San Diego’s White-Sand Paradise: Discover New Hotels & Vintage Charm This Summer

When you consider white-sand getaways, Southern California could not come to thoughts. Known extra for chill vibes, splendid sunny climate all 12 months, chiseled abs (sorry to disappoint), and iconic browsing tradition, SoCal sometimes attracts guests for its laid-back environment.

Of course, there isn’t any higher West Coast metropolis for a year-round seaside escape than San Diego, and I’m not simply saying that as a result of I stay right here.

One of my favourite locations to play “tourist” was featured on a list of the ’25 Picture-Perfect Beach Vacation Ideas’, and we at Travel Off Path actually aren’t placing up a combat about it.

Locals could mislabel this peninsula as an “island”, but it surely actually seems like one when you cross the staggering bridge providing panoramic views of San Diego’s vibrant skyline, the glistening bay stretching to the Pacific, and even glimpses into Baja.

Boasting classic attraction on a standard principal strip in a city the place there’s really a metropolis code encouraging no home to look an identical, Coronado is genuinely one in every of San Diego’s most unusual locations, anchored by a world-famous lodge with ties courting again to Marilyn Monroe’s heyday.

Though with a current glow-up and Hilton rebrand, together with one other thrilling new lodge opening, Coronado completely blends outdated and new and should not be disregarded in your subsequent San Diego getaway.

New Places To Stay & Coronado’s First Rooftop Bar

Hotel del Coronado:

Let’s begin with a spot that we have held expensive to us for a very long time. I joined Travel Off Path in January 2023, however I did not must fill in the remainder of the staff about Hotel del Coronado, inarguably San Diego County’s most legendary lodge.

We awarded San Diego’s iconic beachside keep as a ‘Top U.S. Hotel’ for our 2024′ Best In Travel Awards.

Circling again to Marilyn Monroe, this was the place she filmed Some Like It Hot in 1958. Since then, it has been a marvel for anybody trying to splurge on a quintessential SoCal trip mere steps from open white-sand shores with sweeping views of the Pacific, together with Point Loma’s cliffside and Tijuana’s skyline.

I paid a go to this week since a lot of San Diego’s seashores are now not on high alert for micro organism, and hopefully will not be for much longer since there’s FINALLY been an settlement reached between the U.S. and Mexico to cease polluted waters from crossing into California.

Time will inform…

The level being, when the circumstances are proper, and so they actually are actually, Coronado is a must-visit. If you may squeeze the worth, “The Del”, as us locals name it, is well worth the splurge.

Rebranded as a Hilton property, this basic lodge has undergone a whopping $550 million renovation.

Speaking of icons, Nobu has entered the chat and now anchors the property’s already spectacular eating scene.

The Bower:

The Bower is Coronado’s latest lodge. Set on Orange Avenue, a stone’s throw from The Del, this new boutique keep patched up this charming city’s gaping gap — no rooftop bars!

How may such a fairly trip spot with ocean views on one aspect, and bayside views of San Diego’s skyline on the flip aspect, not have a rooftop bar?

I haven’t got the reply besides to now say The Bower is the reply. Check out The Dive, serving something from weekend brunch to a handcrafted cocktail to soak up a fiery sundown.

There are 39 meticulously designed rooms on the location of this former Japanese tea backyard, in addition to a welcome drink, 24/7 health heart, and free bicycle leases, excellent for driving down the paved path alongside Silver Strand all the best way to Imperial Beach, America’s southernmost seaside city.

Do observe there’s a $50 resort fee cost.

Travel Tip: If The Dive is simply too crowded, take a look at Stake a block away, with a rivaling second-level patio and superior Happy Hour (get the ceviche tostadas!).

Coronado’s Vintage Charm

Don’t get me fallacious — there is a sure degree of elitism in Coronado. As a vacationer, although, you will not really feel it as a lot as should you have been to stay right here.

Whether or not it’s that each residence seems to be totally different, irrespective of if it is a new construct or a century-old cottage, the village-like Ferry Landing retailers alongside the bay and Orange Avenue group staples, the historical past of The Del, or basic diners, Coronado proves genuine small city attraction can nonetheless exist, and is a real vacationer vacation spot.

Although, I assure you there’s one spot vacationers overlook — The Village Theatre. To me, there isn’t any higher place to see a film in all of San Diego.

Other than accepting Fandango, this place hasn’t modified a bit over time, together with concession costs. Popcorn and soda for $5 every (with limitless refills) — the place else can you discover that?

You’ll love the comfy seating and decades-old graphics earlier than the film begins. It’s really a time capsule.

Keep an eye fixed out for the annual Coronado Island (see what I used to be sayin’?) Film Festival in November.

Speaking of upcoming occasions, it was just lately announcedthat NASCAR is taking up Coronado’s navy base in 2026 for an unprecedented, first-of-its-kind race coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Navy.