Hotel del Coronado & Crown Room

Opened in February 1888, Hotel del Coronado is an architectural masterpiece of the Victorian Queen Anne style and designated National Historic Landmark #71000181. Built entirely of California redwood and Puget Sound Douglas fir, the hotel was fully electrified during construction by Thomas Edison’s personal engineers, making it the first hotel in history with electric incandescent bulbs in every guestroom.

In 1904, L. Frank Baum personally designed the crown-shaped chandeliers hanging in the 160-foot Crown Room, which features a 33-foot arched sugar pine ceiling assembled entirely with wooden peg joinery without a single metal nail or central pillar. In 1958, director Billy Wilder transformed the hotel into the backdrop for Some Like It Hot starring Marilyn Monroe.

The resort has hosted eleven United States presidents, foreign monarchs, and global cultural icons. Its massive four-story oceanfront courtyard garden, expansive beachfront verandas, and iconic crimson-coned turret towers have come to symbolize the romance and elegance of the American Gilded Age.

Decade after decade of meticulous preservation work, including the comprehensive multi-million-dollar restoration completed in 2024, has protected the original timber structure, historic cage elevators, and hand-carved millwork. Standing at the base of the grand castle gives visitors an immediate sense of 19th-century architectural ambition and oceanfront luxury.