 spacious guest rooms around a courtyard with an inviting swimming pool, lawn area and on-site parking. Rooms include king or double queen beds or full suites. The inn is part of the attractive “La Avenida” shopping venue, with three on-site restaurants — Bistro d’Asia, the rooftop La Terrazza, and Bruegger’s Bagels, along with Cotier furnishings, Earth, Wind & Sea gifts and Beach House Realty. 
La Avenida’s owners Gus and Barbara Theberge never set out to be innkeepers, but in 1992 on the steps of San Diego Courthouse, the keys to the hotel and retail complex were turned over to the couple. The Theberges were the first-trust deed holders on the property, owned by a Japanese development firm, which had purchased the inn, built in 1956, and retail complex, circa 1936, from its original owners, the Robinson/Brahm family.
The developers had secured approval from the Coronado City Council to demolish the inn and retail complex and in its place build a massive 133-room hotel with retail and underground parking. But with the recession of the early 1990s, the developers couldn’t obtain financing as lenders went belly up. Barbara Theberge shuddered when she recalled the utter disrepair of the property. “The motel itself needed lots of TLC,” Barbara recalled. “The former restaurant and stores had not only been closed, the interiors had been gutted.”
And so the Theberges set out to restore luster to La Avenida, hiring Coronado’s Jackman Group and architect Doug Austin in San Diego. First, they refurbished the interior and exterior of the inn.
When the Theberges turned their attention to the former iconic La Avenida Café, they discovered the famous Ramos Martinez murals still intact upon the interior stucco walls. The Theberges paid for their removal, transport to Los Angeles for professional restoration and eventual donation to the Coronado Public Library. Valued in the millions, the murals became the focal point of the library’s entrance as part of its 2005 renovation and expansion. A second smaller mural, “Fiesta de las Flores,” discovered by Gus Theberge when he peeled back wallpaper in the bar area of the restaurant, was purchased by Coronado Friends of the Library and now graces the library’s central reading area.
In their sensitive restoration of the complex, the Theberges saved the historic “tower” of the former La Avenida Café, created a second rooftop restaurant setting, and maintained the Spanish-Mediterranean motif. For their restoration efforts, the Theberges received a 1996 Golden Hibiscus Award, the city of Coronado’s highest award for design excellence.
(619) 435-3191 • 1315 Orange Ave.
Glorietta Bay Inn
“Lovely,” is a word that comes to mind when one walks the garden pathways of Glorietta Bay Inn, the former home of John Spreckels, who once owned the Hotel del Coronado, just across the street. 
Vibrant fuchsia-colored bougainvillea surround patios, roses grace the patio outside the historic music room. Maids and gardeners who service the grounds are uniformly polite and caring of guests they encounter, one of the many reasons that Glorietta Bay Inn has consistently garnered the award for Best Guest Service Relations statewide in 2009 and 2010 from the California Hotel & Lodging Association.
In 1906, Spreckels and his family lived in San Francisco and experienced the
devastating earthquake and fire. Deciding to leave that city forever, Spreckels had two Coronado homes commissioned, both designed by architect Harrison Albright who worked with a new type of steel-reinforced concrete construction. Spreckels moved his family into his bayfront house in 1908: it is now the 11-room mansion centerpiece of Glorietta Bay Inn. (He gave the Ocean Boulevard home, which he never lived in, to his son Claus as a wedding present.)
The Glorietta Bay Inn also features 89 contemporary rooms, all equipped with flat-screen hi-definition TVs with docking stations, DVDs, refrigerators, microwaves, safes and hair dryers. All rooms are non-smoking.
Spacious suites have fully equipped kitchens, king beds and sofa beds. Two-bedroom, two-bath suites with kitchenettes are also available.
Contemporary rooms feature patios or balconies.
An expanded continental breakfast is served daily off the mansion’s “Music Room,” where Spreckels used to gather with his children and grandchildren to enjoy music of the day.
(619) 435-3101 • 1630 Gloriettta Blvd.
El Cordova Hotel
Serving guests since 1930, El Cordova Hotel is a picturesque Spanish hacienda inn situated around and above 20 unique shops and three signature restaurants. “Adella Park” with fountains and benches beneath giant ficus and palm trees is at the inn’s front door; inside the courtyard, the popular Miguel’s Cocina offers some of the island’s favorite Mexican food. 
Originally built in 1902 as the mansion of Elisha S. Babcock, one the two Chicago transplants who built the Hotel del Coronado, the Victorian-style home was remodeled and expanded into a Spanish “village” in the 1930s.
El Cordova offers one- and two-bedroom suites, all equipped with flat-screen TVs with HBO, hair dryers, air conditioning and kitchens equipped with microwaves, refrigerators, coffeemakers, china, glasses and flatware. Hand-painted ceramic tiles detail the stairways and kitchens and baths.
The courtyard also features barbecues and table seating for guests of the inn, a heated pool and whirlpool.
(619) 435-0632 • 1351 Orange Ave.
Coronado Inn and Coronado Island Inn
The Hakes family of Coronado has owned the Coronado Inn (30 guestrooms), built in 1946, and the Coronado Island Inn (14 guestrooms) for 40 years.
Bill Hakes, 88, a native Coronadan and former Navy pilot who earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, also owned another hotel at the Third and Orange intersection, the former Del Island Hotel. “When the ferry was operational, we used to rent rooms for $6 a night,” he said in amusement. The hotel was sold to the city for subsidized housing in 1990.
“I always wanted to leave town,” Hakes said. “But instead I married the girl across the street, and we had five kids.”
Both hotels have a continental breakfast with fresh Starbucks coffee daily and 24-hour desk attendants. Rooms include king and queen sized beds, some with kitchenettes, cable TV with HBO, air conditioning, free Wi-Fi, hair dryers, refrigerators and microwaves . The inns also have a relaxing pool area and on-∆site parking.
Son Bob Hakes supervised the renovation of the Coronado Island Inn, installing double-paned windows and upgrading the exterior with an Arts-and-Crafts-styled shingled motif. “I took a design cue from the Lodge at Torrey Pines,” he said.
Now big plans are in the works for Coronado Inn; the city has approved a plan for a new 64-room hotel designed by Galvin/Cristelli Architects. “Now we just have to get all the family members in agreement!” Bill Hakes said. “It’s not easy!
“But just wait. It will knock your socks off,” he promised.
266 Orange Ave. & 301 Orange Ave.
(619) 435-4121
Villa Capri by the Sea
It’s no accident that there’s a John Wayne room at the Villa Capri motel; owner Bettye Vaughn almost starred with the Duke in the classic movie, Red River. As a former model at some of Los Angeles’ most well known department stores, Vaughn had been discovered by Hollywood director Howard Hawks who wanted her for a part. Alas, Vaughn was pregnant with the first of six children and had to pass. 
In 1957, Vaughn and her mother, Dulcie Trowbridge, opened the Villa Capri, built on the former site of John Spreckels’ Japanese garden, which had graced the grounds behind his mansion.
Little Villa Capri has had a number of noted guests over the years, including a former woman judge on the U.S. Supreme Court and popular TV host Huell Howser, a fan of the inn’s historic neon “diving lady” sign and 1950s retro feel.
The motel features 14 units clustered around a patio and pool where a continental breakfast is served daily. All rooms are air conditioned, and have distinct floor plans, many with fully equipped kitchens. Amenities such as hair dryers, ironing board and irons, beach equipment and supplies are available from the on-site innkeeper of 20 years, John Miller. On-site parking.
(619) 435-4137 • 1417 Orange Ave.
BEST WESTERN PLUS Suites Hotel Coronado Island
The BEST WESTERN PLUS Suites Hotel Coronado Island features 61 rooms on three levels including 31 suites (one and two beds) with pullout sofas; 38 rooms are non-smoking. The property includes a heated swimming pool and spa, free underground parking and a central courtyard where guests can enjoy breakfast served daily that features rotating hot entrees including scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and waffles along with fruits, juices, bagels, tea and coffee.
Air-conditioned guest rooms are equipped with cable satellite TV/HBO, DVD players, data ports for high-speed Internet access, hair dryers, telephones with free local calls (less than 30 minutes), coffeemakers, refrigerators and microwaves.
The front desk staff is multilingual (English, Spanish, French, Japanese and Mandarin Chinese) and can assist with business needs.
(619) 437-1666 • 275 Orange Ave..
Crown City Inn
Since 1995, the Crown City Inn has been owned by Coronadans Melissa and Rob Miller. The former Melissa Warren is the youngest of nine children, and grew up in the hotel business, when her father, a recent widower, moved the family from Pennsylvania to Idaho Falls, where he had purchased a hotel. 
Today Warren Hotels own 14 properties throughout the Western United States; all but three are run by family members.
Crown City Inn’s 35 guest rooms on two floors include some with kitchenettes and spa tubs; European-style bathrooms now have rainspout showerheads and glassed-in showers.
The inn is pet-friendly, and pet owners are given a welcome package that includes toys, treats and a list of pet-friendly parks, beaches and restaurants, groomers and veterinarians.
There’s a swimming pool, lots of free bikes for getting around town, and complimentary ice tea and homemade cookies served in the lobby every afternoon.
The popular on-site Crown Bistro is a favorite with guests, offering gourmet breakfasts, lunch and dinners. “Jerry Tovar and his family are totally responsible for the Bistro,” said an appreciative Melissa Miller. “They’ve been with us since we took over the inn.”
Working with Coronado architects Dale and Doug St. Denis in 2005, the Millers upgraded the inn’s parking lot with brick pavers, renovated the lobby and added a guest suite above it. Landscaping abounds with cannas, pygmy palms and Japanese maple.
The Millers’ three children, Marie, Heath and Colton, are now learning the ropes of the hospitality business. “Marie ‘worked’ here last summer and it gave her great confidence,” Melissa said. “And the boys help out with wrapping coins.”
(619) 435-3116 • 520 Orange Ave.
Village Inn
Built in 1928 as the chic “Blue Lantern Inn,” this charming European-style bed and breakfast is on a quiet residential street just around the corner from bustling Orange Avenue.
Each of the Village Inn’s 15 guest rooms (single rooms with queen-size beds; doubles with two full-size beds) has its own décor with antique dressers, armoires, ceiling fans and Battenberg lace comforters and pillow shams. All rooms have daily maid service and are equipped with cable TV, in-room telephones, and individual heaters that allow guests to set their temperature as they desire. Bathrooms are small, but complete, with full-size bathtubs (some with whirlpool tubs). A large, homey kitchen, available 24 hours a day, is equipped with stove, microwave, cooking utensils, full-size refrigerator, and large breakfast table. Each morning a self-serve breakfast of fresh-brewed coffee, teas, warm muffins, fruit and juices is available from 8 to 10 a.m.
(619) 435-9318
1017 Park Place
Cherokee Lodge
“Home of a Naval Aviator” adorns the front lawn of Cherokee Lodge. Indeed, for the past 35 years, the lodge has been owned by Ed Melvin, who purchased the property while on active duty in the U.S. Navy. In 1976, he bought the lodge as a residence for his mother, who moved to Coronado to help him raise his four children after he was widowed. 
Built in 1896, the lodge is composed of three “shotgun” long-and-narrow houses that were barged across San Diego Bay. “The Cherokee Lodge was Coronado’s first B&B,” Melvin said. “Except that B&B stood for bed and board in that day.” Several long-term boarders lived at the home that was owned by Coronado’s first librarian, with the first library operating out of the Spring House of the Hotel del Coronado.
The lodge’s 12 clean and quaint guest rooms and two large apartments all have private baths. Interior design of the guest rooms, parlor and welcoming front porch was supervised by Mary Melvin, Ed’s second wife.
All rooms are equipped with Wi-Fi, Internet data ports, and a PBX system that allows guests to enjoy free worldwide telephone calls.
Guests are given daily vouchers for a continental breakfast of sweet rolls, bagels, juice and coffee at nearby Panera Bread.
(619) 437-1967 • 964 D Ave.
El Rancho
This 10-room property offers two banks of rooms off a central walkway with a garden filled with roses, camellias, azaleas and jasmine; a small patio overlooks Orange Avenue.
Rooms feature one or two double beds. Each is equipped with mini-refrigerators, microwave, cable TV with HBO, armoires and direct-dial phones. Some rooms are air-conditioned. Double bedrooms feature marble-walled bathrooms, accented with glass showers and mirrors.
(619) 435-2251
370 Orange Ave.
1906 Lodge
Sue Gillingham is now able to take a moment, breathe and relax with great satisfaction. “We’ve just finished our third summer, and each summer has been better than the last,” said Gillingham, who, with husband, Dave, is one of the four visionary couples (including Coronadans Joe and Holly Jankiewicz) who own the 1906 Lodge.
This year the lodge was named one of the 10 most romantic hotels in the United States by the popular online travel site, TripAdvisor. “This was huge for us,” said Gillingham, who remembers the long road it took to open the lodge; beginning with a building that had fallen into such decline that it was eventually closed by the city of Coronado.
The couples purchased the lodge in 2005, then secured city approval to lift it off its foundation, install a large underground parking garage and add a companion building of 11 guest suites, each with its own private patio, on the property’s perimeter. A breakfast room, veranda and reflection pond were added, guest rooms were lovingly restored and themed to Coronado’s history, and three meeting rooms were installed in the underground space. The project took three years, but the efforts earned the owners a People in Preservation award from San Diego’s Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO).
We’ve found our niche,” Sue Gillingham said while relaxing on the lodge’s wide front porch amid fragrant landscaping now in abundance. “We’re the destination for couples who want a bit of romance. We’ve had weddings and anniversaries celebrated here, and we’re very soft-hearted with rates for the military, especially pre- and post deployments.”
Four innkeepers — Susan, Denese, Lori and Alyssa — greet guests, attend to guests’ needs and make and serve breakfasts and afternoon appetizers. “Their job is to spoil our guests,” said Gillingham, smiling. “And they’re very good at it.”
(619) 437-1900
1060 Adella Ave.