History and Haunted Happenings Tours at Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, CA

A number of tours are offered on the island of Coronado, so I decided to experience a few during my trip. My favorites ended up being the ones offered by the Hotel del Coronado Heritage Department. The daily tours are available to all, not just guests of the hotel.

The History tour runs every day at 10am and 2pm while the Haunted Happenings tour is at 7pm with a 9pm option on Fridays and Saturdays. Both tours start near the tree that Hotel del Coronado says was the first to be electrically lit outdoors for Christmas.

The History tour guide had clearly done a lot of research. She dispelled a lot of misinformation (some of which was given on the other tours I took) about the hotel. For example, some believe Wallis Simpson and Prince Edward met on the grounds, but the guide said records indicate Simpson was not there during the Prince’s 1920 visit. The guide went into detail about the construction of the resort and how a change in plans for the railroad was very nearly a disaster for Coronado. She revealed that the fifth floor had been for the staff of guests (people traveled with their own maids) which is why the ceilings are lower and hallways are narrower. Although the tour doesn’t go to the floors with guest rooms, I had access as a guest, so I went to the fifth floor on my own. The view is amazing, but the halls are claustrophobic and the rooms are definitely smaller.

She also explained why some of the rooms (like mine) have a slightly unusual layout—the original floorplan didn’t have a bathroom for every room, so there was a redesign that converted some closets and hallways into bathrooms. And while this tour doesn’t take attendees into the guest room areas, it does grant access to areas guests wouldn’t normally get to see. Some highlights were the former hotel laundry building, the Ballroom with amazing views, and the famed Crown room (usually only open during a pricy Sunday brunch or group event) with light fixtures designed by L. Frank Baum who was a Coronado resident. The 90-minute tour also included information about the movies partially filmed there and the changes made to the hotel over the decades.

The Haunted Happenings tour is a must for anyone who likes ghost stories. Although the History tour touched on ghosts (mentioning that the fifth floor is said to be the most haunted at the resort), the Haunted tour goes in depth. Once again the guide was extremely knowledgeable and thoroughly enjoyed her subject matter. I’ve been on a few haunted tours in other cities and this one was the best so far. The guide stayed grounded in facts, but also shared accounts of paranormal activity that she and her colleagues have witnessed. As she pointed out features of the Victorian building (here there’s some repetition of the History tour), the guide shared the story of Kate Morgan and a few others who have met their end at Hotel del Coronado. During the hour tour, the sun set (I took a 7pm tour) and perfectly changed the atmosphere as the guide shifted from more of a historic overview to diving deep into the mystery that surrounds Kate Morgan.

I highly recommend both tours.