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Hotel del Coronado Christmas

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
Hotel del Coronado Ornament 2009

Hotel del Coronado Ornament 2009

As I have said before, Coronado embraces each and every holiday and is one of the most festive places to be during the Christmas season.

No one spot exemplifies the spirit of the Holiday Season more than the Hotel del Coronado. More than 60,000 twinkling white lights outline the edges of the Victorian resort making it appear like a scene from a fairy tale.

Each year, a theme is chosen and the Hotel del’s holiday theme this year is “Merry & Bright”. As you enter the hotel you see that the staff have fulfilled every expectation that phrase inspires.

On our evening walk last night, we headed over to the Hotel del to see the main attraction ~ the tree in the hotel foyer. There are decorated Christmas trees throughout the hotel, but the main foyer right inside the grand front entrance is home to the Christmas tree that draws thousands of people to its side each year.

The 25-foot tree is anchored top and bottom to keep it from toppling over under its own weight and the weight of more than 15,000 lights, and an abundance of ornaments of all sizes.

The tree was surrounded with people of all ages smiling and staring in wonder at its splendor. Cameras were drawn with flashes going off at a dizzying rate as people took photographs of the tree itself and of their family and friends standing beside it.

I took a few of my own which you can see in this video ~

If you get the chance, go over to the Hotel del Coronado and experience a bit of the magic of Christmas.

I wish you Happy Holidays, peace, love and joy and a prosperous New Year.

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Hotel del Coronado Welcomes Christmas

Sunday, November 29th, 2009
Hotel del Coronado Christmas Lights

Hotel del Coronado Christmas Lights

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday ~ a day to gather with family and friends and simply appreciate all that we have. In addition to its own meaning, Thanksgiving is the kick off for the Holiday Season. I think the season officially starts at the end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with the arrival of Santa Claus.

This weekend, as I drive, walk and ride my bicycle all over Coronado, I see houses being adorned with bright lights, decorated Christmas trees standing proud in front windows and store windows festive with holiday ornaments. They all seem to appear suddenly to herald the start of the holidays.

One of the most beautiful holiday tributes is the Hotel del Coronado outlined with 100,000 twinkling white lights. It is a magical sight as you drive west over the Coronado Bridge with the ocean and Point Loma in the background especially at dusk.

As I’ve said many times, Coronado embraces every holiday and celebrates each of them to the max. The Hotel del Coronado joins in the Holiday Season with gusto. Each year a theme is chosen and the resort is adorned from head to toe with holiday décor. This year’s theme is “Merry and Bright” and I am looking forward to experiencing the magic.

Although the lights have already been placed on the outside of the hotel, the official launch happens next Wednesday, December 2 from 4pm to 7pm. The event, called “Holiday Festival…A Family Celebration,” includes the arrival of Santa Claus and his elves at Santa’s Village, the lighting of the tree in the lobby, musical entertainment, hot cocoa and other libations and the opportunity to ice skate beach side at the outdoor ice-skating rink on the Windsor Lawn. The festivities will culminate with a spectacular fireworks show.

With the Hotel’s event on Wednesday and the upcoming Holiday Parade on Friday, by the end of next week Coronado will be in full holiday bloom. Coronado is one of the best places to experience some holiday enchantment. So, come on over and fill your spirit with holiday cheer.

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The Coronado Village Theater

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

As many of you are aware, the Coronado Village Theater has been closed for many years now. I did a blog post – The Coronado Village Theater – back in January when word was released from Coronado Currents that renovation plans were in place and included restoration of the façade to its original grandeur and an interior remodel that would result in three movie screens and state-of-the-art acoustics all keeping with a 1940s era flavor.

Talk of the renovations went silent. Talk in town is that the cost of retro-fitting the theater discouraged the potential new owners.

Now, the buzz is that the owner of the property, Lance Alspaugh has decided to go forward with the restorations himself. In fact, I received this e-mail from Mr. Alspaugh this evening ~

Good Day,

Our efforts to restore and renovate the Village Theatre in Coronado continue.  The Exterior Concept for the Village Theatre renovation was recently approved by the Redevelopment Agency of Coronado.  We have attached a copy of the rendering for you and welcome any questions or comments that you or your readers might have.  We will have more developments in the near future.

Kind Regards,
Lance Alspaugh
Five Star Theatres inc.
323 668-9004
323 668-0937 fax
theatres@aol.com
Here is the proposed rendition of the front of the Coronado Village Theater ~
Coronado Village Theater Rendition
Coronado Village Theater Rendition
I am hoping for the best. It would be wonderful to finally see the Village Theater back in operation and to see this currently sad, vacant wonderful property filled with life again.
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Growing Up in Coronado

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

I came across a wonderful video made by David Butler about growing up in Coronado.

The video is a compilation of photographs and oral histories from the Coronado Historical Association archives and features Bruce Muirhead, Lucille Bandel and Mickey Cunningham.

I always love looking at historical photos of Coronado, to see how much it has changed and to compare today’s venues with those pictured in the old images.

Coronado has changed a lot since the days depicted in this video. But, even with all of its changes and growth, it is still a wonderful place to grow up, raise children and to live.

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Coronado Common Sense

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Do you all read Coronado Common Sense? If you are not familiar with this innovative and informative on-line newspaper based in and about Coronado, you should go check it out.

Coronado Common Sense

Coronado Common Sense

As posted on the website, the mission of Coronado Common Sense is:

  • Our mission is to inform Coronado citizens of community issues they may not have heard about, to stimulate conversation and to allow Coronado citizens a “voice” to speak with through a response comment to an article or a “Letter to the Editor.”
  • This is a community “hands-on” newspaper that allows citizens to participate at will. We hope that you will enjoy it and share it with friends and family in the Coronado community.

I caught up with the Editor, Susan, last week over at Tartine’s and enjoyed a couple of hours of chat over a cup of coffee for me and a cup of tea for Susan.

Susan has lived in Coronado for many years and really has her finger on the pulse of the community and more importantly her heart and passion for Coronado are the driving force behind Coronado Common Sense.

Head on over to CCS and read, comment and maybe even send a letter to the Editor about an issue in Coronado that you want to know more about. Tell them that The Coronado Cookie sent you!

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