Coronado

The first thing to know is that everyone calls this 130-year-old resort on Coronado, across the bay from downtown San Diego, Hotel Del. Dropping the last word will make you sound like a local. The rest of what you need to know about Hotel Del centers around the fact that this is the historic, destination, grande dame hotel. Three discrete stark white buildings with striking red roofs, twenty-eight acres, half a dozen restaurants (ranging from fine dining to a taco stand), cabanas, golf, a salon, a spa, ballrooms, events, and lawns so vast and manicured as to be called grounds—Hotel Del is the rare enormous resort that maintains a sense of history, dignity, and elegance. And all of that on one of the most pristine stretches of Southern California beachfront. The kids will love it as much as their parents.