Santa Monica Hotel

The motel is like a trip down memory lane back to the 50s and 60s. It's the type of motel you see in movies from that era, built around an asphalt court/parking area. However, it's clearly been updated over the years and the rooms have a beach vibe. It also had all the amenities we wanted, including things like shampoo, conditioner, lotion and hand soap, an ironing board and iron, refrigerator, and hair dryer. The beds were comfortable, and the room was quiet. As others have noted, the entire staff was friendly and helpful. The room had no air conditioning and was steaming when we entered, but among the sea breezes, multiple fans available, and screened windows, it cooled down quickly and nicely.

The breakfast offered nothing fresh except a bit of fruit. Everything else was packaged and undoubtedly full of chemical preservatives. We thought the price was exorbitant (a total of over $600.00 for two nights). This is not entirely their fault, as in addition to the outrageous hotel taxes big cities often charge, I guess because Santa Monica is a beach town, they also charge a whopping 25% "resort tax". This motel had NOTHING about it that made it a resort. We had no choice but to stay there, as we were there for the memorial service of a close family member who lived in an adjacent neighborhood. But you need to be aware of this when looking at prices.

The staff were extremely helpful and polite. The rooms were spacious, location on Lincoln Boulevard was excellent and within walking distance of Mexican food joint & Burger/Japanese food stalls on the same side of the road . The beach is approximately 15 minutes walk through residential area ( Bay Street) but was safe to walk even at 8 PM in the evening . The only distraction were while walking on the Lincoln Boulevard, we encountered a few homeless but they were polite enough to ask for one or two dollars from us. Otherwise they were nice and did not bother us. Entire area was safe and enjoyable . The motel had spacious parking and one can park his car just in front of his room. We enjoyed our stay at this motel. Only negative point is that hotel tariff is little expensive.

The hotel tariff . $ 250 per night is little expensive.

cannot express how thankful i am to have discovered this place....it is -exceptionally- clean, the staff goes way beyond to help in any way, be pleasant, and welcoming....easy parking. very clean rooms, both times i've stayed, my rooms have had refrig., microwave, fan, and hair blow drier....very incidentally, but the louvre shutters, which seem to be on all rms., are just delightful...most sincerely, thank u s.m. motel.....also, super shout out to laura, who has helped me immensely, w. booking, and is just completely helpful in any poss. way......(!) thanks u guys.....!....

Excellent value room, very close to the Santa Monica beach and Pier. If you like to walk, Venice beach is also easy to reach. I felt that I lacked nothing in the room; plus it was very clean and very comfortable. The staff were very nice, helpful, and flexible -- in particular, Laura, helped accommodate every single request I had, which was extremely helpful beause I had received some distressing news just before arrival. Her help settling me in helped me feel better and get my problem sorted out with a cool head.

There is very little to complain about. One thing was that (probably because I had a room close to the Lincoln Boulevard) the sockets in the room were a bit out of reach -- this was not much of a problem!

The room was absolutely lovely!! Exactly as it was pictured. The staff was very courteous, professional and kind. Alisha (the night shift) and Lauren (in the morning) were very informative and helpful. They went above and beyond to help with any concerns we had. Our stay was wonderful! Sadly, it was just for one night, but we will definitely be back! The area was perfect.. close to many attractions and sites on the West Side of LA. We felt secure and comfortable. And having a parking space for our rental was a huge selling point! Thank you!

It’s the first time I stayed at the motel, and this place is lovely. The guests should read what they offer before they book, instead of asking them when you arrive because they provide exactly what they write on the booking page. It’s safe, clean, staff is friendly, kind and helpful, they do their best to make you comfortable. The rooms are on the back side is very silent which we love it. There is no fee for parking.

We arrived very late, and the last available room was facing the street. It was small and a bit noisy. When we asked the reception if it was possible to move to another room, they helped us to move as soon as the other room was available.

Very cosy and pretty Motel, located perfectly. The room was very clean, nicely decorated and modern. The staff were super friendly and helpful. Parking was very convenient and for free, a great advantage. Very good value for the good quality. We would come there again. In the neighborhood you can find a gas station, good options for dinner (we were advised to eat at Pita place 2 blocks away, was amazing!). The Santa Monica beach is just few min drive from the Motel. Thanks for hospitality!

From check in to check out, the staff was really friendly and helpful. I was greeted politely and instantly felt at home. (Honestly, the service was friendlier than at some of the larger hotel chains I've stayed at.) The room also exceeded my expectations in terms of comfort and cleanliness, the moment I entered I knew I had made the right choice where to stay. All in all I will definitely keep this motel in mind for future stays and recommendations, the area also felt safe and was close to the beach. Please never change your amazing hospitality, I can only repeat myself when I say that this hidden gem really did greatly exceed what I was expecting when checking into a motel and definitely set the bar high.

Not much to say here. The only minor details I noticed were that curtains might be nice for people who like really dark rooms (there are wooden blinds), if you have a lot of clothing and/or a big suitcase you might need to get creative about where to store things, the vacuuming under the bed could have been a bit more thorough and the walls sounded a bit thin at times. None of this really bothered me, but just noting it as room for improvement / things that others might notice.

Our breakfast consisted of pastries, and orange, a granola bar, and a capri-sun, and honestly it was great to have a quick snack in the morning and then be able to bring the rest with us for the day! Our room was perfect size, the shower was big and the soap in there was amazing. Our beds were comfortable and we loved the windows on both sides. The staff was extremely helpful and friendly and helped to accommodate us with a room with a fridge since we were staying there a week and could really use one. We walked everywhere and it was in a good location.

If they wanted to do more of a continental breakfast, that would be awesome, however the bag breakfast was just as good and was nice to be able to take along with us.

The kind woman at the front desk gave me a great room. It was spotless and the decor is really nice. Windows let in a cool breeze and it is quiet at the back of the motel.

I stayed over the Memorial weekend. I had no choice as everywhere was expensive. Despite it being a reasonably low-end establishment, they did charge what felt like a huge amount. Something like $350 for one night. But then all hotels seemed to be ripping everyone off everywhere that weekend.