Sanctuary Beach Resort Reviews

We had our small wedding at The Sanctuary Beach Resort earlier this month, and would highly recommend the venue. We had never heard of Marina before, but as half of our family traveled from out of town, we were looking for a unique venue in an optimal location for visitors. The Sanctuary really met that profile. Most couples choose to have their ceremony on the beach bluff with a reception at the onsite Salt Wood Kitchen and Oysterette. It actually rained on our wedding day, and so we used the recently renovated deck at the Salt Wood Kitchen and Oysterette for the ceremony with the reception inside. The deck itself looks out onto sand dunes, has new glass walls, and is equipped with multiple warmers. We were thoroughly impressed with how beautiful and intimate the venue space felt with the rain. Staff even turned on the electric fireplaces in the rooms used. The food was incredible and much appreciated and comment on by our guests. The site event coordinator Lea is wonderful- so professional, insightful, communicative, and kind. We would absolutely recommend.

Photo credit: Moments in Time Photography & Co.

Dana and her team are the absolute best. If I raved about exactly how happy I am about this venue, you'd get bored reading it. I booked without a single visit to the venue relying on only pictures, videos and testimonials. I was not disappointed. It was everything they said it was going to be and more!
There are many beautiful places to get married in Monterey ... but the human aspect and customer service is where it makes a different. The folks at the Sanctuary are just incredible.

When my fiancee and I were looking for a special place to hold our intimate wedding/elopement, we hit the jackpot when we found The Sanctuary. Dana helped us with every detail. We wanted to hold the ceremony and reception in one location, and she put together some detailed packages for us that included every bit of information you could want, in addition to some you wouldn't even think to ask about. Every step along the way, and with every question we had, Dana was always gracious to help and work with us. Once our day arrived (and also the first time we actually saw the place and met Dana, as we were coordinating from another part of the state), we were thrilled. It was more beautiful in person than the photos could convey. In addition, Dana and every member of the staff treated us with professionalism, kindness, and smiles all around. It added so much to our sense of fun and enjoyment and let us relax and put our attention on each other and our close friends and family. Not to mention, the food was incredibly good (rivaling by far anywhere else we ate in Monterey that weekend), and the pastry chef was kind enough to create a cake for us based on my wife's particular wants. Went off beautifully all around, which is why I'm so glad to be able to write this review and share this with other prospective couples. You'll be in good hands here.

Awesome venue by the ocean. Rented both rooms with their adjoining patio areas. Aside from the spaces, we also selected to have a bartender in the area and served heavy appetizers that really fed like a meal. All guests loved the venue and food.

The entire staff at Sanctuary Beach Resort were WONDERFUL! We could not have been happier with the services they provided to us! Our contact, Jeff Perrine, was the nicest and most accommodating vendor we have ever worked with!

Thank you sanctuary beach resort for a wonderful venue that you guys did for our special day. Sanctuary beach resort is truly a magical place and high a highly recommend anybody that would like to have a beach atmosphere wedding to be married their. The view is breathtaking and the staff did an excellent job keeping our guest entertained and happy.

Absolutely wonderful! I love this ocean front property and the cost was surprisingly reasonable.

My husband and I LOVED having our wedding at Sanctuary Beach Resort and we come back and stay at the resort every year for our anniversary. We began our search for a venue in spring of 2013. Once we agreed on a beach wedding in the Monterey area, we toured several venues along the Monterey coast. Sanctuary Beach Resort was initially not even on our list because of the maximum capacity listed for ceremonies but was our preferred accommodation location. When we saw the beach, we fell in love! When we met the wedding coordinator, Amanda (no longer at Sanctuary) we were sold.

Because Sanctuary had a 75 person limit on ceremonies, we had to get special permission to hold our 200-person wedding there. After some discussion, they said okay! We negotiated and came to an agreement on a very reasonable price for the venue (which is really the same amount we would have paid to do a DIY beach wedding given licensing, rental of chairs etc... so really a great value). Amanda, the coordinator, was wonderful to work with and we began getting ready for our special day.

We had a few hiccups along the way, Amanda left and there was some confusion internally at the resort about who we were to coordinate with and what was actually include din our package. So, we were slightly frustrated but then things started to smooth out when Jeff and Derrick bean working with us. Phew!

Our wedding day itself went along without issue and the Sanctuary staff were very accommodating to us and our guests. They even through in a champagne toast one the beach as our cocktail hour with the champagne we provided! I must say, the end of September is an amazing time to have a beach wedding on the California coast. Not only did all of our wonderful family and friends come to celebrate with us, the wales and dolphins were there as well! It was miraculous! To top it all off, included in the wedding package is a bonfire with snacks for guests which was wonderful!