Travel Channel 

Best Bed & Breakfast
Coronado Victorian House
Where: 1000 Eighth Street, Coronado, CA 92118
Phone: 888-299-2822 or 619-435-2200
Web site: www.coronadovictorianhouse.com
Rates: $250 to $1,000 for overnight packages (two-day minimum)
Coronado's best (and only) B&B is a restored registered historic landmark that's been standing since 1886. The house is complete with Victorian-era trimmings - brass or antique sleigh beds with featherbed mattresses, stained-glass windows and doors, vast claw-foot bathtubs. All seven rooms have names and themes. For example, the romantic Romeo and Juliet Room features a Juliet balcony and Jacuzzi with double showerheads. Breakfast offerings include fresh fruit and juices, scones, muffins, omelets and host Bonni Marie Kinosian's famous homemade yogurt. Since the Coronado Victorian House is also a dance studio, overnight packages can be customized to include dance lessons - swing, salsa, fox trot, country two-step, belly dancing or otherwise. Ethnic cooking lessons are available too. Small (under 30 pounds), well-behaved dogs are welcome.

Best Luxurious Hotel
Hotel Del Coronado
Where: 1500 Orange Avenue, Coronado CA 92118
Phone: 800-468-3533 or 619-435-6611
Web site: www.hoteldel.com
Email: delinquiries@hoteldel.com
Rates: $235 to $780
If you've seen Some Like It Hot, then you know what The Del looks like - it was cast as a luxurious 1920s seaside resort in Florida in the famous movie. Since it opened in 1888 as a luxury fishing and hunting resort, the hotel has also hosted a dozen presidents and (allegedly) served as the prototype for the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz. L. Frank Baum, author of the famous story, was a long-time resident. Today the recently renovated resort has 688 rooms, suites and beachfront cottages. On-site dining options include the new California-casual Sheerwater, the imaginative Crown Room and the tea room at Palm Court. If you overindulge at dinner, you can sweat off your meal in the hotel's state-of-the-art fitness center, complete with views of the ocean. The 31 acres of pearly white California beach upon which the hotel sits are still the main attraction, offering boogie boards, volleyballs, Jet Skis and cabanas for rent. Surfing lessons are also available.

Best Family Hotel
Loews Coronado Bay Resort
Where: 4000 Coronado Bay Road, Coronado, CA 92118
Phone: 800-815-6397 or 619-424-4000
Web site: www.loewshotels.com/hotels/sandiego/
Email: loewscoronadobay@loewshotels.com
Rates: Rooms, $235 to $325; suites, $525 to $1,500
Situated on a private peninsula between the ocean and San Diego Bay, Loews Coronado Bay is a 438-room luxury resort with a soft spot for kids. Facility-wise, there are three outdoor pools and a private pedestrian underpass to the Silver Strand State Beach. Children can sign up for surfing, tennis and sailing lessons, and bikes, roller blades, wave runners and other watercraft are available for rent. Organized kid's activities include Dive-In Movies on Fridays (families can watch flicks from poolside or in the water), Marshmallow Roasts on Saturdays, and Refrigerator Raids on Sundays (kids hit the kitchen and pick at leftovers from brunch). Dogs are also welcome and receive VIP (Very Important Pet) treatment in the form of cookies, room service and directions to the leash-free beach.

Best Budget Accommodations
Crown City Inn
Where: 520 Orange Avenue, Coronado, CA 92118
Phone: 800-422-1173 or 619-435-3116
Web site: www.crowncityinn.com
Email: info@crowncityinn.com
Rates: $100 to $210
Crown City Inn offers attractive, moderately priced rooms (smoking and non-smoking) midway between the ocean and Old Ferry Landing on San Diego Bay (about five blocks either way). It's an easy walk to both, or an easier ride on one of the hotel's complimentary bikes. Guests can also hang at the heated pool and enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner at the inn's popular Crown Bistro. All rooms have refrigerators, microwaves, coffee makers, ironing boards and irons. A popular sojourn on the travel-with-pets circuit, Crown City Inn welcomes small pets for an extra $8 per day.

Best Bar
McP's Irish Pub & Grill
Where: 1107 Orange Avenue, Coronado, CA 92118
Phone: 619-435-5280
Web site: www.mcpspub.com
McP is Greg McPartlin, a former Navy SEAL who opened his place in 1982 as a hangout for men and women in uniform. Civilians flock to McP's to rub military elbows on the patio during the day and to listen to live music performed every night of the week. Performers are usually local jazz, blues, classical and rock musicians and, on special occasions, Irish folk artists. McP's has a variety of beer on tap including Guinness, Bass, Harp, Honey Wheat Brew and hard cider. The eclectic bar menu has an Irish flair with dishes like Mulligan stew and corned beef and cabbage but includes standbys such as PBJ and Spaghetti-Os for new recruits.

Best Waterfront Atmosphere
Bay Beach Café
Where: Ferry Landing Marketplace, 1201 First Street, Coronado, CA 92118
Phone: 619-435-4900
Web site: www.baybeachcafe.com
Friendly and crowded, Bay Beach Café is a casual and inexpensive eatery in the Ferry Landing Marketplace - a complex of dockside boutiques, specialty shops and galleries on the bay side of Coronado. Guests can eat either indoors or out on the sundeck and enjoy views of the glimmering San Diego skyline and ferryboats docking at the old wooden pier. Happy hours lure crowds for bargain-priced drinks and sunset views. A pub menu features burgers, sandwiches and salads. Dinner entrees emphasize fresh seafood and traditional California-style cuisine. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner; reservations recommended for weekend dinners.

Best Local Seafood
Azzura Point
Where: Loews Coronado Bay Resort, 4800 Coronado Bay Road, Coronado, CA 92118
Phone: 619-628-5479
Web site: Click here!
Azzura Point is Coronado's big-occasion restaurant, acclaimed for its dramatic views of San Diego Bay, Coronado-San Diego Bridge and the San Diego skyline as well as for its California-French cuisine. Serious seafood junkies come here for local (and non-local) specialties such as oysters marinated in sake and ginger, pan-seared John Dory, Pacific salmon with black truffle sauce, mesquite-grilled swordfish and the 10-spice ahi tuna. Meat dishes are equally as fancy and the vegetarian menu features dishes that incorporate herbs grown in the hotel's garden. A pricey wine list emphasizes California but includes unusual offerings from near and far. Five-course tasting menus fall into the $55 to $70 range with entrees priced from $18 to $30. Reservations are recommended. Try to get there in time for the sunset.

Best Family Restaurant
Miguel's Cocina
Where: 1351 Orange Avenue, Coronado, CA 92118
Phone: 619-437-4237
Web site: www.brigantine.com/miguels/cormiguels.html
Miguel's is a colorful and noisy Mexican restaurant where diners can enjoy outside dining throughout the year - heat lamps warm the lush tropical patio when the temperature falls. The menu features usual Mexican suspects - tacos, tostados, burritos, chile relleno in various permutations plus unusual items such as calamari relleno and shrimp in jalapeno cream sauce. A modest "Gringo Food" section offers burgers. Along with various Mexican brews on tap and in bottles, grown-ups can order The Really Mexican Margarita and four other varieties of frozen drinks while children guzzle virgin margaritas and piña coladas.

Best Kid Stuff
North Island Naval Station Tour
Where: Depart from Coronado Ferry Landing Marketplace
Phone: Old Town Trolley Tours, 619-298-8687; reservations required
Rates: Adults, $24; children 4 to 12, $12
Hours: Fridays, 9:15 a.m.
Coronado's North Island Naval Air Station was the site of the first military seaplane flight - a five-second spin by aviation pioneer Glen Curtis on January 26, 1911. It's also where Charles Lindbergh took off for the transcontinental flight that preceded his monumental Atlantic solo crossing. Occupying the entire north end of Coronado, the base is the homeport for the Navy's largest aircraft carriers. It's the take-off point for way-cool SH-60 Foxtrot helicopters used for anti-submarine warfare as well as for the Navy's only deep submergence rescue vessels. Civilians can see it all - or at least everything that isn't classified - on Friday mornings during Old Town Trolley Tours' two-hour excursions. It's a rare opportunity to visit a working U.S. military installation in action, with narration providing colorful insight into North Island history and Coronado's role in U.S. naval aviation. Reservations are required and increased security measures may limit or cancel tours.

Best Day Trip
Tijuana, Mexico
Where: 18 miles (30 kilometers) south of Coronado
Web site: www.tijuana.com
Ever since Prohibition, folks have been flocking to "TJ" to get what they can't get in the United States. These days, shopping is the main attraction. Tijuana is a duty-free zone with import shops that offer deep discounts on items such as Russian caviar, Swiss watches and French perfume. Other stores specialize in bargain-priced leather goods, shoes, jewelry, baskets, guitars and other merchandise. Exotic sports are also within reach. Tijuana has jai alai at the Frontón Palacio, greyhound racing at the Hipódromo Agua Caliente Racetrack and bullfights at either El Toreo de Tijuana or Plaza de Toros Monumental on Sundays from May through September.

Tijuana is only a 40-minute drive from Coronado. Park on the U.S. side and walk across the bridge over the Tijuana River into Mexico. Many shops are located near the river and cabs are readily available. Or take the San Diego Bay Ferry over to the mainland and ride the San Diego Trolley all the way to the border - about a half-hour ride. Mexican tourist permits are not necessary for trips within the 16-mile (26-kilometer) border zone.

Best Romantic Interlude
The Gondola Company
Where: Loews Coronado Bay Resort, 4000 Coronado Bay Road, Coronado, CA 92118
Phone: 619-429-6317
Web site: www.gondolacompany.com
Rates: $60 to $195 for two (gondolier tip not included)
Gondola Company cruises ply the placid canal and waterways of the Coronado Cays along the isthmus connecting Coronado to the mainland. The modern homes alongside the private canals won't pass for Venice, but the gondolas have been crafted according to Venetian specifications. And gondoliers are clad in traditional striped shirts and beribboned hats. Serenading is not mandatory, but gondoliers may croon a romantic aria. Cruises can be booked daily from 11 a.m. to midnight. All cruises last about an hour and include hors d'oeuvres or dessert. Blankets, ice buckets and glassware are provided and guests can bring a beverage of choice. Cruise options range from the basic Passport Cruise ($60 for two; $15 each additional person), the Azzura Point Tasting cruise which includes a four-course dinner ($195 for two) and the Sunday Brunch cruise ($135 for two). Reservations are required and it is recommended to make them two to three weeks in advance.

Best Public Golf Course
Coronado Municipal Golf Course
Where: 2000 Visalia Row, Coronado, CA 92118
Phone: 619-435-3121
Web site: www.golfsd.com/coronado.html
Rates: $20 to walk the course and $34 to ride; $10 to $18 twilight (times vary); $4 for pull cart rental; $25 club rental
Coronado's 18-hole public golf course is fit for the president - at least for Bill Clinton who broke 80 for the first time in his life when he played here. The scenery is beautiful too. Views of The Del, Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado-San Diego Bay Bridge and Glorietta Bay are enough to inspire a hole-in-one out of any golfer. Championship-quality fairways are lined with palms and oleanders and kept in superb condition. The greens are immaculate and the clubhouse is a new, Mediterranean-style facility. Not surprising given the course's high quality and greens fees, tee times can be hard to come by. Golfers can make reservations two days in advance either by calling (beginning at 7 a.m.) or stopping by (beginning at 6:30 a.m.).