I too travelled to the Loews in trepidation about what I might find. I booked in advance, having chosen the resort on the recommendation of a travel guide. Having read the reviews at this website before travelling, I was worried that I would find tatty furnishings, areas soiled by dogs and unreceptive (even rude) staff.

I didn't. We had a wonderful stay.

We stayed for four nights at the beginning of September. When we arrived (quite late at night), we were greeted by a friendly and efficient receptionist, and were made to feel very welcome. We were given a tour of the communal facilites by the bell captain. All of the staff that we met were courteous and efficient.

We were very impressed with the room. I do not know if we were lucky, but the descriptions about the rooms that I had read on Tripadvisor could not have been further removed from the reality. We had booked a pool/marina view room, and I would advise anyone staying at the hotel to do the same. The room was very large, had a spacious balcony and clean, modern furnishings. The bathroom was huge, and had an oversized bath and a separate self-contained shower.

As for the communal facilities, they were well-maintained and very pleasant. There are three pools which are placed next to each other: one for adults only, one for anyone, and one for children. All are a good size, and are heated to a pleasant temparature. There are also two jucuzzis, one for adults only. I found these a trifle hot.

There was music playing around the pool area, which I found enjoyable and not in the least intrusive. We did not find the area to be overcrowded, or the domain of the arrogant or self-obsessed (I certainly would not place either of us within that category). There were more than enough sun-loungers, and there was no charge for using them. It is true that you have to request towels and then hand them in again before 8pm, but I did not find this to be a chore. There is also a bar beside the pool which serves drinks and food. My only complaint was that the service was inattentive. The prices were not cheap, but I did not expect them to be.

There are other facilities (tennis courts and spa treatments) for which you have to pay. There are ping-pong tables which we did not use, and I do not know if they charge you for using them.

As for food, we ate breakfast in the hotel's cafe on three mornings. You can either have the buffet or choose from the menu. It is not cheap to eat there, but the buffet selection was wide-ranging and excellent. On one morning we only wanted a light breakfast, and the waiter agreed to give us a discount on the buffet price if we restricted ourselves to cereals, fruit, smoked salmon and other cold foods. We only ate at the hotel on one night, and chose the Azzura Point restaurant. This is a fine-dining restaurant, and the food was very good, although not breathtakingly so (unlike the view, which was stunning). My lamb was cooked to perfection, and I also enjoyed the Ahi Tuna appetizer.

Following our evening meal, as part of a deal you can arrange, we went on a gondola ride. The hotel has its own marina, with a gondola company. They provided us with chocolate-dipped strawberries and an ice-bucket to chill a bottle of wine which we had purchased earlier. We sailed around the Coronado Keys for about one hour. The gondolier was slightly too chatty - we would have preferred to talk amongst ourselves - but otherwise the gondola trip was a wonderful experience.

I do not have a dog, and did not want to spend a holiday next door to a barking animal. What I read on this website concerned me. However, we only saw about four dogs during our entire stay. They are not allowed in the pool area. We did not hear a single bark.

As for the hotel's location, yes, it is removed from the centre of San Diego and even from Coronado. We hired a car (we later drove to San Francisco, stopping on the way), and did not have any complaints. Granted, you would not be able to walk to Coronado, but we did not expect to do so. It is only about a five minute drive away. The beach is not too far away - you can either take a golf-cart or walk for about ten minutes to reach it. Or, if feeling lazy, you could drive. The walk to the beach is not unpleasant, although I would advise driving to the larger beach in Coronado.

The hotel is not cheap, and there are charges for a number of activities. Food and drink can also prove expensive. I thought the parking charges to be unreasonably high (although much more reasonable than the Fairmont at San Francisco). However, there are many benefits to this hotel, and I thought it to be reasonable value for the price that I paid.

To summarise, we paid a large sum for an enjoyable holiday. The Loews surpassed our expectations. At one stage, I had considered cancelling our reservation on the back of the reviews that I read here. I would strongly advise against doing so. There are hundreds of rooms, and must be thousands of visitors per year. Only a handful provide reviews, and those who do are more likely to be those who have had a thoroughly enjoyable or a bad visit. There are many more who have not written who probably enjoyed their stays.

We had a great time, and would recommend this hotel to others.

My husband, daughter, and I vacationed for a week in California and were supposed to stay here for 3 nights but after the first 10 min I changed our plans. I was under the impression from their web site that they were located on the beach so I was disappointed to have to take a golf cart to get to the ocean. Room was nothing special for the price. The pool area was very crowded and loud. Not my kind of crowd...Loud obnixous and self absorbed. You had to check out your towels at the pool and check them back in or you would be charged. To me that is just really a pain. At most luxury hotels you don't have to do that...obviously this is not a luxury hotel. We checked into the Marriott the next day and it was lovely. More space, better rooms, not as crowded and Cheaper with no towel problem. The Hilton Gaslamp was also a lovely hotel with great rooms and staff. All in all I would never stay at this hotel again.

Having read with some intrepidation the reviews on this alleged prestigious hotel having pre-booked 5 nights as part of my Families annual summer holiday.

I contacted the Loews direct and asked if there was any substance to the reviews or were they simply subjective opinions from pedantic customers. I was assured the hotel was of a high standard and I should ignore the reviews that were of a detrimental nature.

I arrive at the Loews Coronado Resort having spent five glorious days in at the stunning Fairport Princess Hotel in Scottsdale Arizona…Oh how I wish I had taken cognisance of the reviews posted on Trip master. With out too much detail here is a chronological list of negative attributes we experienced in our brief (less than 24 hour stay at the extortionate sum of $600 for two rooms)

ØOur reception was a disgrace we were not made to feel either welcome or wanted.
ØOur rooms were small (for $300 each) and dated with very tired furnishings and fittings.
ØThe pools were overcrowded and not at all appealing.
ØAt the Loews Coronado Resort you are totally secluded with a circa $30 round trip fare into Coronado.
ØBreakfast in the morning was very ordinary.
ØEvery conceivable extra (bathroom accessories children’s activities etc etc) had an additional charge.

To conclude I would not recommend the Loews Coronado Resort to anyone and the most gratifying part of our stay was a taxi into San Diego city were we proceeded to enjoy the remainder of our holiday!

The Loews Hotel was excellent! Like most of the reviews say, it is far away from everything else, but sometimes that is a good thing. The beach was ok, but they call it the June Gloom, and that means overcast and no sun until about 3PM! IT was COLD (66 to 72). The bridge over to the Coronado town was fun (around 2 miles over the bay!). Be sure to treat yourself to a fairy ride over to San Diego Bay. We also visited the USS Midway. I thought the rooms were just so so, the bathroom was huge and the big marble tub was nice along with the separate shower. They do have 3 different pools, one for children, families and adults, tennis courts, ping pong and a nice restaurant (but a little pricey). If you are staying in San Diego and want to be away from things this is the place to stay.