Kacee

That's a sign of fake reviews. TA is worthless unless you can spot the fakes. When a property has a high proportion of fakes, I cross it off the list on that basis alone.
The W/A is an infinitely better property. But a very different location. The location is absolutely XLR's strongest selling point.

outgoing

We had a really nice stay there last weekend. We did one night on certificate and another on points. Arrived very late on Friday from LAX. We got upgraded to interior Lanai Suite from base room - I asked for it in advance and got the confirmed upgrade few days before arrival. Communication via email was very efficient. The hard product is nice and well maintained imo. With every hour the hotel actually grew on us in terms of the hard product. Loved the time spent on the little swing in front of the room. Location is great especially now that homeless residents are not a problem any more. Service was impeccable from start to finish. We did drinks one night after dinner which were of very high quality - came down to $53 with tax and tip. We did breakfast on Sunday - it's expensive but the quality was very good. Two juices and two entrees added up to $100 with tax and tip. Final bill was correct with all the credits applied which I find amazing these days On Saturday we took the bikes to the beach and went all the way to Manhattan Beach and back - I highly recommend. We also used the house car (which actually is ordered via local high-end Uber style service) to get to Tar & Roses for dinner (as a side point I'd highly recommend this restaurant - it's better imo than some of the Michelin * restaurants in LA). Very convenient and they text you details on how to order it on the way back (we actually walked). We asked for late check out and were given 1 pm but then once we got to the room the manager called and said she reshuffled things to accommodate our requested 3 pm. This was very impressive as I always had issues with late check outs at Hilton. Overall, I think it's a great hotel and we were treated very well as Diamonds. Would I pay north of 1K to stay there, absolutely not, but it's a great use of points and I would actually be happy to pay 500-600 USD per night out of pocket. Hope this helps.

Explore

So if we'd like an ocean view but won't accept the ground floor facing the street, what are the options? And if we have a pet, are we limited to certain rooms?

Thanks...

Eujeanie

Obviously a higher floor. ALL ocean view rooms face the street.

Explore

Answering my own question, I called the hotel and spoke to a very helpful staff member. He said that oceanfront room types are Seaside Oceanfront and Signature Oceanfront. The desirable, larger Pacific Lanai Suite has a partial ocean view. Other room types face the pool, which some might like but doesn't impart much of a sense of place. All room types are found on the first, second and third floors, with outside-facing first floor rooms clearly undesirable because passersby on the street can look right in.

AlexF

Stayed here in December 2023 for a year end road trip to LA. Normally we would use points for Waldorf Beverly but it’s impossible to get a point reservation during those times so settled on Oceana. At first did not expect much but it’s way better than what I expected.

Was upgraded to lanai suite as diamond. The room is huge, however, the caveat is that you can tell it’s a converted apartment building. The ceiling is low, noise insulation is bad, could hear people talking in the room upstairs at night. All the expensive furnitures, Frette bedsheets and Loro piana beddings are nice but can’t hide the fact that it feels like a cheap apartment unfortunately.

The mattress was the best hotel mattress I’ve slept on though, and this includes all the four seasons, ritz and WAs mattresses. Asked the counter for where they got it from thinking I should get one for my house next time. Too bad wasn’t able to get an answer, if anyone can tell me what mattress it is would really appreciate it.

smmrfld

Agree…this place reminds me of a (nicely) converted motel. But still a motel at heart.

Kacee

You were given inaccurate/incomplete information. The entries front the pool. The rooms themselves overlook either the adjacent apartment building, Idaho Ave., or 1st Street.