Shore House at The Del

If you have children, STAY AWAY. We were so excited to get in their beautiful pool, unfortunately, it ended in tears. The pool is coated with a very rough coating and absolutely not suitable for children. My three year old was in the pool for 2 hours max and got out complaining about his toes. Every single toe had a red blister, with four of the toes bleeding! We also came with another family and their two kids left with bloody blisters as well. If you have children it will ruin your trip and they’ll be limping around for a few days. We asked the pool staff for bandaids and a security guy took notes of what happened. But they didn’t seem to take it too seriously. There should absolutely be a sign and people with children informed upon check-in about the pool issue. This could have easily been avoided if they would communicate with their guests. I could have easily went and bought water shoes. Attached is a picture of my kids towel.

The Shore House at the Del is a stand alone U shaped complex of high end condo-like units surrounding an attractive courtyard pool and bar with shotgun views of the ocean. Pretty perfect. Beautifully designed inside and out with great appointments. It's a fascinating financial arrangement of limited ownership and re-market by Hilton/Del. It's the quality of what I wish Wyndham and other condo like time-shares would be. If you are going to spend the money to stay here, splurge and get a room on the inside of the U with a pool / ocean view. The outside southren ring of the complex will be a disappointment to you. (Street noise, cars pulling in and out, smokers on the sidewalk, hair-thin ocean views.) The breakfast buffet has absolutely everything you'd want, an extensive and attractive presentation accompanied with a menu of add-ons. HINT - look at the menu FIRST before circling the buffet (the items are included in the $50 price tag). I was very happy with the quality, service, (lots of great attention by the wait-staff / Natalie) and presentation. The Hotel del Coronado is a national treasure and priced accordingly. Nothing is a bargain here (well, the gelato is a bargain), so get that out of your head before you check-in and you'll enjoy it. The overall complex is an amazing and wonderful experience. Be sure to watch the classic "Some Like It Hot" before your visit for extra appreciation and enjoyment of this remarkabe hotel. As an aside, thank heaven for Bob at the pool bar and Wyatt with the luggage cart. Both of these staff members get the concept of guest service at the Shore House. After a sad interaction with a staff member, Wyatt and Bob erased the clumsy words and actions and by the end of the day (but not during the writing of this review) all was forgiven and forgotten. They were both shinning stars.

The Views, one of the several Del Coronado adjacent buildings, is very nice; ask for a full view of the beach for the best experience. Every morning watch the flock of fishing pelicans sweep the shallows at the beach. The Views building is about a one-block walk to the main building and restaurants, along a curved walkway with gorgeous landscaping. There's an electric bicycle rental and surfboard rental just outside the beachfront doors, very convenient. This location is wonderful, Del Coronado in general is luxurious and beautiful. Our room on the 5th floor of The Views building was a nice size, but not enough table-top or desk-top space. I used the ironing board for extra table-top space. The furnishings and carpet are well cared for and seemed clean. The bed was comfortable and linens were good quality. The bathroom is very tiny, the sink countertop space is not large enough for cosmetics at all, so I set up bathroom needs and cosmetics on the small desk in the bedroom. The walk in shower with wall-hung shower gel/shampoo/conditioner is easy to use. But that tiny bathroom countertop - terribly inconvenient and time consuming when getting ready for the day, going back and forth to the bedroom for moisturizer, makeup, hair products. Housekeepers are very good, accommodating and friendly. There's a coffee maker with the usual bitter Keurig style coffee, powdered creamer and sugar. I think there was a microwave and refrigerator but did not use them. A self-serve pay station for coffee, a permanent food truck, was parked along the path to the main building for morning coffee; with selections for different brews and flavored drinks, and it's decent coffee. The pool is large, crowded, and about a five minute walk from The Views building. There are nearby restaurants and a shop for snacks. Kids love everything here - there's even a large greenspace artificial turf area near The Views for tumbling, running, playing catch, and other kid's games. Restaurants, ice cream shop, and general merch shops are all good, and of course about double price. I'm of the opinion that just because it's a luxury resort, the restaurants should not be charging $100 for a $25 breakfast for example. Try the electric bicycles for a trip along the waterfront and into town for shopping and sight-seeing. There are plenty of boutiques, restaurants, coffee shops, and sports stores along the main street and a few block beyond. Parking the bikes is easy and no concern about whether they'll stay parked while away. Overall the experience was very nice, the property is comfortable, the walks are very long from one place to the next, but it was a good stay.

This hotel offers a prime location and an impressive pool, but falls short in several areas, particularly given its high price point. The very understaffed breakfast service is frustrating, with 40-minute waits for basics like water or coffee - a self-serve beverage station would be a welcome improvement. For those willing to splurge, rooms with outdoor fireplaces seem lovely for evenings on the terrace, especially for families with kids. The surprising lack of room service is a major drawback for a hotel in this price range. Dining options are underwhelming overall. Serea restaurant is just ok, food options are not great across the property. The hotel has some attractive features, is good for families, and seems like the only luxury-ish option in the area, but its inflated prices make it a bit of a disappointment.

We found the property to be first class, the staff to be very attentive and the room to meet all of our expectations. We picked a time just after Labor Day to moderate the rate. We reserved a one bedroom, but were upgraded to the two bedroom unit. It was nice to have an extra bathroom. There was a personal learning curve to deal with the high line kitchen appliances. There are no clear instructions...just pushbuttons and pictograms to figure out the oven/broiler. I didn't know the refrigerator dispensed filtered water until a front desk person mentioned it. That's not a criticism...only the acknowledgement that in my real life, the cooktop and oven/broiler is more intuitive and conventional. The entire staff, from Valet attendents who were very efficient, to the housekeep staff, who were helpful, attentive and thorough to the Front Desk staff to the food service people were conscious of making our stay extraordinary. Clearly, this is a luxury property and is priced accordingly, but if that's what you're looking for, you can find it here.