Kacee

Wow that's a change. We came out of pocket only about $9. It took 90 minutes though.

drod

I ate at Capo and Melisse ~ 2 years ago. Both are quite expensive but highly recommended to me by locals; I enjoyed both of them.

On my last trip to LA a couple weeks ago, we hit Elephante and another spot on the beach in Malibu (name escapes me now but I can find it if there's interest) for lunch. We went to Fig and Baltaire for dinner. And we went to SideCar Doughnuts for a treat. They're all very solid picks and recommended by locals.

christianj

We had 2 x farm fresh egg breakfast, 2 x coffee and 1 x OJ for $107.

https://www.hoteloceanasantamonica.c...kfast-Menu.pdf

Eujeanie

Thanks for the additional recommendations, drod. Was the on the beach in Malibu place either Gladstone's or Geoffrey's?

drod

It was Paradise Cove Beach Cafe. We were there mainly to enjoy a picnic on the beach and then we got some drinks and apps, so I can't vouch that well for the food. The prices are reasonable considering the location.

milesforhire

Oh yeah I forgot about that part. The gratuity is automatically in the bill and the F&B credit doesn't cover it. That's pretty fair, but it's good to know before you order (if you're doing mental math for the F&B credit).

I saw North Italia mentioned and I agreed 100%. Loved it.

Some of my favorite spots in Santa Monica weren't upscale but I figure I'd put them out here: Solidarity (Polish food), The Bungalow (lounge/cocktails/outdoor space with a good ambiance), and Bru's Wiffle (brunch). If you care to venture up to Westwood, I also quite liked Shamshiri Grill (Persian food).

Eujeanie

We would often leave a tip in cash for breakfast at hotels/ex lounges where it was comped, so having it added in just means more points, lol (silver lining and all).

I'm loving all these suggestions. I showed my husband Melisse and he said it reminded him of Alinea, which was a big no in his book. Yes, we are old and boring, guilty as charged, but I'm sure we'll decide on a nice place for our 45th. Actually pizza in our room sounds very romantic I just surprised him with a quartet of Lou Malnati's pizzas (he's from Chicago) for his birthday with the family and they worked out to be about $25 per, so really the Oceana pizza (and maybe a burger or lobster roll) from room service might be refreshing.

Kacee

That's insane.

Eujeanie

Yes it is. But in the hotel's defense, even the old breakfast benefit was supposed to be "continental", even though many hotels went above and beyond. And I see many things on the list which would fall under the $25 pp limit. The "continental" itself includes beverages. If you choose to opt for a hot breakfast and you can see the prices, then you have nothing to complain about.

Christianj, were they the best damned eggs you ever had? I think my biggest problem is paying crazy prices for mundane food - pizza, burgers, eggs, etc. I don't mind paying for unusual and creatively prepared dishes that I can't make at home.

christianj

No, they were like eggs at any hotel breakfast.

I’m not one to complain about prices if the quality is right (especially while I’m on vacation) but I thought it was high all things considered. I would say the F&B is the weak point of the hotel. Food has been good but even at breakfast his morning the food has not been particularly warm considering the time it took to get our food was around 30 minutes this morning. It was significantly busier so the time didn’t bother me but if we have to wait I would like to receive warm food. Didn’t send it back since I didn’t want to wait for it again but did mention it wasn’t really warm. The manager took 20% off the bill.

I do have to say that all the staff is great! Everyone from the valet/door guys to the waitstaff has been so friendly.

christianj

So after our trip I just want to recap my overall thoughts on the positives/negatives of the hotel:

Positives
- Wonderful rooms that felt very luxurious with modern decor and amenities including Frette sheets and Bottega Veneta bath products.
- Great shower pressure.
- We really liked the location and it worked perfectly for us. Some might want to be closer to the pier action but we liked being a little further from it.
- The staff was all great and definitely very customer service oriented. We were always warmly greeted and they definitely always tried to please from the restaurant staff to the front desk. The valet/door guys were always in a good mood and welcomed us back.
- Not our thing but they did have a social happy hour for guests on Friday and Saturday night. We had dinner plans so we didn't go but if you like that sort of thing this might be a positive.
- We got lucky and got a nice Diamond upgrade but I did have to ask if they had anything better at checkin.
Negatives
- Food & Beverage is definitely still a work in progress that they could improve on. I thought the pricing was high considering the quality and I just didn't understand why even with wait times to get orders (which were acceptable) we never really got anything that was more than lukewarm. If people are going to wait on food, it should at least be warm enough for the butter to melt on a French Toast.
- For those not familiar with the landscape, the hotel is not on the beach as some might think looking at the photos. You have to cross a street and then walk down a cliff to cross another main highway to get to the beach.
- Not hotel specific but more of a general comment about Santa Monica was that they have a real issue with homeless people. I know this is a general issue for California due to the temps and other reasons but Santa Monica was the worst of any area we have ever visited. They were everywhere in SM.

Would we return? Yes...without hesitation mainly due to the facility and the staff. If they focus on their F&B issues (which they clearly know about since they basically agreed with me when I casually mentioned the issue a couple of times), this could be a really great hotel.

pazza2000

Good review! What does the social / happy hour look like?

eponymous_coward

I’ll be there tomorrow and Saturday, though I won’t be staying for an evening social. I can say that I was contacted by a member of staff and proactively upgraded as a Diamond, so good for them.

eponymous_coward

So, basically christianj is right on when it comes to the hotel rooms and staff; the hotel room is super comfortable, the staff is warm and friendly. The upgrade to the Lanai Suite was nice, got a welcome snack of pecans from the minibar plus a welcome note, and the cocktail I had Friday night and the breakfast Saturday got wiped from the hill (both were over $25, breakfast significantly so, but not over $50- maybe I got credit for 2). A 20% service charge is automatically applied to what you buy (in lieu of a tip), as mentioned. Cocktail (Old Fashioned) and breakfast (avocado toast with juice) were perfectly fine if definitely “five star Santa Monica hotel” prices (read: I had amazing cocktails in London last month for half the price in Shoreditch).

The hotel has a poster board out front mentioning a recent public hearing to allow their dining/liquor license to be extended to people other than hotel guests- I assume that means they might invest in F/B. I did not make either Friday or Saturday social hour.

This place is way, way above where I can typically afford for cash (rooms were $630++ last I checked), but I definitely didn’t feel cheated using my Aspire room nights for 2020 and 2021 here. I can see why this would be an attractive place to stay if you’re in the set where $600 hotel rooms don’t make you blanch. They did a great job of taking care of me as a Diamond and I will be sure to let the hotel and Hilton corporate know- this was really a good job of recognizing elite status and being a good boutique hotel.

Eujeanie

Nice review. Did your room have a view? I didn't realize they had a social hour, will have to look into that. I wonder if they will enhance the menu if outsiders are allowed in the restaurants, or if it will just make it crowded.

Where did you have dinner your two nights? I was trying to decide on our anniversary dinner, and have decided to go back to One Pico at Shutters - we always had a nice time when we went with our friends who knew people there (years ago), and I just found out the new head of F&B at Shutters/Casa is Franck Savoy, son of French chef Guy Savoy. Franck used to run Dad's restaurant in Las Vegas at Caesars so I was surprised to learn he was now in Santa Monica, hoping it makes a nice place even better.

And I agree - very good use of our FNC's.