Sheraton Delfina

Niall Deegan worked with us about half way into the planning of our wedding at the Delfina. He is absolutely AMAZING! His pure goal is to ensure that every detail meets your expectations and beyond. A pure professional with a heart of gold! Anyone who has him on their side for their big day is a very lucky bride.We chose the Delfina because of its contemporary decor that resembles the Viceroy, which they are owned by the same company. I'd like to say that you get Viceroy style at Sheraton prices!The ballroom has views of the beautiful California coastline. On the North side you can see all the way up Malibu as well as Hollywood. To the South you can see Palos Verdes. We have an evening wedding so our guests could see the sunset then the sparkling lights of the city which add to the ambiance perfectly. The food is delicious. The staff was very accommodating. I highly recommend the Delfina.

We had our "rehearsal dinner" here on the night before our wedding, and also used the Delfina as our hotel for 45 out of town guests. The dinner was really just a family get together for all of the out of town guests and relatives to meet each other informally before the wedding. We had it outside by the pool, which was both convenient for the guests just arriving to the hotel and a lovely, relaxed ambience.

The hotel must have been going through management / financial changes, and we bore the brunt of that. I must have worked with 7 different people to organize this dinner, each one telling me something different. They were all gracious and professional (except for the catering director the night of the event), but there were just too many organizers organizing. I had to clarify and re-clarify again and again many of the details of the menu, pricing, room rates, etc. Sometimes I had the impression that "the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing." For example, the hotel supposedly offered us a very good group rate, as we were having an event there as well. However, on their own website better deals and rates were being offered, so some of the guests opted out of the group plan and just reserved via the regular website. This created much confusion in dealing with the catering and room reservation staff.

Anyway, the evening of the dinner, the hotel posted on their info boards around the hotel the starting time of the dinner as 45 minutes later than the invitations and planning had confirmed! They then had to call each room to correct the time, as well as change the posts around the hotel. The catering manager was uptight and rude that evening as I calmly tried to figure out if all of my guests had been notified.

Although the food in the buffet was good, some of the tastier items ran out early (the ahi tuna in the nicoise salad) and by the time more was made and brought to the buffet, everyone was eating dessert. I only tasted it with tea & dessert.

In summary, disorganization and a chaotic feel pervaded the planning and execution of this event with the Delfina, and I could not in good conscience recommend them to anyone planning a special event. I would say that the special event supervisor, who I met once during our tasting and who was present when we were trying to contact all the guests, was a real gem, and had she been involved on an ongoing basis, I feel it would have been a much calmer and more enjoyable experience. Alas, it was not.

Final note: Over a month after the wedding, I found a $200+ charge on my credit card from them. When I called to inquire, I was told that more people attended the dinner than I had contracted for. This was a gross error on their part, as all of my guests were from out of town and out of country, and there were no suprise guests at the dinner at all. It took several discussions, and a complaint to my credit card company, to have this final error resolved and the charge removed.

We couldn't have been happier!

My wife Toni and I are LA natives and foodies. We've lived in Santa Monica/Pasadena 15 years if it helps qualify our food standards. We wanted a classy wedding, but not stuffy nor extravagant. We wanted a reception with a view over an outdoor wedding. Even LA rains sometimes. Why have a reception in Santa Monica if you don't know you're in Santa Monica? Thus we didn't want a windowless, claustrophobic ballroom, which is all that was offered by some much more expensive places.

What we got:

-killer food, hors d'oeuvres, house-made cocktails. (cocktails were extra but worth it). Perfectly executed salmon and filet. The chef gave us a personal promise during tasting that he would *not* overcook the filet, and he delivered.
-killer view from the penthouse. We started at 6pm with cocktail hour and our guests enjoyed sunlight, sunset and evening views of the city, mountains and the bay.
-a well-organized gig. we've seen a few complaints of the coordinators. Yes, the person we originally signed with left the Delfina, but his replacement in-house coordinator Kylee picked up the pieces and did a flawless job.
-an affordable event by LA standards. Price some other places near the beach. You won't get a better deal for a high-class venue near the beach. Just remember this is 8 blocks from the beach, not on the beach, if that's a dealbreaker for you.
-beautiful rooms at affordable rates. Plus, they and the lobby were recently redone. Don't let the outside of the hotel fool you. Look at the profile pictures. This place is NICE.
-Great upgrades, including the entrees, cocktails and Viennese table. Our upgrades were reasonably priced, just above the standard pricing.
-VERY friendly and attentive staff throughout the cocktail hour and reception. This includes the bartenders, servers, coordinator, and reception desk. They made us and our guests feel special.

If there is a negative to give, you shouldn't walk to the beach/promenade at night from this hotel. But many of our out of town guests did do so during the day.

Thank you Delfina!

They were good location to have a wedding at. I did not have to stress about anything they took care of it

the banquet staff was difficult to work with and ridiculously inflexable. although my wedding was lovely, they made a huge faux pas that is absolutely unforgiveable. we specifically ordered that there be no shell fish or pork served at our event as many of my in-laws friends are kosher. we had two tastings, the second one directly with the executive chef. our request was adressed many times.

first, during our cocktail hour there was shrimp on the sushi display. then the biggie. we served a twice baked potato that we had tried at the final tasting. but this time they decided to add bacon bits to it. we were horrified, embarassed and all in the middle of our special day. luckily we pulled the rabbi's plate before he sat down. but there was just no excuse for this mega mistake. i realize things don't always go exactly as planned but this was beyond my wildest nightmare.

We had a fantastic wedding here in September 2006. Prices are very reasonable for the area, and the service was awesome. We had a tasting with our event person, Kayli, and because of an oversight, we were allowed to upgrade our menu for free. The executive chef was there with us, and with his input, we created a special menu just for our event - we still get compliments on the Sea Bass. (Most people don't remember the food at weddings!)

As a ceremony and reception site for ~200 guests, it's not bad. The ceremony room, since it's the same room as the reception, is just a little too big for the number of guests to have a super intimate ceremony, but it was fine for us. The service during each phase of the event was outstanding.

As a photo site, it's not outstanding, but it's pretty good. The street behind the hotel, lobby, pool area, and valet reception area are visually interesting, but the room itself is just a hotel ballroom.

A few negatives - 1) Our event coordinator evidently was not allowed to negotiate most of our deal, which lead to a lot of "Well, I'll have to talk it over with my manager"-type exchanges, which kinda felt like a car sale. (On the plus side, we got most of what we wanted.) 2) The power went out during our introduction / first dance, so we stood in front of all of our guests for a few minutes while they resolved the situation, which was awkward.

Overall, we had a fantastic time at our wedding, and the Delfina was a big part of that. Recommended.