After a wonderful stay at the Coronado Island Marriott Resort & Spa, we were ready to move back to the World of Hyatt side of things with a stay at Coronado Island’s 1906 Lodge.
Review: 1906 Lodge
Full disclosure: I stayed at this hotel during the pandemic.Â
First and foremost, the 1906 Lodge is a small, boutique hotel and a part of the Hyatt-affiliated Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) brand.
Fun-fact: the 1906 Lodge was given a TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice award as one of the Top 25 Most Romantic Hotels in the World in 2020.Â
Arrival
Finding the 1906 Lodge was a little tricky because our GPS kept getting “lost” among the small, curvy streets of the neighborhood.
The street address is not 1906, but rather 1060. Luckily, I knew what the Lodge looked like from the pictures and I was able to spot it from the street.
There was also a large sign outside that reads “1906 Lodge”, although we couldn’t see it from the direction we were coming from.
Yep, this is the place
The Entrance
Just walking in through the entrance of the 1906 Lodge reminded me of the days before I got into the “points game” when I used to love boutique hotels so much.
It was homey, cozy and warm.
The front door
The Lobby
The Front Desk
The World Of Hyatt Redemption
During our stay at the 1906 Lodge, the base-room rate was $307.46 per night.
However, the 1906 Lodge is also a Category 6 World of Hyatt hotel which meant I could book the room for 25,000 points.
The redemption value was 1.23 CPP (which is actually quite poor for a World of Hyatt point redemption).
Nevertheless, I used points because of the Chase World of Hyatt credit card’s [current] 25% points back promotion (which meant I actually only dropped 18,750 points for a CPP of 1.64) and because I’ve been wanting to check this place out for a long time (as this hotel is small, it often sells out quickly).
The Check-In
Before my arrival, I received a text message asking for my arrival time. I replied, and then I received a call from the Inn Keeper (yes, they have “Inn Keepers”) confirming that I wouldn’t be too late because they might be asleep.
When I arrived, check-in was quick, I was given a room key and told how to access the little parking garage around the corner and under the building.
Just as I figured, I was not recognized for my Hyatt loyalty nor was I given a room upgrade.
I did however, grab one of these pamphlets from counter (see below).
Parking Garage
The parking garage is small. Getting into it could be tricky if you are driving a large truck.
The entrance to the garage was a tight, one-way roadway in. It looked to me like there was probably exactly one parking space per room.
There is exactly just enough parking – no more, no less
The Walk To The Room
The Hallway from the parking garage
The stairwell to the top floor
The Room
As I understand it, each room at the 1906 Lodge is unique in decor and in the fact that it has its own name, rather than a room number.
In our case, we were given the “Katie’s Garden” room.
The Welcome Letter (And Cookies)
As we entered the room, we found the welcome letter on the bed next to a bag of little chocolate chip cookies (which were delicious).
I had forgotten, but the 1906 Lodge had a free breakfast service as well as a Happy Hour.
Katie’s Garden Room
The Katie’s Garden room was one of the smallest guest rooms in the resort. I was hoping – perhaps unrealistically – that we’d get a room with a fireplace, but it was not to be.
However, the little room grew on me and we found it to be warm and cozy.
I don’t know what kind of bed they used, but this was the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in at a hotel. I mean, it was just perfect.
Who needs a closet when you have these hangers?
Coronado Island chic
Room Condition
Overall, the room was in good condition, but there was an “I-don’t-want-to-know” heavy stain on the carpet.
The Bathroom
The bathroom, like the bedroom, was elegantly styled and painted something between a sage and olive green color.
The Bee Kind brand was the hotel’s toiletry of choice.
The Communal Coffee Station (Upstairs)
Hallway Artwork
Breakfast In The Garden Courtyard
As mentioned in the welcome letter, complimentary breakfast is served in the garden courtyard daily.
There was no menu, however we were given a choice between a vegetarian breakfast or a standard breakfast.
We went with the standard breakfast which consisted of Eggs Florentine, bacon, fruit, toast, and a delicious sweet little walnut bread.
Walking The Property
The bike rentals (and gold carts) are located in the parking garage
The 1906 Lodge At Night
The Bottom-Line Review: 1906 Lodge
Yes, the 1906 Lounge is a wonderful little romantic destination.
It’s at once a cute secluded hideaway, and just a short walk or bike ride to some of the islands premier destinations (Coronado Beach, Central Beach, the restaurants on the Southern end of Orange Ave, and the infamous Hotel del Coronado).
However, you get what you pay for at the 1906 Lodge. Unfortunately, that means that when you book on World of Hyatt points (which is already a poor value), you likely won’t get the peak “1906 Lodge experience” (due to the limited number of rooms).
As the Inn Keeper (who was wonderful!) pointed out to me, the best deals for the “good rooms” are only found direct through their own website (not through Hyatt and not even through SLH). As such, I would highly recommend you book with cash vs. points – and book through the official 1906 Lodge website. Here, you will definitely want to splurge for a larger room with a patio and/or fireplace.
I can’t remember making this distinction before, but as somebody who booked this hotel on points, I’d rate my experience a 7.5, but if I booked on cash and got larger room it would have probably been a 8.5 or a 9.
Final Rating (for a points booking): 7.5 out of 10.
