The Hotel Del Coronado’s beachfront outdoor ice skating rink is open through Jan. 5, offering a classic SoCal holiday atmosphere—the beach, sand, and palm trees just feet away from the ice rink. The venue, decked in stringed fairy lights with festive holiday music playing as people skate, creates a memorable experience.

Admission is $40, plus an extra $5 for an online purchase, with skate rentals included, but a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales are donated to the Make-a-Wish foundation. Gloves and socks are available for purchase for $5 each for forgetful or last-minute skaters. 

The rink is complete with touches of coziness: a hot chocolate and drinks bar called the Frostbite Lounge and rink-side fire pits available for reservation. A gourmet gelato and popsicle shop called Sundaes is brightly lit and positioned on the pathway out of the hotel to lure in famished and happy visitors for a sweet treat after their 90-minute skating time is up.

Conveniently, there are many shops and restaurants nearby for shopping and dining before and after  skating. The rink is also walking distance from downtown Coronado, which offers even more establishments to pick from. 

Due to its popularity and the holiday season, the rink can be crowded, but it is big enough to accommodate a sizable crowd, despite being outdoors. The rink only lets a certain number of people on the ice at a time, leaving room to race around, trying to perfect or attempt a spin, and take many group and solo pictures. The workers are helpful and pleasant and don’t mind snapping a couple shots for skaters. The ice is continuously maintained as well, renewed hourly by a Zamboni machine. 

The experience is complete with the decked out Hotel Del Coronado decorated with thousands of colorful lights, numerous towering Christmas trees, and fake bubble snow floating around the front entrance. The charm of the iconic Hotel Del and holiday atmosphere makes the experience well worth the money.