Weekend Travels: San Diego

I’ve been to San Diego several times but I have dreamed about staying at Hotel Del Coronado for a long time. I remember going to the bar by the beach one night to get a drink and being shocked by the price. It was nearly $20 for a very basic cocktail. But the place was beautiful, right on the beach, and dreamed about staying here. 

Years later and I made it happen! I’m very grateful to say that I worked with Hotel Del Coronado to create some content for them and enjoy spinning on the beach, the best buffet in San Diego, and a mermaid class (will get to this later.) Coronado is five square mile island right off of San Diego. It’s a 15 minute drive to the airport, downtown San Diego, and about 30 minutes from the beautiful La Jolla. It has so much charm but has a super modern vintage feel. I was quickly obsessed with the island, the people, the mansion homes, and the views on views. The whole island is only about five miles around, so it was the perfect little getaway.

STAY

Like I stated above, I stayed at the historic Hotel Del Coronado. It first opened in 1888 and the whole town knows and loves this hotel. It reminds me of the Stanley Hotel in Colorado Springs because of how old it is and how it’s said to be haunted. It was charming, huge, and had everything you could want all in one place. You literally didn’t have to leave the premises to get anything you could ever want. There are a bunch of different kind of rooms, and you can even rent out a whole villa for your family or a group of people. 

The employees are always willing to go above and beyond and make you feel like home. How could you not smile when you are working on the beach? I’ve always told myself that one day I will live by the beach.

DO

Walk everywhere on the island! But my favorite part was renting bikes from Holland Bicycles. You get cruisers for several hours for under $20! We ended up only using the bikes for a couple hours because the island was so small, but it was perfect weather to stop and see everything in just a short amount of time. I have already talked about the views in this little town, but can you really envision them yet? Think palm tree lined streets with beautiful yachts in the nearby water biking underneath the bridge back to San Diego. It was in the mid to high 60s almost the whole trip, so the weather was nearly perfect bike riding weather!

After the bike rides, we walked around the main street to do some shopping. They have really cute little boutiques with clothes, handmade accessories, toys, little knick-knacks, and more. It’s a short walk from the hotel and the street is lined with stores.

I took a mermaid fitness class on Saturday morning. Yes, it’s everything you think it is. You put on a “fin” and swim around in the pool with a noodle. We stopped to do some water resistance exercises with the noodle and took pictures afterward. It was pretty funny, but now I get to say that I have been a mermaid one time so that’s pretty cool.

On Sunday, I took a spin class on the beach and loved it. The music was a little slow for me, but the views and workout was awesome. I was a sweaty mess when we were done. Then, we rented a car and drove up to Torrey Pines and La Jolla. Since it was Memorial Day weekend, the beaches were packed so we popped into the town of La Jolla and walked around to see the seals, grab some coffee, and walk around more little shops. At night, we went into downtown San Diego for dinner and drinks around Little Italy.

EAT

Does anyone else ever dream about food like I do? I’m always so proud of myself for being so active because if I wasn’t, I think I would just continually eat myself into a coma. Sometimes I dream about fish tacos, that’s a lie, tacos are in most of my dreams. I just love the food by the water because I can eat fish for literally every meal. On the first day, we walked around and found Miguel’s Cocina for some fish tacos (obviously) and was able to eat at Eno (on Hotel Del’s premises) that night. The pizza, salad, and wine was the perfect way to cap off the first night in Coronado.

There’s a coffee shop in town that ALWAYS had a line called Clayton’s. They have a walk up window where you can order coffee and a quick bite, a full diner, and a Mexican restaurant all on the same block. I loved it so much that we went by three mornings in a row. Got coffee and small bites two of the days and then the last we waited to get into the diner. Such a vintage looking diner, with jukeboxes on the table and big lettering on the walls. 

Sunday morning we had the most major brunch buffet I've been to since Las Vegas. People say its the biggest buffet in San Diego, so you already know I was excited to try it. They had everything from King Crab legs to sushi to roast beef. If you are going to San Diego, make sure you go to this buffet. It was everything I ever dreamed of.  

We stopped at Lobster West for a lobster roll for dinner which was a fantastic fast casual spot on the island and ate at Marisco’s for more fish tacos in Little Italy on Sunday night. 

The food alone makes me want to go back, and that’s saying a lot because I’m obsessed with the beach and water. I would highly recommend coming to San Diego for a weekend, especially if you live in a place like Denver where it’s an easy flight over!