Splashier, but still anchored

FOR a middle-aged gal, she’s looking pretty good. At 45, the Portofino Hotel & Yacht Club has emerged from a yearlong, $11-million makeover that has put this Redondo Beach inn back into competition with the other beach babes.

It’s the first complete renovation of the 161-room hotel since 1988, when 25-foot waves damaged six guest rooms and shattered the lobby’s glass atrium. Noble House Hotels and Resorts, the longtime owners, didn’t wait for Mother Nature’s cue to freshen up this time; it was more like Father Marketplace. To capitalize on its marina and oceanfront location, the hotel now offers the kind of sophisticated decor and dining that matches the new image it wants to project: upscale destination.

The ocean-themed renovation swept in sky and sea tones -- blue, white, green and yellow -- and added understated nautical flourishes without the net, knot and crustacean cliches. The hotel’s slight formality is a welcome contrast to the sports bars and surfer dudes that populate King Harbor and the adjacent Redondo Beach Pier.

A spacious two-story lobby sets the tone and the design standard, which is consistent throughout the hotel. Floor-to-ceiling windows and billowing curtains frame the ocean view. Cozy couches and wingback chairs cluster beneath huge crystal chandeliers. Guests gather near the stone-rimmed fireplace for coffee or cocktails. There may be no better place to curl up with a book than the broad window seats that look to the far beyond.

Unless you asked, you wouldn’t know that the hotel owns the 188-slip Portofino Marina in King Harbor. Those who rent slips (recognizable by their deep tans) get discounts on hotel meals and services. Except in the artwork -- black and white, slightly abstract photos of sailboats at sea -- the Portofino generally downplays the marina connection but not the nautical theme.

Guest rooms blend sky-blue walls and porthole-inspired mirrors with ladylike chairs and elegant silk lampshades. An armoire shuts away the huge television, houses the mini-bar and offers the room’s only drawers, four of them. The down pillows, duvet and fluffy bed summoned me to take a lazy, after-breakfast nap during my mid-April visit.

Watch out for the black granite countertop in the dark bathroom. You may, like me, assume that the black expanse at the edge is still countertop and not a void.

The low- to mid-priced rooms are 350 square feet, but they make good use of space. Even with a king-size bed, my $247 marina-view room (the hotel offers specials) didn’t feel cramped and provided three groups of tables and chairs, including one on the balcony that overlooked a parking lot, a slice of the marina and power-plant smokestacks.

I saved a few bucks by choosing the cheaper marina view. If you can spare an extra $40 or so for an ocean-view upgrade, the whole experience will feel more as though you’re on the water, not on a budget.

At night the views matter less. In the shadows, the hotel takes on a mysterious quality. Torches line the walkways, palm fronds flutter in the ocean breezes and the trio of illuminated buildings resembles an island compound. Baleen, the renamed and revamped restaurant, and the private banquet pavilion are in free-standing buildings.

Baleen (formerly the Breakwater) was the biggest surprise. I usually don’t expect much of hotel restaurants that offer three meals a day, room service and fine dining as well as a lively bar. But this one offers a seafood-focused New American menu that’s both innovative and fairly priced. At dinner, my companion and I had forks fighting over the $28 Arctic char served with a smoky edamame puree. Just ask for a corner table if you want a bit of quiet.

The place was packed and rowdy on a Friday night. Though business travelers fill rooms during the week, on the weekend a steady stream of locals hosts baby showers and birthday parties in the banquet halls.

Inside the hotel grounds, recreation is limited to a small fitness center with treadmills and exercise bikes, an ocean-view whirlpool and a swimming pool that’s too tiny for lap swimmers and too deep for small children. The pier adds the entertainment: glass-bottomed boat tours, paddle boat rides, several restaurants, souvenir shopping and fishing. It’s a scenic 30-minute walk around the pier and its array of seafood shops and bars. Or borrow a hotel bike and cruise the beach paths.

Portofino, though sparkly from its multimillion-dollar improvements, still feels casual. Part of that comes from the amiable staffers, who don’t hover (sometimes to the point of disappearing). The extras, such as the mini-bar and room service items, are good quality and, again, reasonably priced ($4 for water, but add nearly 27% for tax and service charges). Room service breakfast starts at $11.95 for a generous continental breakfast. The hotel’s atmosphere seems borrowed from Baleen’s motto: “Serious food. Whimsical mood.”

Where else can you walk into a nearly $300-a-night room and be greeted by a plush toy sea lion on the bed? That’s Sir Barks-a-Lot, the hotel mascot and symbol of the real sea lions that reside along the breakwater, sometimes noisily (hence, the provided earplugs).

With the sea lions, the hotel turned a potential annoyance into an asset. It has done the same with its location in a not-yet-glamorous marina. Like any woman of a certain age, she learns how to make the most of her best features.

valli.herman@latimes.com

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How it rates

* * *

New and noteworthy: An $11-million renovation has added elegance to a slightly nautical design theme.

The stay: Micro-resort contrasts slightly formal decor with the urban oceanfront.

The scene: Low-key travelers and locals who rent marina slips make it a land-based home.

Deal maker: Baleen, the new upscale restaurant, is pretty and good.

Deal breaker: With marina, not water, views, the ocean seems removed.

Stats: 260 Portofino Way, Redondo Beach; (800) 468-4292, www.hotelportofino.com.

Rooms: Rates now begin at $259

Rating is based on the room, service, ambience and overall experience with price taken into account in relation to quality.

* * * * * Outstanding on every level

* * * * Excellent

* * * Very good

* * Good

* Satisfactory

No Star: Poor

On travel.latimes.com

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