Hotel Del Coronado

[snwwht]

Has anyone used points to stay here recently? We have booked this(thru DVC) for a couple of days in May before our Alaska cruise and after reading the reviews on tripadvisor have become terrified! There are tons of complaints about moldy,dirty rooms and tons more about people who have booked thru other means than directly from the hotel getting really bad rooms! Could anyone reassure me? Thanks!!

 

[jel0511]

We stayed here 3 years ago through DVC. I guess it depends on what room category you booked. We were in Ocean View, which is located in a newer part of the hotel. We didn't have any problems, though this was 3 years ago. I definately stay here again!

 

[bookswin]

Have not stayed here but visited the grounds about 6 months ago. Gorgeous setting. We knew some folks staying there, who had no complaints.

You can see the exterior and get an idea of the gorgeous wide beach in the Marilyn Monroe movie SOME LIKE IT HOT.

 

[MrShiny]

We stayed there last Thanksgiving weekend. Wonderful place to stay. We did not use points, as we joined their email club and got an offer much better than points.

We stayed at the building by the pool. Huge rooms. Note though that food is very expensive there (even hamburgers and such!). It is a short walk into town for cheaper meals.

 

[bwvBound]

If you get a poor room simply ask to be moved. I honestly think it is part of the Hotel Del's game: try to assign the worst room a guest will accept.

We were brought to three different rooms for a single night's stay many years back. The staff didn't even blink when we said, "Next, please."

 

[Inkmahm]

We stayed there last Thanksgiving weekend. Wonderful place to stay. We did not use points, as we joined their email club and got an offer much better than points.

We stayed at the building by the pool. Huge rooms. Note though that food is very expensive there (even hamburgers and such!). It is a short walk into town for cheaper meals.

email club? Thanks for the tip! We want to stay there next August but we're paying cash as our points are going towards the Grand Californian at DL!


edit: I just signed up. Here's hoping for a great offer!

 

[fadedgirl]

One of my best friends tried to say there on his wedding night. The room (a turret room) was so awful that it ruined their night. They tried to switch but the place was booked solid, as it often is. So they left and went home ~~ the staff didn't even attempt to stop them nor did they refund their money. You do not get much worse than that on your wedding night.

However, you will be hard pressed to find a nicer, white-sanded beach in USA. They have a breakfast buffet brunch that is to die for. Its a beautiful, historical hotel, and the surrounding village of Coronado has tons of shopping and restaurants that you can walk to.

They do have newer buildings that are right on the sand. I would not stay at The Del without being guaranteed one of those.

 

[MrShiny]

email club? Thanks for the tip! We want to stay there next August but we're paying cash as our points are going towards the Grand Californian at DL!


edit: I just signed up. Here's hoping for a great offer!

For others who want to sign up, go to hoteldel.com and look for "newsletter sign up"

 

[gracelrm]

We stayed on points for three nights in 2006. We loved the resort and would stay there again. We were quite unhappy with our room location. The room itself was fine, but the location was not what are points were booked for. We were to have a partial ocean view room. Which was the mid-level point booking. We arrived in the evening and didn't think there was any chance of seeing the ocean. When we called, we were told DVC had reserved us a standard view (or whatever it was called) and they were full and there was no chance to change rooms. I called MS the next morning and the girl apologized and said it was DVCs fault. I asked that they contact the hotel and have us moved to the reserved room category and they called back and said the resort was full. We were right next to the laundry facilities and every morning could hear constant rumblings of laundry carts. There was apparently an elevator in the laundry facility and we could hear it early in the day too. It woke us almost every morning. We didn't let it ruin our stay, but I was quite aggravated at the way I felt like we were treated less than the average guest. Upon arrival back at my home (probably a week later, as we had more days in other places) I called MS again and asked to speak to the Member Satisfaction Representative because I was so disappointed in the way it turned out. They wouldn't connect me to the Member Satisfaction person and then denied that it was DVC's fault - even after the person I spoke to initially said it was. They pulled all the records and said they had requested what I had requested and it was Hotel Del's fault. I was "refunded" the difference in points and the Hotel Del said if I came again in the next year - they'd upgrade me to a better room. Since we weren't going back to California within the year, that didn't do us much good. Also, the hotel said they'd take off any room charges we had made while there. Well we ate one expensive meal at one of the main dining rooms and we ate at the snack bar by the beach once. When the statement came - they only credited us back for the lunch at the snack bar. So, the bottom line is we enjoyed the resort, but were not satisfied with the situation and we fault both DVC and the Hotel Del.

 

[fadedgirl]

I couldn't remember the specifics of my friend's nightmarish stay at The Del, but I spoke to him today and got the lowdown:

Were supposed to have ocean view room: got crappy view, not even a peek of the ocean. They also had no heat and no hot water, and the mini fridge did not work and the staff wouldn't bring a replacement. They couldn't find an electrical outlet that worked. The TV worked, but it had no cable and no reception otherwise, so it was worthless. Also, the room stank horribly and there was a leak in the closet that had obviously been there for at least a decade.

Lovely!!

 

[andriade]

We stayed for 5 days last summer. We even had two rooms. They were both beautiful!There are a few different types of rooms in different locations. The was one building that was off to the side and it looked like a 70's apartment building. We were in the Cabana building. I highly recommend it. It was a wonderful vacation!

 

[gray52]

Stayed at The Del earlier this year... The setting... perfect. The views... perfect. The town... perfect. The rooms... ah, not so perfect. They were doing some major refurbishing while we were there so some of the rooms are getting a make-over. Ours was nice, but not what we expected for a hotel that is world famous.
I will say the atmosphere and details made up for the not-so-great rooms... and town is a very short walk away, so an evening stroll to town or to the beach was a nightly thing for us.
For us, we'll take a Disney Moderate resort over The Dell any day.


1992 – Off Site
1995 – Dixie Landings (POR) Honeymoon
1997 – Off site
2000 – Villas at Disney Institute
2001 - Swan
2002 – CSR
2003 – Off site
2006 – POFQ
2007 – CBR
2008 – Disneyland (Hotel Del Coronado)
2009 – OKW (our new home)

 

[snwwht]

Thank-You all for taking the time to reply! I don't feel much better about this however.Since I live on the beach here in Florida we have booked the least point option with no view of the Ocean and I fear this is going to be the "worst" (unrenovated etc..) room section.I do have time to figure out what to do and I suppose the worst case scenario would be I would be out the $95.00 fee and just cancel the reservation.What a shame that so many people have had troubles and it continues to be a part of our collection! I think most people who go on points probably get the better views and thus a newer building etc..so maybe member services don't get as many complaints as they might otherwise.Thanks again!!

 

[Inkmahm]

I'm rethinking our plans to stay here next August, too. I used points to pay for the Grand Californian at DL so our hotel in San Diego will be cash. I wanted to stay in the Victorian section of the Del Coronado, not caring about the view, but it is sounding like those are the BAD rooms.