Boraxo

I think you need to pay for an ocean view room if that is important to you. There are too many rooms at all these properties that do not have a view, and upgrades will depend on the occupancy level and other factors. Some of the Marriott rooms do have obstructed views, but one would presume they are marked as such. If you like balconies then I would go with a high floor at the Fairmont, as we did last year.

dayone

Pay for what you need and ask for what you want.

doctor

Someone previously stated to choose your hotel near the location you want to be. Agree entirely as travel times especially weekends are lengthy. Stayed away from this hotel before due to negative comments, however decided to stay because of location. Our stay was magnificent. As a platinum, upgraded to sixth floor room with balcony. Room was modern and clean with shower. As no CL, was allowed $16.50pp credit in the restaurant. This amount covered the continental breakfast, which allowed all the cold items on the buffet. Buffet was plentiful, excellent value.

Lani1

Found this hotel to be over rated - not great neighborhood, homeless all over, etc

SkiAdcock

doctor, thanks for the update & pics!

Lani1, the property is near the beach/Santa Monica pier. Location is very good.

Santa Monica has a lot of homeless people, so unless someone is willing to knock the entire city off their list of places to stay, they may encounter some homeless re: of chain/property.

Cheers.

mizzou miles

Anyone been here recently??

C17PSGR

I've stayed there a couple of times in the past several weeks.

Good service, and they try to upgrade plats depending on availability. It's a nice location and a pleasant walk either out the back onto the pathway or on the front toward restaurants and bars. Good gym too.

In terms of complaints ... (1) the pool deck leaves something to be desired and could use a hot tub and (2) the hotel doesn't have a lounge and the breakfast provided to gold/plat is subpar -- particularly considering it is a JW. It is a very strict basic continental breakfast with no proteins (eggs, meats, salmon, etc). They won't give you a credit toward anything on the menu either. Also, if you haven't been there before, its not on the ocean -- close but there are buildings between the hotel and the ocean.

Still, I like it but there are unfortunately not any alternatives in the Marriwood family that get you on the water in LA.

tangey

Stayed here in Oct. Room was a really good size, nice quality furniture. We had a view of the Pier. Totally silent. The comp breakfast we got as gold was a cold breakfast, but had a good selection of juices / porridge / fruit / cereals and some pastries. We were initially told at check-in that our vouchers could be used to as part payment for full breakfast, but it appears this had changed in the last day or two, and the front desk wasn't up to date. To be fair the breakfast staff offered to honour what we'd been told.

Staff were all very friendly, although the main doorman/bellman seemed to be a little bit too full of his own trip advisor reputation of being fantastic.

Good location, Chez Jay, a dive bar once frequented by "known" people is 5 mins walk away. The pier is 15 mins walk. Pool area is indeed a little small and often in the shade.

Not having been to Santa Monica before, I was surprised by the number of homeless people, my partner described it as like a scene from the walking dead. The odd one could be found having an argument with a lamppost.

Tracer_SEA

Any recent experiences at this property?

I'm familiar with the area, but in the past found myself at the Fairmont or Viceroy

Thanks in advance

ryandc99

Any recent stays at this property?

davidw70

It seems this hotel is no longer branded a JW Marriott; still in the booking system but without any brand attached.

Nash_Andrew

Any recent stays?

BCH

I'm also wondering if there are any recent reports? No longer appears to be a JW property (as mentioned above) and the pictures make it look outdated and not really luxurious. Wondering if it's better than Le Meridien that's a few mins away. Or if I just should book the Loews?

MichaelKade

Definitely outdated. Not nice.

TravelinSperry

It's part of the Autograph collection now. They claim they did renovations recently (some were complaining about the noise on Google reviews). I wonder how the property is now?