Historic Inns

San Diego, California

Historic Hotels & Inns in San Diego

Fourteen historic hotels and inns across San Diego County, from Juan Bandini’s Old Town adobe and the 1888 Hotel del Coronado to downtown’s early-1900s hotels, La Jolla’s Prospect Street and the gold-mining town of Julian.

14 historic places to stay · verified October 2026 · by Historic Inns editors

The short answer

For the classic, book the Hotel del Coronado, the 1888 resort on Coronado Beach, and ask for a room in The Victorian, its original building; the resort’s other buildings are later. Downtown, the US Grant (1910) faces Horton Plaza Park and the Gaslamp Plaza Suites fills the 1913 Watts Building, both walkable to Petco Park, the Convention Center and the trolley. For the oldest building, stay at the Cosmopolitan in Old Town: ten rooms in Juan Bandini’s adobe of about 1827 to 1829, inside the state historic park. On the coast north of downtown, La Valencia (1926) and the Grande Colonial stand on Prospect Street above La Jolla Cove, and the Grande Colonial includes valet. Downtown, expect valet parking: the Horton Grand charges $62 a night.

Our top picks

Grand hotel

The US Grant

Built 1910

Ulysses S. Grant Jr.'s 1910 monument to his father, on Broadway at Horton Plaza Park; its nomination lists Wilson, Truman and Kennedy…

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Compare them side by side

InnAreaBuiltRoomsTypePriceHaunted
The Cosmopolitan HotelOld Town1827–2910Inn–YesRates
Horton Grand HotelGaslamp Quarter1886–87–Boutique hotel–Rates
Hotel del CoronadoCoronado1888–Resort–YesRates
Julian Gold Rush HotelJulian1897–Inn–Rates
The US GrantDowntown1910–Grand hotel–Rates
Gaslamp Plaza SuitesGaslamp Quarter1913–Boutique hotel–Rates
The Guild HotelDowntown1924162Boutique hotel–Rates
La Valencia HotelLa Jolla1926–Grand hotel–Rates
The Sofia HotelDowntown1926–Boutique hotel–Rates
Grande Colonial La JollaLa Jolla1925–26–Boutique hotel–YesRates
La Casa del ZorroBorrego Springs1937–Resort–Rates
The Lafayette Hotel and ClubNorth Park1946–Boutique hotel–Rates
Rancho Bernardo InnRancho Bernardo1963286Resort–Rates
Omni La Costa ResortCarlsbad1965–Resort–Rates

Price is a typical nightly rate: $ under $200, $$ $200–349, $$$ $350–549, $$$$ $550+. Rates vary by season; check the inn for exact prices.

Where they are

The neighborhoods

Where to stay, by area

Gaslamp Quarter and Downtown

The Gaslamp grew from Alonzo Horton’s ‘New Town’, and its Victorian commercial core has been a National Register district since 1980, bounded by the railroad tracks, Broadway and Fourth and Sixth avenues. The Gaslamp Plaza Suites fills the 1913 Watts Building inside it. On Broadway are the US Grant (1910), facing Horton Plaza Park, and The Sofia (1926), the old Pickwick Hotel; at the district’s edge on Island Avenue, the Horton Grand joins two 1880s hotels rebuilt side by side in 1986. All are walkable to Petco Park and the Convention Center, with trolley stops throughout.

Coronado

Elisha Babcock and Hampton Story laid out Coronado in 1886 to support the Hotel del Coronado, now a National Historic Landmark on the beach. It is a separate city across the bay, reached by car or by a 15-minute ferry from Broadway Pier or the Convention Center. At the Del, only rooms in The Victorian, the original 1888 building, are historic; the Cabanas, the Views towers, Beach Village (2007) and Shore House (2022) are later. Across Orange Avenue, John D. Spreckels’s 1908 mansion is now the Glorietta Bay Inn; we couldn’t confirm its landmark status, so it isn’t on our list yet.

Old Town

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park preserves the Mexican and early American pueblo below Presidio Hill, which soldiers and Franciscan missionaries from New Spain occupied in 1769. Adobes, museums and living history surround the plaza, and the park’s core has been a National Register district since 1971. Its lodging is the Cosmopolitan Hotel, ten rooms in Juan Bandini’s adobe of about 1827 to 1829. The free San Diego Flyer shuttle links the Old Town Transit Center with the airport, and the park’s lots are free for up to four hours.

Little Italy and Bankers Hill

North of downtown, Bankers Hill rises toward Balboa Park with houses from the 1880s to the 1910s, and part of it became the Heart of Bankers Hill Historic District on the National Register in 2024. Its two landmark Victorian B&B houses, the Keating House (1888) and the Britt-Scripps House (1887–88), couldn’t be booked online when we checked in October 2026, so they aren’t listed. Little Italy sits between Bankers Hill and the bay; The Guild Hotel, in the 1924 Armed Services YMCA, is nearby on West Broadway.

La Jolla

La Jolla Village sits on the coast north of downtown, above La Jolla Cove. Its two historic hotels stand on Prospect Street, a short walk from the cove: La Valencia, opened in 1926 and known for its tower and gold dome, and the Grande Colonial, opened in 1913 and rebuilt in the mid-1920s. After World War II, actors performing at the La Jolla Playhouse stayed at both.

The inns

The Cosmopolitan HotelAntony-22 / CC BY-SA 4.0

Built 1827–29 · Adobe with 1869 Monterey-style wood second story · Old Town · Inn

The Cosmopolitan Hotel

Why stay Juan Bandini's Old Town adobe, a hotel since its wooden second story went up in 1869; ten rooms with period antiques and no TVs or phones.

The ghost story The hotel's own history says the ghost of Ysidora Bandini, youngest daughter of Juan Bandini, is thought to visit Room 11, turning lights on and off. It is told as house lore.

Good to know Breakfast: included

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Hotel del CoronadoBeyond My Ken / CC BY-SA 4.0

Built 1888 · Queen Anne / Victorian · Coronado · Resort

Hotel del Coronado

Why stay The Reid Brothers' 1888 Queen Anne resort on Coronado Beach. Only the original building is historic, so ask for a room in The Victorian.

The ghost story Guests and staff report that Kate Morgan, a 24-year-old guest who died at the hotel in 1892, never left; her room, 3327, is reported to be the hotel's most requested, and Room 3519 is also the subject of ghost stories. HHA has named The Del to its Most Haunted list every year from 2021 to 2026.

Good to know Breakfast: available · Parking: on-site paid · Elevator · Pets welcome

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Grande Colonial La JollaJiriMatejicek / CC BY-SA 4.0

Built 1925–26 · La Jolla · Boutique hotel

Grande Colonial La Jolla

Why stay Frank Stevenson's 1925–26 Prospect Street hotel, where La Jolla Playhouse actors such as Groucho Marx stayed; valet is included in every stay.

The ghost story The hotel reports that generations of guests and staff describe unexplained happenings, including front-desk calls at 2 a.m. coming from rooms known to be empty. It is told as hotel lore.

Good to know Breakfast: available · Parking: on-site free

Check ratesFull storyBook direct
1937La Casa del Zorro

Built 1937 · Spanish Colonial Revival · Borrego Springs · Resort

La Casa del Zorro

Why stay Noel Crickmer's 1937 Desert Lodge near Anza-Borrego, renamed by the Copley family for the native kit fox; HHA says Nixon and Reagan stayed.

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1963Rancho Bernardo Inn

Built 1963 · Spanish Mission / Early California (resort describes Mission-style grounds) · Rancho Bernardo · Resort

Rancho Bernardo Inn

Why stay Opened by the ranching Daley family in 1963 with 30 rooms and a William Bell golf course; later expansions took it to about 287 rooms.

Good to know Breakfast: available

Check ratesFull storyBook direct
1965Omni La Costa Resort

Built 1965 · California Mission Revival · Carlsbad · Resort

Omni La Costa Resort

Why stay Merv Adelson's 1965 golf and spa resort, where Sinatra and Johnny Carson were regulars; KSL heavily renovated it in the 2000s.

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Before you book

Planning your stay

Getting around

The MTS Trolley’s UC San Diego Blue, Green, Orange and Copper lines connect downtown with UC San Diego, East County, the South Bay and the Mexican border. From San Diego International Airport, MTS Route 992 runs every 15 minutes to Santa Fe Depot downtown in about 15 minutes, and the free San Diego Flyer shuttle runs every 20 to 30 minutes to the Old Town Transit Center. The Coronado ferry takes 15 minutes from Broadway Pier (hourly) or the Convention Center (every 30 minutes) and costs $9 one way.

Parking

Downtown historic hotels are mostly valet: the Horton Grand charges $62 a night, and the Lafayette in North Park $38 with in-and-out privileges. The Grande Colonial in La Jolla includes valet in every stay. The Hotel del Coronado has valet and an underground self-park garage (rates aren’t posted on its FAQ) and adds a $50 nightly mandatory charge. In Old Town, the state park’s lots are free for up to four hours, and the Cosmopolitan gives registered guests a reserved parking area.

When to go

Comic-Con International returns to the Convention Center July 22 to 25, 2027 (Preview Night is July 21), so book Gaslamp and downtown rooms early for those dates. The Hotel del Coronado requires two-night deposits and 30-day cancellation for June 19–20 and July 3–4, so plan ahead for those summer weekends. In late October, Old Town San Diego State Historic Park’s events calendar lists altar tours.

Accessibility

The Hotel del Coronado says it is ADA accessible, with accessible entrances, pathways and elevators, and the Horton Grand has wheelchair-accessible rooms with roll-in showers. Older houses are another story: at the Glorietta Bay Inn’s 1908 mansion in Coronado, every second-floor room is up a flight of stairs, so check room access before booking a smaller historic inn.

Before you book

The Horton Grand and the Lafayette require guests to be 21 to check in or reserve, and the Del adds its $50 nightly mandatory charge to the rate. The Cosmopolitan has only ten rooms, with no TVs or phones and single-pane 1869 windows (it supplies earplugs), so book early to sleep in Old Town’s adobe. Pets are welcome for a fee at the Del (up to 40 lb, $150 cleaning fee), the Horton Grand ($75 a stay, in select rooms) and the Lafayette ($100 a reservation, up to 45 lb). At Omni La Costa and the Rancho Bernardo Inn, the history is in the name and the grounds: both resorts have been rebuilt or expanded, and neither identifies rooms from its first years.

Things to do

Tours of historic San Diego

Tours from GetYourGuide

Tours are sold by GetYourGuide and run by local operators. If you book one through these links, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Ratings and prices are GetYourGuide’s.

Questions travelers ask

What is the oldest hotel in San Diego?

The Cosmopolitan in Old Town has both the oldest building and the earliest start as a hotel of any we list: Juan Bandini’s adobe, built about 1827 to 1829, became the Cosmopolitan Hotel when its wooden second story was added in 1869. The Horton Grand joins the Grand Horton (1886) and the Brooklyn (1887), which it calls the two oldest hotels in San Diego, but both were taken apart and rebuilt on a new site in 1986. The Hotel del Coronado, opened in 1888, is the oldest resort we list.

What is the most haunted hotel in San Diego?

There is no official ranking. The best-known story belongs to the Hotel del Coronado, where guests and staff say Kate Morgan, a 24-year-old guest who died at the hotel in 1892, never left; her room, 3327, is reported to be the hotel’s most requested, and Historic Hotels of America has named the Del to its most-haunted list every year from 2021 to 2026. In Old Town, the Cosmopolitan says the ghost of Ysidora Bandini, Juan Bandini’s youngest daughter, visits Room 11, and the Grande Colonial in La Jolla collects its own guests’ stories. These are stories guests and staff tell, not documented fact.

Is it better to stay in the Gaslamp Quarter, Coronado or Old Town?

The Gaslamp and Broadway put you on the trolley and within walking distance of Petco Park, the Convention Center and the Coronado ferry, with mostly valet parking. Coronado means the beach and the 1888 Hotel del Coronado, 15 minutes from downtown by ferry. Old Town has the adobe-era history, free park lots and a free shuttle to the airport, but only one historic hotel, the ten-room Cosmopolitan.

Where do you park at a historic hotel in San Diego?

Expect valet downtown: the Horton Grand charges $62 a night, and the Lafayette in North Park $38. The Hotel del Coronado has valet and a self-park garage, the Grande Colonial in La Jolla includes valet in every stay, and Old Town’s state park lots are free for up to four hours, with a reserved area for Cosmopolitan guests.

Are there historic bed and breakfasts in San Diego?

Few that you can book online. The Cosmopolitan in Old Town works like a ten-room B&B, with coffee, tea and house pastries in its saloon, and the Julian Gold Rush Hotel (1897) in the mountains includes a two-course breakfast. Bankers Hill’s landmark Victorians, the Keating House (1888) and the Britt-Scripps House (1887–88), had no working online booking when we checked in October 2026.

Keep exploring

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How we chose these inns

Every place on this page is at least 50 years old, holds a credential we can check (National Register listing, a listed historic district, landmark status, or Historic Hotels of America membership), and takes bookings today. We verify each one against primary sources before it goes on the list, and last checked this list in October 2026. Read our criteria.

Planning details on this page (parking, transport, seasons and events) come from: gaslamp.org, npgallery.nps.gov, ohp.parks.ca.gov, oldtowncosmopolitan.com, thegrandecolonial.com, theguildhotel.com, comic-con.org, flagshipsd.com, gloriettabayinn.com, historichotels.org, hortongrand.com, hoteldel.com, julianhotel.com, keatinghouse.com, parks.ca.gov, sandiego.gov, sdmts.com.

Sources (34)

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