By TR Robertson
Photos provided by TR Robertson, EPIC Entertainment Group and Victoria Solutions
Nov 2023 NCDS
The Hotel del Coronado is once again the place to celebrate the holiday season in a variety of ways, this year with “A Twenties Holiday Affair”. Beginning with the spectacular light show,using the Norfolk Island Pines on Founders Lawn to hang 75,000 lights from two-story heights all paired to a 1920’s jazz Christmas soundtrack, the perfect start to a holiday. The Founders
Norfolk Pine Tree was used in 1904, becoming the world’s first electrically lit outdoor Christmas Tree. The incredible holiday décor, the beautifully decorated lobby tree and the amazing lightshow is all provided from the creative masterminds of SoCal’s EPIC Entertainment Group. This is the 3rd year EPIC has partnered with Hotel Del to provide holiday cheer for the thousands
of people that visit the Hotel del Coronado during this time of year. The “All That Jazz Lightshow Spectacular” 12-minute light and sound show runs every 30 minutes, every day,beginning at 5 pm until 9 pm. This festive holiday event is open free to the public and those attending will want to stay for the entire presentation and enjoy the snow flurries for the final Christmas song. Dazzling red, blue, green, purple, yellow and white lights are synced to each song in the 12-minute show.
With more lights and more snow this year, another addition to the lightshow is a new bar and lounge including a 12-foot-tall replica of the hotel’s signature red turret complete with holiday lights. Along with this, those visiting the new bar can see the light show as they sit in Victorian-inspired lounge seating enjoying a drink or appetizers.
After seeing the lightshow, you will want to enter the front of the hotel and stop in the historic Hotel del Coronado lobby to see the beautifully decorated 21-foot-tall Christmas tree centered in the middle of the lobby. This is a great place for pictures and don’t forget to take the stairs to the second level to see the tree from a different view. Just down the hallway is one of the many gift shops in the hotel. The 1888 nostalgic one-of-a-kind gift shop is worth visiting to see four Christmas trees, each uniquely decorated and to look at and purchase an amazing selection of holiday ornaments. Nearby is another gift shop that sells the 2023 Hotel del Coronado ornament. Each year, for the past 31 years, a specially designed ornament commemorating the hotel is on sale. If you are lucky, there might be ornaments from past years available. We were able to purchase not only this year’s ornament, but we also purchased an ornament for the post-COVID year 2020.
At the end of the hallway where 1888 is located, stairs will take you down to more apparel and specialty shops. There are a total of five specialty and five apparel shops at the hotel. Taking the corridor past some of these shops, we entered the Babcock and Story Bar and stopped for an evening drink. Babcock also offers Bar Bites and Sweet Bites. I tried their Perfect Martini featuring salmon caviar-stuffed olives. Carolyn tried their Fig Hinny vodka and ginger beer drink. Large T.V.s were tuned into the Charger game. Sitting at outdoor tables we could see the ice-skating rink and other food locations for the hotel. After drinks, we decided to get a bite to eat at one of the other food locations, this time trying ENO’s Pizzeria. We had a great tasting Caesar Salad, and our pizza choice was the tasty Pear y Prosciutto.
Those wanting to dine at the Hotel del Coronado have a number of choices, depending on what you are in the mood for and how much you want to spend. There is Serea Dining Room, Sund Deck, Sheerwater, Beach & Taco Shack, Shore House Bistro, Beach Village Dining, Sundaes, ENO Pizzeria, Babcock and Story Bar and the hotel’s newest eatery, Smokehouse & Bar at the Historic Laundry.
Each holiday season at the hotel also offers a number of additional activities you can take part in. One popular activity is ice skating at Skating by the Sea. For $40 you get skates and 90 minutes of skating time. Hotel Guests, military and First Responders can skate for $35. Tickets must be purchased online or by phone. There are also group discounts of 20+ available. Go to www.hoteldel.com or call 619-435-6611. Next to the skating rink is the Frostbite Lounge. Here you can have a private area to sit, relax after skating and/or enjoy food or a private bonfire for s’mores.
Other activities available include Beachside Igloos, available until January 7th, including a firepit for s’mores. The Jingle Roast is available weekends until December 10th, then daily from the 15th until the 25th. A private bonfire is included. Another popular event is viewing Holiday Movies on the Beach, where a selection of popular holiday movies are shown.
There is no limit to the number of things to see, do, eat and enjoy at the Hotel del Coronado. Just taking in the free lightshow and wandering the hotel grounds is enough for many people to do to get into the Christmas Spirit. Make sure you include a visit to Coronado and the Hotel del Coronado in your holiday plans. Go to the web site to check out more details on each of the events listed in the article, www.hoteldel.com .
