It was really like a dream. I'd read about this historic and beautiful hotel, so when I got an opportunity to visit San Diego, my first trip to the West Coast, I chose the del. I was NOT disappointed. I stayed in a Victorian, no view, a small room in the old but beautiful section of the hotel. Perfect for one person, a bit snug for two. Traditional, 1930's style furnishings. Updated for the 21st century. Linens were fabulous. Bed very comfortable. The no view was actually a view of the court year, quite lovely and quiet. Immaculately clean.

The beach? WOW! I'm a New Englander. I never thought I could see beaches as beautiful as those on the coast of Maine or Cape Cod. Was I mistaken. The beach was spectacular.

One complaint...a room amenity includes coffee maker with coffee and 1 bottle of spring water. Housekeeping will leave coffee and sugar daily but no water. Tap water is terrible tasting and water from the takeout restaurant is $3.70 for 16 oz. It's a minor inconvenience and expense, but a real room annoyance.


Regardless, if I get back to San Diego, it only the del for me!

We booked 5 rooms for our family vacation between Christmas and New Year's at this famous resort. My husband and I were assigned to a very small room right next to a stairwell, and overlooking the courtyard. All day and evening we were subjected to hordes of kids stampeding up and down the open stairs, right behind the headboard wall of our bed! It turns out that we were right across the hall from the famous "haunted room", so that exacerbated the situation. When I asked to be switched to a quieter room closer to my kids and parents' rooms, I was told nothing was available. We had specifically asked for the 5 rooms to be close together when we made the booking. Finally, a sympathetic front desk clerk told me we could move the next day. The second room was better, but the lighting is so poor that I really can't see anything in the closet at night. Only one low-wattage energy-saving bulb in the ceiling. The bathroom has a pedestal sink with no storage. For a 5-star hotel, the service is spotty. There is no nightly turn-down or room freshening. It took my parents 1 hour and 40 minutes to get a room service dinner delivered. There is an outdoor ice-rink at the hotel just for the holidays, and because of this, the hotel is SWAMPED with outside visitors in addition to its 100% guest occupancy. It's like Disneyland...we had to line up for 30 minutes just to check in, and the lobby and arcades are jammed at all hours. The staff is very friendly and helpful, but they are overwhelmed. I would caution anyone from spending Christmas week here - I know I won't do this again! Food is astronomically expensive. There is a take-away snack bar next to the restaurant, and a tuna wrap sandwich was close to $20. In-room continental breakfast was $22 without coffee. The spa is lovely but very expensive as well, and the hotel gym has no shower facilities, so you're forced to traipse a long way outdoors between the gym and your room unless you've booked a service at the spa, in which case you can use the showers there. All in all, the Hotel Del is a lovely hotel in a great town, but it charges 5-star prices for what is essentially 3-star amenities.

dirty rooms........complained ..moved to towers.............way too crowded........tours or whatnot............res needed way too much in restaurants on property.....if you like no planning...........halls full of carts for cleaning at times..............next time will avoid the mob scene...pricey...but lack of value is extreme..............fuhgedaboutit...............

We just returned from three wonderful days at the del. It is splurge but thanks to hints from other reviewers we had a terrific mini-vacation in December. After researching prices and comments , I called the hotel directly to book a room. The service was good - she noted our request for a quiet room, in one of the towers (not the main building where the victorian rooms are reportedly quaint and smaller). At check-in this information was on our record and despite our late check-in we were given a room in Ocean Towers. They called it a 'no view room' since the balcony partially overlooked the self park area, but the balance of the view was the Pacific. The room was nicely appointed, spacious, clean and a partial ocean view made the morning sunrise a treat. For even better views request 6401, 6501, 6601, etc.

Our room ($234) included breakfast in Sheerwater. The buffet was nice, we loved the omelette bar and the service was very friendly. We had a minor mistake on our bill which the front desk handled instantly.

It's all about location/location. This is the Coronado hub - walking distance to everything and they offer plenty of ammenities (which you pay for with the daily resort fee/ and parking fees). We loved our dinner at Tent City, enjoyed fish tacos at Briggatine (sp?) and went to La Jolla one night Osteria Romantica.

We enjoyed our stay at the del and plan to return another time.