Presidents have stayed here. Movie stars have stayed here. And even ghosts frequent this luxury beachfront hotel located on the Pacific coastline in San Diego, California.
The oldest surviving all-wood commercial structure of its kind in continuous existence in the United States, the Hotel Del Coronado dates back to 1888 and has a storied history. (It’s listed on the National Register and is a National Historic Landmark.) Today, its guests will find three guest room buildings — the California Cabanas, the Ocean Tower, and the historic main building with its signature Victorian style and original clapboard structure — along with luxury amenities and a new development on the horizon.
“It is really, really special,” said Margaret Parsons, an independent consultant who serves as an owner’s representative and oversees renovation projects for Blackstone Group, owners of the Hotel del Coronado.
Inside the main building, guests will also find Infinity luxury woven vinyl flooring, which was recently installed during the renovation of its corridors. The rooms had been updated by previous owners, Parsons said, but the corridors were in need of a matching update, so Blackstone brought in Jane Dillon, a well-known designer from West Palm Beach, Florida to help.
The two benchmarks for the project would be an iconic beach umbrella pattern vinyl wallpaper and a custom-designed carpet, Parsons said. But because of how the building is constructed, with a rectangular floor plan featuring irregular-shaped vestibules — or knuckles as Parsons described them — on the ends of each corridor, carpeting the entire area proved difficult. So instead of carpet, they chose woven vinyl, a flooring type ownership had used successfully in other markets.
The vestibules in the main building weren’t the only places where LWV was used. Outside, a set of wooden stairs — which have been rebuilt numerous times since 1888, and have had in recent past been covered with outdoor carpet — received a much-needed update.
The installation process for both the hotel vestibules and outdoor staircase went smoothly and the hotel’s ownership was pleased with how it turned out, Parsons said. The wooden stairs, which feature a darker product on the landings and lighter woven vinyl on the stair is especially striking, making it not only a beautiful staircase but also a landmark.
