When Lance asked me if I wanted a trip or a party for my 30th, I knew a family trip sounded more like my cup of tea for the season we are in. He booked the five of us two nights at the Hotel Del Coronado and it was truly a special couple days away!

We live in Los Angeles so Coronado is just a quick 2-hour drive.

We left Wednesday morning and got to the hotel by lunch time. I was immediately struck by the grand elegance of this historical hotel. Taking a step onto Hotel Del feels like you are transported to a different time.

Our room was not only ready early by the time we arrived, it was also upgraded to an ocean view room. I was expecting to see just a small glimmer of ocean, but instead our room sat 70 feet from the beach and our patio overlooked a beautiful, open view of the ocean with the clear sound of crashing waves. This view alone was a real gift.

And the gifts just kept coming. Within just a few minutes of settling into our room, we heard a knock at the door. A man from the hotel was there with a bottle of champagne, a platter of fruit, and a beautifully detailed cupcake with golden chocolate and roses. This was beyond generous and it started off our trip on such a special note.

Lance and I enjoyed the view and chatted on the patio while the big boys started off the trip with half of a movie. The excitement was high.

We took a walk and did a big loop around the hotel to get a feel for the grounds. There were lots of people out and about. The highlight for the boys was definitely the candy store that is on the hotel grounds. Each boy picked out a lollipop that was way too big with a little shark on it. It’s hard to say no on vacation.

It was also really cool to walk into the lobby of the hotel. There is an old elevator that we all walked into. All the Christmas decorations were just coming down so we got to see a glimpse of what this hotel is like during the holidays.

After our walk, we went to the pool! Since we went the week after the winter break for most schools, the pool area was especially quiet. We spent a lot of time by the pool, and it was nice to just have a few other families around. At times, we were the only ones there! The pool area itself felt very family-friendly and we met a couple really nice families, one from Austrailia and the other from D.C. The pool is heated and the boys enjoyed swimming in it, but the majority of our time was definitely spent in the jacuzzi. Even Declan got to dip his toes in and enjoyed the warm water.

Besides the pool, the other major hit with the boys was the large open grass areas. There was one right by the beach and a larger one near the entrance of the hotel. We spent a lot of time here playing soccer with the boys. Hudson even met a little boy and they played their own soccer match.

On the first night, we took the short walk across the hotel to Bluewater Grill. It was beautifully located right on the water and our round table was right by a window looking out at the harbor. This was the perfect kid-friendly dining spot too. They have a fun menu and even have a shark-bait drink with shark gummies in it! The kid meals even came in bento boxes and included cut up fruit.

The next day was my actual birthday and while it initially started on the stormier side, it ended up being a beautiful day! The boys were up bright and early (before 6am) so we got out early and grabbed breakfast at Better Buzz Coffee, which was just another short walk from the hotel. This was a great spot! Boys enjoyed sharing avocado toast. We loved it so much here we came back the next morning.

One of the reasons I loved Hotel Del was how walkable everything was. After breakfast, we took another nice walk through a neighborhood and looped back around to the beach and back at our room. The amazing location also allowed me to have two beautiful runs. On my birthday, since the tide was so high, they closed off the walking path by the beach so I had a nice run along the bike path which was right across the street from the hotel. On the following day, the conditions were nicer so I enjoyed running along the path right by the beach. Just being able to escape for a little and step outside and have a beautiful run was another gift!

The rest of my birthday was spent celebrating poolside in a pool cabana. We spent the majority of the day enjoying the cabana and bouncing back and forth from there to the pool. It was perfect to have especially with little kids as it gave lots of shade for Declan and even was a great rest spot for Thatcher as he took his nap in it! The cabana came stocked with snacks and drinks which was an added bonus!

There were a couple ping pong tables right above pool too that boys enjoyed playing with.

After nearly almost 5 hours hanging by the pool, we went back to the room to rest + get ready for dinner. The weather changed so much from the morning time and it was beautiful out by the beach. It was also really low tide, so before dinner we decided to walk down to beach and play soccer. It was gorgeous!

For dinner, we walked to Yummy Coronado for some of the best sushi! It was a super casual spot, but had amazingly delicious rolls and even a nice view of the sunset. We will definitely be coming back here for sushi next time we are in Coronado. Our favorite roll was the 3 Amigos (pictured below). Lance and I both agreed it was our favorite roll that we’ve ever had! Hudson gobbled up his crab hand roll and Thatcher ate all the edamame. This was another great kid-friendly dining spot.

The birthday celebration was not fully over! We walked back to our room, bundled up in even warmer clothes, and headed back down to the beach for our bonfire and s’mores experience we had booked at 6:30! This is another fun, family-friendly experience the hotel offers. Thankfully it wasn’t too cold and it was the perfect ending to a great 30th birthday!

Once we got our three exhausted boys to bed, Lance and I enjoyed a glass of champagne on the balcony, dreamed up all this next decade will hold, and listened to the crashing waves.

Thank you Hotel Del for being the perfect place to celebrate my 30th with my family. It was a special couple days and I will remember it always. I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the end of a decade and the start of a new one.

Cheers to 30!

If you are looking to celebrate a milestone, birthday, anniversary, or just want to book a getaway, I can’t recommend Hotel Del enough. It’s a really special place, in such a beautiful location. We found it to be a very family-friendly spot as well and our kids had a blast.