Hotel del Coronado

Some guest rooms are located in the original Victorian building, and overlook the ocean or the garden courtyard. Guest rooms are also located in the newer Ocean Tower and California Cabana buildings. See pictures of a guest room.

Without its signature red roof, the Del would resemble a wedding cake with its ornate white architecture. Its gardens, interiors and beaches provide a romantic setting for weddings, the Travel Channel named the hotel the #1 destination for weddings in the United States.

Guests have a number of recreation options, enhanced by the year-round perfection of Southern California weather. Guests can enjoy swimming, kayaking, surfing, fishing, yoga, tennis, golf and bicycling, with lessons offered for all ages. Guests can rent sailboats, water skis, jet skis and paddleboats. A full service spa offers treatments and fitness classes.

The comedy film "Some Like It Hot," starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, was filmed at the Hotel del Coronado's beach in 1958. L. Frank Baum, the author of "The Wizard of Oz" books, was a frequent guest of the Hotel del Coronado. and designed the crown-shaped chandeliers in the hotel's formal dining room. Other guests included England's Prince of Wales (who may have met his legendary love, Wallis Simpson, there), and a list of movie stars too numerous to mention.

The hotel is believed to be haunted by the ghost of young Kate Morgan. I visited the hotel looking for ghosts.