The economy and changing financial environment will be a factor in moving forward on the work on the 688-room landmark hotel, accordng to officials for hotel owner Lowe Enterprises, who say substantial work on the expansion won't happen until 2004.

The Coronado City Council approved the 20-year master plan for the site late last month. Plans include 205 new rooms, 20,000 sf of conference space, a beachfront walkway, a spa, underground parking and new landscaping. Under the agreement with the city, the hotel will pay the city up to $1 million as it expands.

The 114-year-old hotel draws about 60% of its business from corporate travel--a number it hopes to increase, officials say. And the hotel has stiff competition from the likes of Loews Coronado Bay Resort, a 440-room hotel built in 1989, and the 300-room Coronado Island Marriott Resort.

According to Hardisty, though, the Hotel del Coronado is in a separate class-- that of "great classic independent resorts." There are only about a dozen left in the United States, he said.

Lowe Enterprises bought the hotel five years ago and invested $55 million into a renovation. The current plan has been before city officials since 1998.

The hotel is managed by a subsidiary of Lowe Enterprises called Destination Resorts & Hotels.