Kona Kai resort was the best location for our destination wedding. It truly is a “hidden gem” and is located near the marina in San Diego and downtown area but away from traffic. The airport was about 15-20 minutes away. The views are amazing and had the perfect scenery for all our wedding photography. My husband and I are from the Bay Area and decided to choose this beautiful resort because of their amazing staff. We were greeted by really nice and professional bellmen, every time we entered the resort. From our coordinator Lisa Fleming, banquet staff, restaurant chefs, and to Vania and Sean at the front desk- EVERYONE was super friendly, very helpful in accommodating whatever we requested and made sure we all had the perfect stay. The majority of our family members and guests at our wedding stayed here for convenience also for our wedding reception and could not stop raving about the Kona Kai team and cleanliness of the resort. There were so many things to do, like hitting up the... Read more pools and gym, the spa, eating at their amazing restaurant with an awesome view and live music, the s’mores at their private beach and the walk to the marina- everyone felt like they were truly “on vacation”. The setup of the room buildings all had different but amazing hotel views of the boats on the marina. The hotel rooms were a good size for our guests and also loved that they had hardwood floors instead of carpet. They were very generous in upgrading our rooms since we got married there. It was absolutely perfect and we couldn’t have asked for more! We noticed some pets also so I believe they are a pet friendly resort. If you are planning to choose a location for your wedding, we highly recommend Kona Kai! They have so many options and are open to work with your budget. Thank you Kona Kai team!!! We cannot wait to visit again soon!

outstanding location for the Wedding

We booked Kona Kai for a room block during our wedding weekend. They were great to work with and the hotel is just perfect. Those traveling alone to those with families all found it to be super comfortable with everything they needed. The bridal suite was AWESOME too! We had an after party at the Vessel Restaurant’s bar after our reception and the quality of service and drinks was beyond great! The same goes for our brunch the next morning. If you’re looking for an awesome place for your guests to stay at, look no further and go with Kona Kai!

We got married at The Kona Kai Resort in June and every aspect of it was unbelievable! This place is the real deal. One visit and we were like “Yep, this is the place!” We decided to hold the ceremony on their brand new lawn that overlooks the marina. Construction wasn’t finished yet when we booked it, so we took a bit of a risk, but it was completely worth it. Construction finished in time for our wedding just as they promised, and the place looked amazing. It’s now a month later and our guests continue to mention how beautiful the ceremony was. We held our reception on the beach which was a ton of fun! We’re locals but this ended up feeling like a destination wedding due to their fantastic beach. The sand wasn’t too soft, so guests could leave their shoes on if they wanted, the fire pits were a hit, and the views were unreal. Finally, the staff here knocked it out of the park. Our venue coordinator Lisa took over after another coordinator left (who was also great btw),... Read more but Lisa took over and didn’t skip a beat. She was extremely organized and responsive to every question that we had. She even helped us run the rehearsal when our officiant ran late. Thanks Lisa! Also, Chris the banquet manager was there for us on our wedding day for anything we needed. Not to mention the food was so good! We were in good hand throughout the whole process. We did a ton of venue research beforehand and must say that the Kona Kai is one of the best places to get married in San Diego. We highly recommend it!

Kona kai made our special day just magical! We had guests from chicago and florida all staying at the hotel and everyone had an absolute blast! Our event coordinator Valerie who is the catering sales manager there was with us from the beginning. She showed us the venue and we fell in love. She was an absolute blessing and couldnt of done it with out her. Weddings are chaos and she kept me calm and made everything go so smoothly. Thank you so much Valerie and Kona kai for making our day perfect!

Kona Kai proved to be a gorgeous venue for our daughter's wedding. From the first meeting, they were helpful and welcoming - and let us personalize the event with exceptions to their rules, like letting us bring a special family wine and decanter... and letting our daughter's dog be a part of the wedding! Chef Damon was superb (serving 150 guests) and we had many compliments on the food (my only criticism is that some of the portions were a bit too big!) We were able to get into the ballroom early in the morning, which helped with the special market lighting we brought in (and I would recommend, as the ballroom is like most large rooms - quite plain... San Diego Events Lighting Co. with Maria is who we used) and the tables, chairs, and choice of linens provided in the wedding package were fine. It was a 3-day event for us and we had more than 100 people staying at the hotel... To my knowledge there were no room hiccups, though the internet on the West side of the property was slow... Read moreer than in the main building. The front desk and wait staff were exceptionally friendly - and though the Kona Kai wedding planner left her job the week before our wedding (ouch!) her replacement was quickly up to speed and even nicer (which is saying a lot!) A special shout out to Chris, the man who makes all the set up indoors (reception) and out (ceremony) happen - He and his staff were wonderful!

We went to a total of 15 venues in San Diego when we started our wedding planning process. Once we visited Kona Kai though it was not even a question. Everything we ever wanted and could have requested was made possible here. Jennifer Hoffman was such a pleasure to work with and made us feel like we were her only clients. Not only did they create a custom menu for us, the chef took the time to really make it perfect. Usually wedding food is mediocre but we had so many guests compliment our meal. Kona Kai went above and beyond for us- from dealing with obnoxious family with a smile to even adding additional decor to the stations just to make everything pop. Every single Kona Kai employee was incredibly helpful and positive. This was a venue that didn't upsell but actually added things just to make our wedding weekend that much better. From Emilio in the front to Chris on the back end everything was such high quality service. The setting here is so idyllic. Because there is only one ball... Read moreroom, it is likely that they only have one wedding each day which means you and your guests can feel like the resort is all yours. The rooms are huge and comfortable and all newly renovated and the grounds are kept pristine. There are multiple ceremony location options that all look out on the water and there are so many picture worthy spots. We could not have asked for a more perfect venue.

We stayed at Kona Kai for our wedding weekend and although we had our wedding off site, we had many different events there! The majority of our guests were from out of town so we had a large block of rooms at Kona Kai and it was an amazing experience! Cassie Donovan was our room contact and was absolutely incredible! She was extremely accommodating and helpful on so many levels. We were so grateful for her throughout the entire process! All of our guests had an incredible weekend thanks to their stay! We also did our welcoming party, the night before our wedding, in the Vessel Restaurant and Bar, as well as an after party after our wedding reception. Kelly Meade and Sean Tiarks were very helpful in setting everything up and were extremely flexible and customer service oriented. We also did a non-hosted brunch in the restaurant the day after our wedding and once again everything was perfect! We are so happy with our experience at Kona Kai and would recommend it for all lodging and event... Read more needs! Our guests are still talking about how seamless and fun all of the events were! Thank you Kona Kai! We will definitely be back soon! Here are some pictures that we took at Kona Kai during getting ready and all other photos before the wedding: http://cloveandkin.com/blog/tag/kristen-patrick/

We were married in San Diego November of 2015 and hosted our reception at the beautiful Kona Kai. Having grown up in San Diego, I had been going to the Kona Kai my entire life as a club member, so when it came time to select a wedding venue, I could not imagine a better place! You simply cannot beat this intimate waterfront paradise. We housed our guests at the Kona Kai and got a great rate through the reservations team for our room block. All our family and friends felt like they were on a tropical vacation staying at the resort, and enjoyed all the activities the Kona Kai had to offer (poolside cabanas, paddle boarding, beach games, fantastic restaurant/food options, etc). I guarantee in the next couple years it will be THE place to vacation and be married in San Diego, if it hasn't already become that. Jennifer Hoffman was our "go-to gal" for everything related to the wedding. She was incredible. So attentive, creative, responsive, and had a wonderful demeanor about her- sh... Read moree never seems stressed! (A HUGE plus in the world of event managers!). We hosted our cocktail hour on the beach during sunset (highly recommend the spicy ahi tacos as a passed appetizer!), and our reception in the Pt Loma Ballroom (the butternut squash ravioli is TO DIE FOR). Jennifer even arranged to keep Vessel Bar open until midnight for our ambitious guests to carry on the party post-reception (with a gourmet kettle chip / blue cheese / bacon bar, nonetheless!). We wanted to do something really special for our grand entrance to the cocktail hour, and the Kona Kai dock master helped us to orchestrate our arrival via sailboat into a guest slip facing the private beach where our guests were- it was one of the most magical moments of our entire life! We cannot speak highly enough about the Kona Kai staff as a whole- they are all wonderful!

I visited many hotels near the San Diego airport for our hotel block. I felt the Kona Kai was the best value, compared to Paradise Point and some other hotels. It's small yet beautiful and has a real relaxing element. The grounds are perfect for some getting ready/bridal party pictures. All of our out of town guests loved it :)

Pricy but worth it! The food is ridiculous, views are breathtaking and the venue is quintessential San Diego. The resort went through a renovation in 2013 so there haven't been too many weddings here and it feels fresh and Classic. Our wedding was elegant, staff was 5 star and the entire experience was more than we could have asked for.

When my husband and I toured Kona Kai as a possible venue for our wedding, we instantly fell in love with it! The beautifully remodeled resort was warm, inviting and ideally situated at the end of Harbor Island. Conveniently located near the airport, downtown San Diego, Coronado and the beaches, we knew it would be ideal for our traveling guests. The resort offers stunning views of the harbor and the lit Point Loma hills at night were magical. Not only that, but Jennifer, who was director of catering and events at the time, was AMAZING to work with!! She was incredibly flexible, answered our millions of questions promptly and must have met with us 10 times. She was absolutely the sweetest and made the planning process SO enjoyable for me, my husband and our families. The food at our wedding was delicious and the staff was very accommodating and friendly. We can't say enough wonderful things about our event at Kona Kai. Although our wedding experience was FANTASTIC on the ev... Read moreents side and we would give 5 stars all around for that, the hotel was a little short staffed and our guests who stayed there experienced some annoying difficulties. It took hours and multiple calls to the front desk to get more towels, there were some wrong charges on their accounts that they had to deal with and the only restaurant was not staffed to handle a large group - it took FOREVER to get served. There also seemed to be few options for handicap guest rooms which posed a bit of a problem for our grandmothers. Overall though, we would recommend the Kona Kai for your wedding and looking back, have absolutely no regrets.

We got married here last weekend and had a great time. Most of our guests were from out of town and absolutely loved the resort. While the prices are high, with associated resort and parking fees, the setting was perfect for our small wedding. Catering Sales Manager Michael DaSilva was so accommodating through our planning process and the rest of the staff couldn't have been more helpful to us and our party throughout the weekend. The food at Vessel is delicious and a fabulous place to just grab a drink. Thank you to everyone at Kona Kai Resort for making our wedding weekend a fabulous one!

i absolutely love this venue it was amazing and gorgeous. I had the wedding of my dreams there. The new renovations have beautiful ballrooms and beautiful rooms for the hotel guests. I had a wedding coordinator and without her I do not think that my wedding would have been as great. There were issues with the room block and charging my guests the resort fee and the incorrect parking amount. This all had to be adjusted after checkout. My guests were not aware of this but I was and it was a little irritating. Also there were a few hiccups throughout the wedding but my wedding coordinator was able to catch them while I was getting ready for my big day. They did not have the right linens I had chose, not enough bartenders in the contract, and wrong AV and table set up for the ceremony. These things were minor and overall I enjoyed my wedding at this beautiful location. I also attribute this to the fact that my catering manager left a week before my wedding and I was put with a new catering... Read more manager. I would also like to point out that the Banquet manager and staff was phenomenal! On our wedding day anything I needed or wanted during the reception I got within seconds. It made it nice since we were busy. Also I would like to say that the food there is INCREDIBLE!! All of my guests raved about how good it was and that is always important!