On July 6, 2017, the San Diego Union Tribune (
visit link) reported:
"Hotel del Coronado is going to become a Hilton
Lori Weisberg
The storied Hotel del Coronado will soon become a Hilton hotel, joining the huge hospitality company’s smaller Curio Collection of more unique, upscale properties around the world.
But don’t expect to see a large Hilton marquee suddenly adorn the facade of the 129-year-old, red-roofed Victorian building. While Hilton’s physical presence will be understated, the company’s marketing muscle and its 64 million honors program members will significantly broaden the reach of a property that already is widely known.
The 757-room oceanfront resort, which includes separate tower rooms and luxury cottages and villas, is expected to formally become a part of the Curio inventory by the end of this month. Curio is a newer brand that Hilton debuted three years ago and currently includes 39 four- and five-star hotels, three of them in California, with several more in the pipeline. The Hotel La Jolla is the only other San Diego Curio property.
Others include the Boulders Resort in Arizona, The Darcy in Washington, D.C., and the Renwick in New York.
Hilton will replace KSL Resorts, which has managed the Hotel del Coronado since 2003 and at one time had an ownership stake in the property.
“It’s been truly an independent hotel and we’re not looking to change it in any way,” stressed Mark Nogal, global head of Curio for Hilton Worldwide. “What we’re doing is coming in as an operator to help strengthen the performance of the hotel, and the owners get the buying power behind the Hilton organization.
“So quite literally, there will just be a couple plaques near the front door because we don’t want to change that independent identity that the Del has. It will always be the Hotel del Coronado.”
The changeover, which began to germinate earlier this year, comes about eight months after a planned sale of the hotel by its owner, the Blackstone Group, to China’s Anbang Insurance Co. was scuttled.
The Hotel del Coronado was one of 16 luxury properties that were part of Strategic Hotels & Resorts, which Blackstone was planning to sell to the Beijing-based firm. While 15 of the 16 properties were ultimately sold, the Hotel del was pulled from the portfolio after a Treasury Department committee was said to have had concerns about its proximity to the Coronado Naval Base."