Terranea Resort

Terranea opened in June 2009 on Long Point, a headland on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, on the site of Marineland of the Pacific, the oceanarium that opened in 1954 and closed in 1987. The design is Mediterranean in spirit, a spread of terraces, casitas and gardens across 102 acres above the Pacific with Catalina Island on the horizon, and the buildings take up only about a quarter of the land. There are 582 rooms, suites, bungalows, casitas and villas, so this is a village you move around rather than a single building.

The lobby building holds the Hotel King and Hotel Double Guestrooms, 450 sq ft (42 m²) each with a balcony or patio, sold in four views from Resort View to Ocean Front. The bungalow guestrooms, also 450 sq ft, sit near the ocean's edge beside the spa, and the casita guestrooms (490 sq ft, 45 m²) are in residential-style buildings. Suites begin at 900 sq ft (84 m²) with a separate living room, and the one- to four-bedroom bungalows, casitas and villas add kitchens and fireplaces. The Shearwater Suite (1,800 sq ft, 167 m²) comes with its own telescope for watching marine life.

Terranea is chosen for how much it holds. Four pools do different jobs: a 5,000 sq ft family pool with a 140-foot waterslide and splash pad, a pool for ages 13 and over with a hot tub, Cielo Point, an adults-only (21+) pool above the water, and a heated 25-metre spa pool for spa guests, which other guests can use with a $125 day pass from Monday to Thursday. The Spa at Terranea has 25 treatment rooms in 50,000 sq ft of spa, gym and gardens, and was refreshed in 2025. The Links is a nine-hole par-3 course along the cliff, with holes of 104 to 173 yards, open to the public from $80 a round. On Saturday mornings a naturalist leads a hike along the bluffs to Point Vicente Lighthouse as part of the resort fee, and places are limited, so book it when you book the room. Guided snorkel tours leave from Terranea's Beach Cove below the bluffs, evenings go to the fire pits at Nelson's for the sunset, and grey whales pass offshore from December to April.

The trade is money and distance. The $75 resort fee and $75 for overnight valet add up to $150 a night to a room that starts around $725 before tax, and the big Los Angeles sights are 47 to 61 minutes away by car with the roads clear. Book it for a week when the resort is the holiday, with a car for the odd dinner out or a day in the city.