Hillsborough Racquet Club

Peninsula
View Map
Tell a Friend

Clicking this link will take you to a form that allows you to tell friends and family about Hillsborough Racquet Club.

Remove from MyGuide

Hillsborough Wedding Location
252 El Cerrito
Hillsborough, CA
Contact: Rental Usage Committee
Phone: 650/343-2062
www.hillsboroughracquetclub.org
Request a proposal for your event from Hillsborough Racquet Club

if you would mention that you found Hillsborough Racquet Club on the Here Comes The Guide website.

Click thumbnails to enlarge image

Why We Like This Place

The venerable Hillsborough Racquet Club has a lot in common with Katherine Hepburn. Like the actress, this venue has a great profile—polished looks and a dignified demeanor. But also like Hepburn, it doesn’t have an ounce of stiffness or stuffiness. HRC’s members love their place and enjoy all of its amenities, from its ballroom, patio and bar to the indoor badminton games they’ve played here for years. They have a lot to appreciate and they’re happy to share it with brides and grooms.

Located in a lovely residential neighborhood, the Club is surrounded by elms, cypresses and laurel hedges. The entrance faces away from the street, and it’s not until you walk around to it that you see just how beautiful the Club’s architectural elements are. The building’s design is based on the classical Greek Doric order with clean, elegant lines. A handsome portico sweeps along the front in a shallow curve, opening to a patio with flowerbeds and the main entrance. Visitors enter a domed, parquet-floored foyer with hallways that lead off to a bridal changing room, a servers’ entrance, dining and music rooms, and the ballroom.

The ballroom is the heart of the Club and it’s easy to see why. It’s a large and airy, but not overwhelming space—ideal for dinner and dancing. The walls are finished in off-whites and ornamentation is simple and subdued. The room’s main visual focuses are a large working fireplace capped with a Tudor arch on one side, and a wall of windows and French doors on the opposite side that open to the patio (which is a wonderful place for cocktails and outside dining). Interior designers enjoy the room’s good “bones,” and since HRC never hosts more than one function per weekend, there’s plenty of time for decorating.

Adjoining the ballroom is a bar and a “domino room.” The bar, its white walls adorned with badminton racquets, is backed by a mirror that reflects light pouring in from the windows. The domino room next door has a very clubby feel with its green plaid-covered cane furniture. It’s a fine place to sit and relax, and many wedding parties use it as a “quiet room” for guests who want to take a break from the festivities.

The dining room has a fireplace, brass chandelier and “hounds and hunters” prints on the walls. French doors off the adjacent music room lead to the patio, a sunny space between the portico and main entrance that’s sheltered by a shade tree and lined with flowers and small hedges. The music room has a grand piano that stands against a light-loving wall of windows that’s often used as a backdrop for small ceremonies. (Couples can also wed in the ballroom or on the patio, and HRC is close to several neighborhood churches.) Caterers love the very manageable staging kitchen off of the dining room. The changing room/ladies’ lounge next to the foyer is spacious enough so that a bride and her attendants would never feel cramped.

Built in 1913 as a polo club, HRC predates the incorporation of Hillsborough. Now, almost a century old, it’s an honored local institution. The bride who gets to have her function here knows she’s getting a special place. She has exclusive use of the facility during her event, and an experienced live-in manager is available to provide discreet and efficient assistance. From the moment you step through the entrance to your first glimpse of the ballroom, this is a place that grows on you by leaps and bounds. Indeed, like Kate Hepburn, it’s a class act that’s hard to resist.

Capacity

Ceremony

Reception/Special Events

Meetings

Max. Seated Indoors: 225
Max. Seated Outdoors: 50

Max. Seated Indoors: 225
Max. Seated Outdoors: 50
Max. Standing Indoors: 322
Max. Standing Outdoors: 60-70

Max. Seated: 225

CEREMONY & EVENT/RECEPTION CAPACITY: Indoors, the Club holds 225 seated or 322 standing guests; the patio holds up to 50 seated or 60–70 standing guests.

MEETING CAPACITY: The Ballroom holds 225 guests seated theater-style.

Fees & Deposits

A $500 deposit is required. 50% of the rental fee is due 6 months prior to the event, the balance is due 3 months prior. Rental fees range $3,500–4,000 (depending on guest count) for a 5-hour block of time. Extra hours may be arranged.

Availability

Year-round, daily (except Thursdays) until 11pm.

Catering

BYO

Alcohol

BYO

Sites Uses

Ceremonies
Wedding Receptions
Special Events, Parties
Business Functions/Meetings
Rehearsal Dinners

Services/Amenities

Catering: BYO
Kitchen Facilities: warming kitchen
Tables & Chairs: provided
Linens, Silver, etc.: through caterer
Restrooms: wheelchair accessible
Dance Floor: yes
Bride’s Dressing Area: yes
Meeting Equipment: BYO
Parking: ample on site
Accommodations: no guestrooms
Telephone: no
Outdoor Night Lighting: CBA
Outdoor Cooking Facilities: through caterer
Cleanup: caterer and resident manager
View: landscaped terrace
Other: exclusive use of facility during event

Amplified Music

Indoors
w/ Restrictions

Wheelchair Access

Wheelchair Accessible

Site Views

Garden Patio/Courtyard
Landscaped Grounds

Site Type

Banquet/Events Facility
Private Club
Ballroom
Historic/Landmark Building

Restrictions

Alcohol: BYO
Smoking: outdoors only
Music: amplified OK indoors with restrictions
Wheelchair Access: yes
Insurance: liability required<

Contact: Rental Usage Committee
650/343-2062
www.hillsboroughracquetclub.org
Email or request a proposal for your event from Hillsborough Racquet Club

View Map
Tell a Friend

Share Hillsborough Racquet Club with others:

Want to search again?

FIND A LOCATION

Search for Locations New Locations Featured Locations Rehearsal Dinners Location Search Tips Key to Terms First Time User

Don’t take chances on your wedding!

Certified By The Guide Northern and Southern California wedding vendors have all been highly recommended by tons of brides and fellow wedding professionals. If we don’t consistently hear raves, we don’t put them on our website.

Enter to win

2010 Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway

You & your fiancé could win a package that includes rehearsal dinner, ceremony & reception location, music, photography, wedding dress, wedding night accommodations and many more event services worth over $100,000!

Register for your MyGuide account

Wishing you could save a list of the places and services that interest you? You can. Register for MyGuide and:
• save your favorite locations and services
• email several of your favorites at the same time
• share your selections with your family and friends
• make notes to yourself about each location or service

Rehearsal Dinner?

Here Comes The Guide is a great tool to use to find your rehearsal dinner location! And, read more about how to personalize your rehearsal dinner.

Wedding Dresses

We’ve selected the best California bridal salons to help you find your wedding dress. And, get great deals on your wedding dress and see entire wedding dress designer collections at California Trunk Shows.

Central Coast Weddings

We have just opened up a whole new section for Central Coast wedding locations and Central Valley ceremony sites. We think this gorgeous region, full of beach wedding locations and winery reception venues is the “next big thing” in destination weddings.

Santa Barbara Weddings

Santa Barbara is a stunning region for destination weddings. Its sublime weather is perfect for garden or beach wedding ceremonies, and its chic hotels and restaurants will rock your wedding reception. Most of our beautiful Santa Barbara wedding locations have Virtual Tours, so take a sneak peek right now!