The Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club

After our wedding we slipped away to this beautiful hotel on the water in Redondo Beach. We had a perfectly beautiful suite with only ocean views fully surrounding our room. The mood was perfect and the location was very conveniently located to our wedding at the La Venta Inn. This was to be our only honeymoon destination for now so it was important to be special. The Portofino exceeded our expectations and the price was quite reasonable for all we received. Very, very romantic.

I would highly recommend the Portofino. We were definitely impressed by the service we were provided. The food served at our reception was better than any other wedding dinner I had ever eaten! We received many compliments on how beautiful our venue was. In comparison to the other venues in the area, the Portofino was by far the best location. When searching for the perfect venue we did not think that the Portofino would even fit into our budget! Although it was not inexpensive by any means, we feel that the money spent was more than worth it!

What a memory!! Wedding was a huge success!! Too bad Travis is gone,he's the whole reason we chose this site. Service was great, everyone was so nice and helpful. We plan on returning on every anniversary.

We got married in Manhattan Beach so conviently a majority of our guests stayed at The Portofino Hotel, as well as my husband and his family. The service was friendly and accomodating. The views from the rooms are beautiful and its proximity to restaurants and the beach are prime. My in-laws also hosted a brunch the morning after our wedding at the hotel. Since our wedding many guests have returned to stay there because they enjoyed it so much.

We were married in August, 2008 and held our reception at The Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club. When we chose the location, we were thrilled because after a ton of research this was the only hotel on the water in LA that could accomodate our budget. The location is out of sight gorgeous, the lobby is beautiful, we got some beautiful bridal portrait shots in the lobby. Which by the way, we had to sneak the shots because they don't allow pics in the lobby. After having signed the contract, I received 3 calls from the catering manager with whom we had toured with thanking us for our inquiry and asking us if we'd like to tour the property!!! Um, hello???? I just signed a contract and sent you a $7000 check!!!! Are you kidding? This was our first wake up call, that we'd have to babysit the Portofino because they are less than professional. They also lost a check that we sent, so we resent it..... They still were not able to "find" the second check I had sent, so I finally drove down to hand deliver it. The catering manager that we ended up working with, was so unfriendly and the attitude she projected was that she was doing us the favor, she never smiled. READ, READ and RE-READ your contract, to make sure you are getting what you are paying for. 2 weeks before my wedding they over-charged me for almost every single food and beverage item that was to be served at my wedding. I believe it was an honest mistake, but it's a good thing I caught it! The day of our wedding our food was extremely slow to be served, our guests became restless. There is much more I could share... Overall, my experience with this hotel was very negative and I could not in good conscience recommend The Portofino to future brides. Every single encounter with the staff here, was negative.

We did not have our wedding here, but all of our guests stayed here for our wedding in Rancho Palos Verdes. Tracy Brown was wonderful to work with, but I could not say the same for her counterpart, in charge of using the facilities, who made it a very difficult experience trying to coordinate a changing room. I felt as if that at every opportunity, they were trying to charge charge charge me. My guests loved the hotel, but I felt as the bride the most mistreated and unpampered. Beware of fees and be sure to read the contract. If it doesn't reflect what you are paying for, tell them. This vendor caused me the most stress prior to my wedding and on the actual wedding day.

We decided to host our rehearsal dinner at The Baleen Restaurant (part of the Portofino hotel) and were extremely pleased with the outcome! Unfortunately we were bounced around with 3 different catering managers during the months leading up to our event. We were never notified about the changes and actually showed up for a meeting with someone, and that employee was no longer working there!! All 3 of these managers were a bit unorganized which was frustrating and time consuming on our end. But in the end the dinner turned out awesome and the service was phenomenal! We were able to buy out the entire restaurant and it felt so intimate and special!

Also all of our wedding guests stayed at the hotel, and we heard rave reviews from everyone! Our suite was beautiful and the views were awesome! The lobby is a beautiful space for wedding photos for the bridal party, with the open long glass windows, and flowing curtains. Overall this hotel is excellent for the price and the service, we will definitely be back to stay at the Portofino!

I have mixed feelings about this hotel. First of all, we had our June 2009 wedding here. I booked over a year in advance and during that time, I was bounced around between 4 different catering managers. I understand that staffing issues arise, but each time my catering contact was changed, no one notified me and I had to go over everything I had already communicated to the person before. I luckily had hired a wedding coordinator independent of the Portofino - otherwise, I would have been in big trouble. For the amount of money this hotel charges, I expected a bit more professionalism and care. Here is a sample of some things that happened that I would not expect to happen in a nice hotel.

1. We had paid to have 2 bars set up (one on the outside pation area and one inside). When we began the cocktail hour, only one had been set up and staffed.

2. At the start of cocktail hour, the platters we ordered had not yet been set up

3. The room had a lot of flies in it before hand and my coordinator told me that she had to deal with it.

4. A week before the wedding, after numerous meetings, spreadsheets, etc. I got a call asking me to confirm that the fish was salmon. All along it had been mahi mahi.

5. My own brother was not given his welcome basket that I had dropped off at the hotel for him. When he asked the front desk about this, they told him that they had "given it to someone else." Real professional huh???

There is so much more, but this is just a sampling.

My wedding was beautiful because you can't beat the view and I had an excellent coordinator (independent of the hotel) who fixed all these fires. The food was wonderful and I can't say enough positives about the wait staff. However, it was a headache to deal with the catering people and I would not recommend this venue unless you have someone else to help you weed though all the unprofessionalism.

The location and reception room is great. the area for photographs is just ok. can't go down to the boats, and they don't have grounds to shoot at except infront of the hotel. overall very good but plan the romatics out.

We got married on 3.28.08 at the Portofino, the only place my wife would even consider. It was more than perfect. Our out of town guests were amazed at the beautiful location, windows everywhere, ocean and mountain views, breeze, sunset pictures, the works. The food was great and they take care of EVERYTHING. Booking there includes cake, table decoration, and you have your own wedding planner who can handle all the small details. (We highly recommend Travis!) In addition, the Portofino is also a hotel, and there are 2 other hotels less than a block away so you'll have options. Out of town guests can also walk to many restuarants and attractions. Worth every penny!