We just completed our 9th visit to the Beach Village at the Del. We’ve enjoyed the Del over the years and really like Coronado. We’ve noticed a significant decline in the customer experience in recent years. When you go to a place like the Beach Village/Del, it is all about the experience. You know it is going to be pricey (e.g., $14 for a can of beer from the Eno Market but you expect it in a place like the Del). Unfortunately, they have compromised this via their focus on corporate events over individual guests. When we visited a year ago, there was a sales award corporate event that overlapped with our stay. The company bought out the Sun Deck for our entire time there. IMHO the Sun Deck is one of the gems with a bar and food that has great views of the ocean and sunsets. No individuals had use of the Sun Deck for those four days/nights and the same company had events on the beach in front of the Beach Village. Last year we had to wait until 5:45 p.m. to get into our two-bedroom ocean front suite/cottage in the Beach Village. This year, we reserved a three-bedroom ocean front suite/cottage for five nights. The daily cost for the suites totaled $7,000 per night including taxes and fees. Right in front of our suites was the Beach Club, an exclusive place on the beach with umbrellas, chairs, a big entrance and unfortunately a completely obstructed view of the beach and ocean. Right next to this is an area where they now hold corporate events. During our five-night stay, there were three different events that also created an obstructed view from our patios. They have to set-up and tear down for these events so there is noise and disruption. My step-son said they were vacuuming the sand in the area after a Friday night event until midnight and he could not get to sleep. I did talk with Krista who is the Director of the Beach Village. She ended up making a small credit (equal to about 5-6% of the total bill) for these challenges. The employees look weary when you bring up the issues as you know they are getting inundated from guests. At the end of the day, shame on Del management and Hilton Curio for enabling these circumstances when guests are shelling out $7k a night. I feel bad for the employees who get irate guests. Another experience that has degraded is the Windsor Cottage. You used to have access to the Cottage being a Beach Village guest for a complimentary breakfast. About five years ago, they took away the complimentary breakfast and you had to pay for it (it was a small buffet type experience). In the last 2 years they renovated the Cottage and it just reopened and is called the Ocean Concierge Club. When we checked in we asked about and it was $150 per person, per day to use the Cottage. They provide a breakfast and lunch as part of the charge but if you want dinner that is separate. If 3 people wanted to use the Cottage for four days it would total another $1800 on top of what they are paying for their rooms,
108 Reviews