Paddle Surf LA

Really easy-​going and fun! We had a great time, and the guy at the tent was very helpful and flexible to our needs. Would do it again.

I purchased a Groupon for 2 two-​hour rentals from Paddle Surf LA and sadly, it was a terrible experience.
I purchased from this company because the Groupon said that the paddeboarding would take place in Marina Del Rey. I am a SUP (stand up paddle boarding) beginner. The first time I tried to go SUP I unknowingly booked it for a location in the open water, and the waves were huge! I couldn’t even get on my knees on the board because the waves kept pushing me off. So I vowed next time to do it right, in a nice calm location like the Marina. Paddle Surf LA’s Groupon proclaimed, «Learn how to navigate the waters of Marina Del Rey while paddling sturdy longboards.» Great!, I thought. The nice calm waters of MDR… without those big, open-​ocean waves I’ll finally be able to SUP for real! But alas…
I had first made a reservation to go in August. I called and gave my Groupon confirmation code ahead of time. When the day came, it was overcast and rainy and we decided to postpone after the incidents with lightning strikes at the beach.
So finally my friend and I were free yesterday, a Sunday, and I recruited two more friends to buy the Groupon and join us. Again I made a reservation ahead of time for the 4 of us. As we followed the directions, they led us not to Marina Del Rey but to… Santa Monica Beach? What the heck?
Well, when we first got there at 11:30 am my friend, who is an experienced SUP-​er, said the waves looked on the small side and we might be okay after all. So we decided to give it a shot, paid for all-​day parking and headed over the the little white van that housed Paddle Board LA.
So my two friends gave their confirmation codes and when it came time for mine, I could only find one code. Now, I KNOW I purchased two codes and I told the PBLA girl so, and even pulled out my email confirmation saying I had bought two Groupons. I explained the situation and that we had tried to go months ago but never did and I never used one of the Groupons. BUT SHE WAS HAVING NONE OF IT. «There’s nothing I can do… there’s nothing I can do.» I can’t even tell you how many times she repeated that to us. I told her that perhaps the last time we tried to make a reservation and I gave my confirmation code, maybe they had marked it as redeemed (which is a crappy thing to do) and if she would please just honor the voucher. She kept resisting!
I was almost in tears at that point… it was about 45 minutes after we arrived and we were still arguing about something that HER COMPANY made the mistake on, and she wouldn’t even budge. Apparently that other reviewer had someone who «honored the price of the Groupon without actually purchasing the Groupon» well, hey, lucky you. I felt terrible that I had invited my other friends to go and we had to deal with this.
Finally the girl checked the schedule for when my other Groupon was redeemed and admitted «maybe» they had accidentally redeemed it. So she grudgingly got out our boards and paddles.
It was about an hour after we arrived. As we headed to the water, the waves had clearly gotten much bigger in size and the wind had picked up. We tried to salvage the day and paddled out there, but, 3 of us being beginners, we couldn’t even make it past the waves. AGAIN.
After 30 minutes of useless attempts and waves repeatedly pushing us off our boards, we gave up and returned the equipment. I told the girl that I had specifically bought that Groupon because it said it was in MDR where there were no waves. «Oh, we only do rentals at MDR on weekdays,» she said.
WHAT?! I am looking at the Groupon page right now and NO WHERE does it say that they are in SM on weekends and only at MDR on weekdays.
This company is a sham. Stay away.

Super friendly, picked up the phone when I called (some surf schools are hard to get a hold of!). I made a reservation the same day merely two hours before and we showed up at marina del Rey and paddle boarded for 2 hrs! It was great!
They honored the price of the group on deal without actually purchasing the group on which was nice, I didn’t really feel like having to download vouchers etc when I was on the go and just wanted to paddle board!
Their employees were super nice and chill, very attentive and nice, explained everything we needed to know and their foam boards were great. I thoroughly enjoyed paddleboarding with them!

After find a deal on Groupon, I follow a 2 hours paddle board lesson with 2 friends. Curtis, the instructor was awesome and we enjoyed a «hiking» !