Hotel del Coronado Commercial Restoration: Full Building Renovation
WITH GREAT PRIDE, SOHO honors one of the finest and most complex preservation achievements in San Diego history with an award to a revered national icon, the Hotel del Coronado. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977, the Del is not only one of the largest wood-frame buildings extant in the country but a grand and distinguished symbol of San Diego and Southern California’s architectural and cultural heritage.
This latest and final phase of the hotel’s restoration marks the most ambitious and comprehensive renewal in its 135-year history. From 2017 to 2024, the owner took on a multi-year, $155 million full-building renovation with a focused commitment to preservation; the project adhered closely to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.
The architectural team studied original ink-on-linen drawings by the 1888 hotel’s architects, the Reid Brothers of Indiana, as well as photos and archival documents. These informed every detail from replicated balustrades to historically accurate paint finishes.
Following earlier People In Preservation award-winning restorations to the lobby, verandah, and historic laundry building, this phase encompassed 404 guestrooms, meeting rooms, the vast central courtyard, and all remaining facades—a total of 415,000 square feet. Systems upgrades included modernizing plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and fire safety infrastructure, all while carefully retaining the hotel’s historic integrity.
Meticulous craftsmanship defined every aspect of the work. Of the 1,620 windows and 1,770 doors, the originals were restored wherever possible. Inappropriate replacements from the past were swapped with historically accurate replicas, including five-panel wood doors, rosette corner blocks, and decorative casework.
