Beginning
The Hotel del Coronado was started in 1886 by the Coronado Beach Co., which was made up of five men. The hotel opened on Feb. 19, 1888.
Other Ownership
John D. Spreckels, the owner of most of Coronado and North Beach in the late 19th/early 20th century, became owner of the Hotel del Coronado in the early 1890s. Spreckels also established Tent City, a recreational area that attracted vacationers to the hotel.
Structure
The hotel was built around a courtyard with tropical trees and flowers. It was also constructed with a foyer with verandas close to Glorietta Bay, a pavilion tower near the ocean and a dining wing with views of the ocean and bay. The Crown Room features a crown chandelier and sugar pine ceiling.
Famous Visitors
The Hotel del Coronado hosted 11 presidents, including Benjamin Harrison in 1891. Other visitors have included Babe Ruth, Thomas Edison, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, Brad Pitt and Madonna. King Edward III might have met his future wife, a divorcee named Wallis Spencer Simpson, in Coronado when he visited in 1920.
Film Connections
Films have been made at the hotel since 1901. The most famous is "Some Like it Hot," which starred Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.
Ghosts
The Hotel del Coronado is said to be haunted by the ghost of Kate Morgan, a pregnant woman who killed herself in the hotel in 1892.
