When it comes to vacationing with kids the goal is simple: you can’t return home needing a vacation from your vacation. Loews Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego was built with this edict in mind. With an activity bag at check-in, Kids Club, sports galore, a dedicated pool and exceptionally dedicated staff, this place knows how to help you make the best of your vacation. And it’s in our backyard, perfect for an end of the year getaway to recover from the holidays.

Holiday Getaway: No Planes, Just Trains or Automobiles
Sure, the whole east coast has a wintry lure, but traveling 3000 miles with a squirmy master of the “are we there yet?” has a way of setting parental developmental clocks back. So stick close to home to recharge this winter, and go over the bridge to sunny Coronado. With a seemingly endless array of outdoor activities, the Loews Coronado Bay sets families up with a vacation canvas to paint any way they choose. Sunset sails? Done. Time to see what Stand Up Paddling is all about? They’ve got that, too. Swimming, cycling, sailing and water-skiing are also mere moments away.

Seashells While You Sign In
At registration, the kids are immediately gifted with activity books and crayons. And while you’re handing all other check-in formalities, don’t be surprised if Loews Legend and Concierge Extraordinaire Gordon Berry keeps the kids entertained with his bevy of beach ball stickers, sea-centric tattoos, or a stash of seashells his dad sent him from Hawaii. All this before you have so much as your room key. You’re getting the lay of the land, they’re already lavished with new loot.  And making new friends with the bird in his cool roost.

Ugh. Forgot To Pack The…
Don’t sweat it; you’re not the first. Hence, the “Kids Closet.” What’s inside? The gamut of most frequently forgotten necessities for young families. Toys, books, car seats, strollers, nightlights, potty seats, baby bathtubs, baby blankets…exhale, mama. They saw you coming.  And that instantly makes the vacation feel like one.

Kids Club? Or Pottery Barn Kids?
With all its books and blocks and builders and butterflies, The Kids Club is so visually appealing it (almost) makes a grown-up want to stick around and hang there all day. That dollhouse you didn’t buy them but they really wanted? Have at it. That kitchen set that puts your real kitchen set to shame? It’s there, stove to stemware. Pottery Barn Kids fashioned the whole outfit, so think of this as that store where they can touch and play and explore everything. With supervision that refreshingly is not provided by you.

The supervised activities (designed for the 4-12 crowd) have hourly, half day, and full day sessions available and they open up a whole new avenue of family vacating. Read: they can build volcanoes and art and craft to their hearts content, you can indulge in a spa treatment, and everyone reunites refreshed and re-calibrated.

Speaking of Spa-ing
Do not allow this opportunity to slip by. It’s post-holiday. It’s vacation.  You deserve a massage now more than ever.  At Loews Coronado Sea Spa, the treatments are all indigenous to that big bounty of water right outside, and they honor it with ultra-hydrating properties you’ll get to take with you. All while the kids are making clay turtles and bead bracelets. Behold the true beauty of multi-tasking, when multi-tasking goes on vacation.

A Bicycle Built for Four
Beach cruisers, kids bikes, baby trailers; everything’s at the ready to get a family wheeling by the sea. We recommend a spin on a surrey bike, if you happen to like your exercise with a side of laughter and a fabulous marina view. Truth be told it’s an absurd amount of fun to wheel to Fiddler’s Cove (where the kids can climb on a stationary boat), through town, to the park, and to end up at Silver Strand Beach. And if seaside cycling leaves everyone with a maritime wanderlust, complimentary sailing lessons are available, depending on the season. Other oceanic exploration options include water ski, Jet Ski, kayak, and stand up paddleboard.

The Easy to Reach Beach
If you don’t pedal there, a motorized shuttle service (think golf cart, or People Mover) is available to tote everyone to and from the beach. So that idyllic situation where the beach is minutes away and all you need to grab is sunscreen and the kids? That exists here. Bonus: sugary sand, shells, and sand dollars abound. Not to mention sand dunes that are irresistible for scaling.

But, Will They Eat?
In a word, yup. Behold the joy of dining farm to table fresh in a family friendly sphere. The Market Café strikes that blissful balance of nutrient conscious food without a hint of pretension. Kids menus with books and crayons are present alongside a yellowfin tuna steak for the crayon-free crowd. Or a lobster linguini. And the “Market To Go” situation provides quick snacks for beach days and between meal snacks.  Market to Go’s also got your Starbucks at the ready, which is convenient for when your youngest vacationers forget to sleep in. And it’s a 24/7 operation. Kinda like parenthood.

 A Vacation That Lives Up To The Title
The staggering bridge that lands you in Coronado, the activity books (and stickers, and shells) at welcome, bikes for four, sails for more, and breakfast buffets that don’t quit—getting a vacation that feels like a real vacation is simply a matter of getting in your car.

Loews Corodano Bay Resort
4000 Coronado Bay Road
San Diego, CA 92118
Phone: 619-424-4000
Online: loewshotels.com/coronado-bay-resort

-written and photographed by Jolie Loeb

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