I love my hotel credit cards and keep them year after year due to the free annual night certificates I get when I renew them. Recently, I had a Marriott 50K annual certificate that I needed to use in a couple of months. I was already meeting my sister and stepmother in San Diego for a few days so decided to check out the Marriott Coronado Island Resort and stay there an extra night.

 

Points Used

The award redemption for the night I wanted to stay was 56K Marriott Bonvoy Rewards. I had the 50K certificate but we now have the ability to top off these certificates with up to 15K Marriott Bonvoy Rewards. This makes it easy to find a nicer hotel to stay in. This particular hotel costs $626 to book. I received my certificate because I have the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card.

I have Platinum Elite Status with Marriott and usually I get a room upgrade but this time they didn’t give me one. However, I did get two free breakfasts, bottled water, and enhanced wifi. I also got a late check-out for the next day.

 

Location

Coronado Island is across the bay from San Diego and is just the cutest little island. It is quieter and quainter than San Diego and has some great restaurants. We had great views of the bay and enjoyed walking around the island.

 

 

Rooms

Our room had two queen beds and a pull-out sofa. It had a lot of room and was large enough for us. I had some Suite Night Awards from being a Platinum Elite and tried to upgrade online. It wouldn’t work, so I asked at the front desk, and she was unable to help me. I learned a good lesson: call Marriott next time that happens. We had a resort view, but I would definitely ask for a bay view next time. The rooms, though, were modern and spacious.

 

 

 

Breakfast

We had two free breakfasts in their restaurant, and they were fabulous. You can order off the menu or do the buffet, which is normally $29/person. It had an omelet station and a waffle station, so it was a no-brainer. There were various other options, including fruit, oatmeal with toppings, meats, pastries, etc.

 

 

 

Other Hotel Options

If you want to stay on Coronado Island, here are a couple of hotel stay options with points. The Hotel del Coronado, Curio Collection by Hilton, is a fabulous stay in a historic hotel but will cost 95,000 Hilton points.

 

 

There are many hotels across the bay in San Diego that you can stay at with points and miles. You can then take the ferry over to Coronado Island. Renting bicycles is a fun way to explore the island.
 

Bottom Line

Coronado Island is a fun place to stay if you are visiting the San Diego area. We enjoyed our stay at the Marriott Coronado Island Resort and thought it was a great use of my Marriott 50K certificate.