Coronado Shores Beach Club

While MooTime down on Orange Avenue serves tourists coming off the ferry, the Shores Beach Club exists in a different rhythm entirely — it's the living room for the tower residents, the place where the same faces show up for Monday bingo and Tuesday dance lessons, where you grill your own dinner on communal barbecues and the bartender already knows your drink. The setup is pure 1970s California condo-complex utility: indoor and outdoor seating, multiple pools, that direct beach access that justifies the HOA dues.

The appeal isn't about being discovered or Instagrammed — it's about being left alone with an ocean view and a custom cocktail. Certain weeknights bring live music, the kind of classic rock cover bands that know their audience has heard these songs a thousand times and wants to hear them exactly like that again. The free shuttle running between towers means nobody has to drive, which matters when happy hour stretches into evening events.

Reviews split predictably: residents love the convenience, guests bristle at security asking for IDs at the pool. That tension is the whole point — this isn't a public beach bar trying to pack bodies in, it's a members' space that happens to have killer sunset views. The restrooms sometimes suffer during peak times, the kids' pool gets loud on summer weekends, and yes, the security staff take their gatekeeping seriously. But if you're staying at the Shores or know someone who is, you're trading the Orange Avenue bustle for something more insular — a place where the same folks show up week after week, where the bartenders make drinks to spec, where nobody's performing for anybody. Just navy-town retirees and long-term owners who figured out the beach-access secret years ago and aren't telling.