The quintessential Southern California beachfront hotel, the
Hotel del Coronado, will join Hilton's Curio collection this month.
The Victorian hotel, which sits on Coronado Island just
southwest of downtown San Diego, is known for hosting clambakes on the beach as
well as Sunday brunch in its Crown Room. Its chandeliers were designed by "Wizard
of Oz" author L. Frank Baum.
The Blackstone Group-owned Coronado has 757 guestrooms,
including 78 villas and cottages.
"The Del," which was named a National Historic
Landmark in 1977, opened in 1888, charging about $2.50 a night for its rooms at
the time. The hotel was later owned by San Diego pioneer developer John D. Spreckels.
The Coronado famously was the
setting for Billy Wilder's 1959 classic comedy "Some Like It Hot."