Rachel Pitzel

San Diego is one of my favorite places to visit with my family every year. The city on the bay is one of the most beautiful cities in the country, with a temperate climate, incredible scenery, gorgeous resorts, and tons for families to do outdoors. Now I may be a little partial to San Diego, since I spent 9 years there for college and law school. But I didn't pick the city by accident. After visiting Berkeley, Santa Barbara (also beautiful, but very sleepy) and of course my local colleges, I had to go to school next to the most amazing beaches in California. The most famous hotel in San Diego is the iconic Hotel Coronado, where Presidents and celebrities like Marilyn Monroe stayed before most people were even able to travel more than a few miles from their house. The hotel is kind of like a fairy tale come to life, something you would image Belle or Cinderella visiting once they became Princesses. With beachy white woodwork and red accents, it features stunning architecture. From the chandeliers, to the old-school elevator complete with a manual fold out door and an elevator attendant, there is something to catch your eye in every corner. I know what you are thinking, it's gorgeous, but with such an old building, what are the rooms like? They are fabulous! Picture waves crashing right outside your room, flat screen tvs in every room, plenty of storage space, and incredibly relaxing. We stayed in a Junior Suite, and there was plenty of room for all five of us (we almost always travel with my mom). We got two queen size beds and had a fold out couch, and we never felt cramped. The best part of the hotel in my opinion is the location right on the most beautiful stretch of Coronado Beach. We had sweeping views from our room and caught the sunset every day. The beach has the finest sand, unlike our coarse, thick sand here in LA (boo!). Beach attendants are waiting to give you towels and rent chairs, umbrellas and more. Naturally I brought my roundie towels by The Beach People and sand toys by My Beach Mate, but they even have those available! The pool is another highlight. You feel like you are at the beach club from the summer seasons of 90210 (which was actually filmed at The Beach Club in LA, an 800-person member's only club with a huge waiting list and an initial deposit of five figures required just to get on the list! I dated someone who was a member's son back in the day.) We spent a lot of time at the pool, and made many friends there. And by friends, I don't just mean margaritas, but we had plenty of those too! The food at The Del Coronado is incredible, with the biggest, plumpest shrimp cocktail I have ever had. I crave it just seeing a picture of the facade of the hotel. On weekend evenings, there is live music, and we had an incredible singer who crooned everything from Elton John to Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, David Gray and many more, and he was amazing! Grab a drink and a chair, and a pizza from the restaurant 50 yards away for your little ones. Speaking of food, Miguels down the street is a long-time tradition for my husband's family. Their queso dip is good enough for me to eat cheese (I'm allergic) so, trust me on that! There's a great coffee, snack and dessert stop, an ice cream store by Moo Time, a candy shop, and the cutest kid's store where we picked up Grayson's first watch, now that he is in kindergarden. The hotel is a very close walk to town, and we walked around every day. I ran on the beach and my husband, the gym rat, was there every morning. The Del Coronado features everything you could ask for in a hotel and more, with the friendliest staff who constantly went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed. Oh, and did I tell you they give you free bottled water? We ALWAYS travel with a huge pack of water, because we all drink a LOT of water (and I am not a tap person). We can't wait to go back to check out more of the features like...a Mermaid class in the pool, Afternoon Tea which I often attended with my mom while in law school, cycling on the beach and more.

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