One of San Diego’s most treasured icons – and a national historic landmark – the celebrated Hotel Del Coronado on the Pacific Coast has remained the epitome of Victorian elegance and grandeur. Often used as a movie location, the ornate Queen-Anne castle is recognized throughout the world.

Known simply as “The Del” to locals, the illustrious property has drawn a stellar crowd of Presidents, foreign dignitaries, celebrities, and well-heeled sophisticates for more than a century.

An uncontested jewel is the 13,500-square-foot Crown Room; its 31-foot-tall arched sugar-pine ceiling is held together with wooden pegs but not a single nail. Although seven-storey tower and Grande Hall added in 1963 has its share of detractors, the 2001 restoration project was tasteful, meticulous, and faithful to The Del’s historic integrity.