Family: Places: Three Generation Trip to Hotel Del Coronado

Three Generation Trip to Hotel Del Coronado

From K. A. Thomas, New York, N.Y.

We went to San Diego with my parents, my sister and my three small children during the first week of June. I planned it with my father as a chance for him to take the kids on vacation and to visit my sister, who lives in LA. We stayed at the newly done Beach Villas at the Del, part of the Hotel Del Coronado.

The point was to give my parents and sister some time with the kids, while getting a few adult moments in, as well. We stayed in two beachside villas, complete with hot tubs, fire pits, rocking chairs, iPod docks, and full kitchens. The villas essentially act as a temporary country club membership with separate pools and dining if you choose (and a great little beachside bar). The #1 ranked public beach was right outside our front door and we got to see naval Boats, NAVY Seal helicopters and aircraft right out our window. The first morning we awoke completely jetlagged at sunrise only to find scores of dolphins flipping and playing in the surf, as if to welcome us to their town.

We spent our morning visiting the San Diego Zoo, Sea World and the Wild Animal Park and our afternoons running on the beach, choosing from the Del’s many swimming pools, or renting those four person bike contraptions and cruising around en famille. I was able to go for daily runs around the island, which is a great way of seeing it. The town on the island feels like a small college town, with lots of great breakfast spots and shops to visit.

The San Diego Zoo was great if you have never seen a panda or a koala, but the real highlight for the adults was the Wild Animal Park, which is a little further away. We took a VIP tour that was spectacular—complete with visiting the elephant up close, a private safari and visiting with the centers animal ambassadors (and touching a few). The kids favorite was feeing and petting a dolphin at Sea World. We used a VIP guide there, as well, and got to go behind the scenes and touch sharks and see baby seals, as well has getting front-of-the-line passes for the rides and reserved seating for the shows. The new Sesame Street rides were too crowded and not much better than smaller amusement parks at home—BUT our 20-month-old was more than thrilled to see “Eh-Mo! Eh-mo! Eh-mo”.

The best lunches were at the hotel, which also boasts a coffee counter and ice cream parlor. We would order in dinner for the kids and watch sunset with them (our babysitter came along) and then head out to dinner. 1500 at the Hotel Del Coronado was good one night, and not so good the next. We ventured to Rhinoceros in town, which was fun and cute with decent food. The culinary highlight was George’s in La Jolla where I had the best Mojito, as well as a fresh beet salad, and wonderful ravioli. It was a great spot for sunset and dinner. The concierge was great, the in-room cleaning a little lacking, but overall it was a wonderful surprise. If you are okay with the laid-back California service and don’t need Four Seasons style attention, for the same high prices- this feels like one of those ‘50s era family resorts with brand new amenity-laden villas. There were a few corporate events going on at the hotel (and a surprise engagement), but that did not affect us much. Sadly, things were so great on the island that we never even ventured into the actual city of San Diego.

TIPS: With children, it is good to know about Rady Children’s Hospital, which has a proficient and wonderful emergency room staff and a pharmacy right next door, as we learned when my daughter got sick during the trip. The hotel wanted to send us to the nearest urgent care center, but my sister asked some locals who told her about Rady, which made a huge difference.

We bought all of our tickets and booked tours in advance on the www.sandiegozoo.com (we were unable to book a VIP tour of the zoo by calling a week in advance, so book early), as well as Sea World: www.seaworld.com

The Beach Villas at the Del 800-582-2595 or www.delbeachvillage.com