Staycation at the Hotel del Coronado + Our UrLife Trailer!
Hi friends! Happy humpday. 🙂 Hope you’re having a wonderful week. I’m so excited for the upcoming weekend, especially since we have tickets to take Liv to see Lion King. She doesn’t even know the amazingness that’s headed her way, but she did laugh when I held Bella up like a baby Simba to sing Circle of Life.
I have quite a bit of work stuff to wrap up this week -I’m working on some free downloads to share with you, especially as a thank you to those who answered my feedback survey last week- and am really enjoying reliving our staycation through writing this post.
As a family, we’re fortunate to enjoy some pretty incredible adventures together. Whether it’s a quick roadtrip to Tucson, a drive up to Disney, or even a fun weekend here at home, we tend to have a lot of fun. We’re working through our San Diego bucket list, and something that we’d had yet to do: a staycation. We mentioned staying at a local hotel a few times, and after a couple visits to the Hotel del Coronado, we knew we wanted that to be the spot. The iconic Del is in beautiful Coronado (kind of funny: the Pilot works on Coronado so he’s there every day, and I’ve only been a handful of times). The property is huge, and sparkles with historical architecture.
When the Del invited us to stay on property and attend their morning spin class on the beach, I knew it would be the perfect opportunity for a family staycation.
The Pilot works pretty intense hours in addition to Master’s courses, and is gone often, so we really enjoy any opportunity the four of us can be together. Usually when we’re out of town, I’ll bring my computer and to-do lists, so I can crank out work after the girls are asleep. For this particular getaway, I left everything but my phone at home.
Even though we were just driving over the Coronado bridge, I felt like we were a world away from the usual chores and obligations at home. We checked into the property, and headed to our room, which had a full balcony and ocean view. It was perfection. After we checked in, Lou Mora met us on the beach to take some family photos. The last round we had taken was when P was a newborn, and she’s obviously grown so much since then.
Here are some of our family photos:
Lou was amazing with the kiddos (fast and efficient is key when you’re shooting small children), and we walked back up to the hotel for dinner.
We enjoyed some wood-fired pizza on the patio. I’m ready to go back for the pizza alone. 😉 We had an awesome dinner, and since it was P’s bedtime, the Pilot took her back to the room so she could crash. While P was snoozing peacefully and the Pilot got some studying done, Liv and I stayed out for movie night on the lawn. I had grabbed a robe to use as a blanket, and we watched The Sandlot in comfy white chairs, snuggled with our robe, and the ocean crashing in the background. I wasn’t sure if Liv would be into the movie, but she watched the entire thing and loved it. On the way back to our room, we picked up some gelato (+ some to take back to the Pilot), and the fam slept in while I caught the early morning beach spin class. The weather was beautiful, and the coolest part about it: the class was through Beats headphones. So no one else could hear the instructor and loud music in the early morning.
We enjoyed breakfast buffet and spent the rest of the day relaxing in a cabana and swimming. It was a short trip, but when we got home, we felt that completely recharged and blissful vacation feeling.
As far as the Del goes, very few hotels have a magical effect on me. In my life, there are only a handful of hotels where I’ve felt like, “I can’t wait to go back.” This is one of those very special places. I can definitely see why so many make it a tradition, and how the Del beckons to you after you’re gone. We will definitely be back. The Pilot and I also said that we felt very much like we did in Italy. It had the same charming, elegant, yet laid-back vibe.
The Del has partnered with UrLife media, and if you haven’t heard about UrLife, I’m pretty excited to spread the word. [Before I go on, I want to give you guys a heads up that this isn’t a sponsored post. We were invited to the Del to enjoy a staycation, but I wasn’t compensated or required to post about my stay.]
UrLife media creates trailers of events and memories in your life. This can be family vacations, special events/occasions, or anything you’d like to document. And when I say they create trailers, they are legit movie-quality trailers. Jack Giarraputo, a co-founder of the company has partnered with Adam Sandler and has produced 3.5 billion in the worldwide box office through Sony, Disney, Paramount, Fox and Warner Bros. Ryan Hegenberger has been creating Hollywood movie trailers for 17 years. He has worked on projects like Spider Man, Men In Black and founded Big Picture Entertainment, which has created marketing campaigns for some of the biggest films in history. #realmoviemakingpeople
With the Del’s ties to Hollywood (Some Like It Hot was filmed there!!), it’s pretty fitting that they’d partner with UrLife. You simply upload photos and videos to the UrLife app from your camera roll. You pick the length of your trailer, and give them details about the vibe you’re going for, or anything particular you’d like to emphasize. Then, you receive your trailer back!
Here’s the one they created from our staycation. We loved watching it together, and I know it will be a special treasure in years to come, especially as the girls continue to grow.
If you’d like to try out UrLife, they offered a special code for reader friends. Use FITNESSISTA100 to get $100 off.
Special thanks again to the Hotel del Coronado and to UrLife for the wonderful time.
Do you have any fall travel plans on the horizon?? What’s one of the places you’ve visited and can’t wait to go back?
xoxo
Gina
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Spin on the beach? Now that sounds like fun!!!
Gina, you need to stay at Hotel Santa Caterina in Amalfi on your next Italian adventure. It truly doesn’t get any better. Let me know if you need any luxury hotel tips! 🙂
omgggg. i spent like 20 minutes looking at pictures after reading your comment. we definitely need to go!
Hotel Del was so gorgeous when I went for a visit. I didn’t stay there but went for drinks.
One of my favorite charming places is Maryland Inn in Annapolis (beds are so comfy) and my very fave is Geneva, Switzerland. I have a good friend who lives just outside of Geneva (near Lausanne) and it’s just amazing. They have these outdoor spa pools surrounded by mountains…sooo nice!
gahhhh that sounds incredible!
Ah I love the Del, though I’ve never stayed there. Are the beds comfy? We had Thanksgiving dinner one year at 1500 Ocean, it was a delight!
the beds were DREAMY. sometimes i don’t sleep well at hotels, but we all crashed
My best friend got engaged there. Such beautiful pictures of your family! What a gorgeous hotel!
thank you, friend!! so awesome for your best friend, too. it’s a magical place
This looks beautiful…I love Liv’s little dress!
I really want to go camping for our Canadian Thanksgiving…I’m hoping the weather will stay warm for a while…other than that I would love to do a bit of restaurant touring around Toronto…my hubby jokes that we always go to the same places in a city of thousands of restos…
xo!
we do the same thing! when you know the good spots, it’s hard to rock the boat and risk going someone that isn’t great
Well this just sounds amazing! I love the idea of a staycation, but we’ve never actually made it a thing. Maybe we’ll have to give it a shot.
And I adore the idea of a silent disco-esque spin class. I feel like the headphones might be a wee bit annoying, but, either way, it’s a genius idea! I used to attend silent discos all the time in my Bonnaroo days (#memories) and we were debating about having one for our wedding last month to beat out the noise constraints. Needless to say, I’m a fan. : )
Thanks for sharing!
XO, Jessica
http://www.semisweettooth.com
i thought the headphones might bother me, but they were super soft and comfy
love silent discos 🙂
xoxo
What gorgeous photos! Your trip looks like it was a lot of fun!
thank you so much, friend <3
I can’t get over how much P looks like your brother! It’s uncanny 🙂
right?! it’s so cute
That is awesome they make trailers!!!! Loved yours!
thank you, friend. we loved watching it!
Your trailer was so fun! I’ve been to the Del but never inside. It was nice to get a peak!
it was so beautiful! hope your week is going well <3
That hotel sounds amazing! I need to go back to San Diego ASAP.
come back! the weather is extra perfection right now
Beautiful family pics!!! Isn’t it fun when they get old enough to go to movies & shows? Have fun at Lion King!
it’s the best! i feel like i’ve been waiting my whole life to have a broadway musical buddy 🙂
Spin on the beach sounds incredible! I’m feeling like a San Diego trip is necessary!
yesssss do it 🙂
I have always wanted to go Hotel Del Coronado being so close to LA where I live. And spinning on the beach in the morning sounds incredible.
it was SO GOOD. i would go back for the spin class alone, but everything else was incredible
Such beautiful photos! You will be so thankful you have those years from now! I love to look at the photos we’ve had taken over the years and I am so glad we invested the money in such beautiful memories! Looks like a fabulous trip!
thank you so much!! taking family photos can be hit or miss but i’m always glad when we do them. lou did such an amazing job!
hope your week is going well <3
It’s so funny that you mentioned holding Bella up like Simba, because this past weekend I went to the Nationals baseball game and they have this fan participation thing called the Simba Cam and people hold their babies and little kids up like Simba. When Circle of Life started playing thousands of fans stood up and held their little kids up to the sky. It was hysterical!
NO WAY. i think that may be the best sports game cam i’ve heard of hahaha
What an awesome trailer! Loved it! I’ve always wanted to stay at the Del. Looked like fun!
it was amazing! hope your week is going well <3
I LOVE the Del and that video is epic! What a fun way to capture your staycation! Such fun!
Omg are you seeing Lion King off Broadway?! We saw it on Broadway 2 years ago…one of the best experiences of my LIFE!! Speaking of which, I can’t wait to go back to NYC!
yes, it’s the touring company. i’m so excited!
and YES. i want to go back to nyc so badly
Coronado looks so relaxing! And your family is beautiful!
thank you, friend! hope you’re having a great weekend