Coronado: California dreamin' at a castle by the sea

Disneyland is not the only California address boasting a castle. On an island to the south, at the end of a curving two-mile bay bridge from San Diego, Hotel del Coronado combines Victorian elegance with Tinseltown glamour.

Red turrets crown the huge oceanside national historic landmark. Opened in 1888 by Elisha Babcock and H.L. Story, “The Del” attracted socialites, celebrities, diplomats and urban-dwellers seeking rejuvenation in the cool surf and clean air.