The historic hotel called The Del

The historic Hotel del Coronado, popularly known as The Del, was inspired by the natural beauty of Coronado island.

In 1886, its founders Elisha Babcock and Hampton Story Jr envisioned the hotel as “the talk of the western world”.

To achieve their vision, the gentlemen bought Coronado and set up Coronado Beach Company to develop it. The island is located in San Diego county, California.

A master plan was drawn up for the island. It included parks, civic areas, commercial zones and streets. To attract people to live there, Babcock and Story held a land auction on Nov 13, 1886, where 350 lots priced from US$100,000 each were sold. The eventual grand total was US$2.25 million.

One of the island’s earliest structures was a hotel named The Oxford. It closed down after the opening of the Del and the structure was relocated and used for various purposes – including as the Del employee dorm for half a century.

The structure was eventually moved to Hotel del Coronado’s property in 1983 and restored in 1987. It now serves as an office for the hotel’s employees.

Babcock, Story, Herbert Ingle – one of the hotel’s original investors – and architect James Reid conceived the resort’s basic layout. It included a courtyard, pavilion tower and dining wing.

Construction started on the northern face as it was simpler in design in 1887. It was estimated at the time that about 250 men were hired to build the all wooden hotel.

By Jan 1888, guests began arriving, but the hotel’s birthday was officially acknowledged as Feb 19, which was the day the hotel served its first meal in the main dining room (now the Crown Room). The Crown Room was considered an architectural achievement; spanning 160ft by 60ft and 33ft high ceiling without any pillars.

The hotel was considered a technological marvel when it opened. It was said to be one of the largest buildings in the US to have electricity, which was still a novelty back then.

The building was powered by its own steam power plant. The plant was at that time one of the largest in California. It was so big that it could also supply electricity to the city of Coronado.

The Del also pushed the limits of technology with steam-powered hydraulic elevators, which was among the first in the country, a fire sprinkler system and telephone service.

According to the hotel’s website, the hotel was built at a cost of US$600,000 and furnished for US$400,000. The room rates then started at about US$2.50 per day which included three meals a day.

Among its famous guests were Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum, Charles Lindbergh, Charlie Chaplin and US presidents including Franklin Roosevelt and Gerald Ford.

The classic comedy, “Some Like It Hot” starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon was one of the movies filmed at the hotel. One of the earliest movies to use the hotel as the backdrop was “The Pearl of Paradise” starring Margarita Fischer in 1916.

Guests who check out, but never leave

The hotel is also famous for its otherworldly guests, the most famous one being the ghost of Kate Morgan. She was a 24-year-old woman who checked into the hotel in 1892 but never left.

Morgan arrived alone on Thanksgiving Day. She told hotel employees that she was waiting for a gentleman to join her. The man never showed up and Morgan took her own life after five days of waiting.

Morgan, who was unidentified at the time, was referred to as a beautiful stranger by the newspapers. After her identity was confirmed, it was discovered that she was estranged from her husband. It was believed that she went to the hotel to meet her lover.

The room she died in -  #302 (now 3327) - is the hotel’s most requested room. Guests were said to have experienced flickering lights, television turning on and off on its own, breezes that came from nowhere, inexplicable scents and sounds, and abrupt changes in room temperature among others.

The mysterious death of Morgan is so popular that the hotel published a book titled ‘Beautiful Stranger: The Ghost of Kate Morgan and the Hotel del Coronado’ detailing Morgan’s visit, death and ghostly appearances in the hotel.



Morgan is not the only ghost. Room 3502 (formerly 502) was said to be home to the spirit of Babcock’s mistress. The unidentified woman reportedly killed herself in the room after finding out she was pregnant.

Hotel del Coronado was designated a National Historical Landmark by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1977. The latest addition to the hotel is the Beach Village in 2007. It comprised 78 luxury beachside accommodations.