The California Hotel

, Santa Monica, United States
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The California Hotel

, Santa Monica
2 star
1670 Ocean Ave - Santa Monica - California - 90401 - United States Hotel Website | 310 393 2363
264 Traveller

Reviews - The California Hotel

Historical Traveller Reviews of The California Hotel

Ripped Off!

from A TripAdvisor Member
We were in San Francisco and had to cancel our trip to fly home due to a family situation so with 36 hours before check-in we tried to cancel our reservation with the Hotel California.

At first they refused to cancel the room, then (with a second phone call) they stated, "You're all set . . . it's canceled" but failed to give us a cancellation number. When our American Express bill came in a month later, they had billed us for $245 for one night and the night they billed us for was the day before we had been scheduled to arrive.

They flatly (and quite rudely) refused to credit this back to our Amex account. We had booked this directly with them and not an outside agent. Our recommendation is that if you are going to Santa Monica, book yourself into one of the more professionally run establishments like the Fairmont.

Wonderful sister trip

from A TripAdvisor Member
The hotel California was one of the most wonderful parts of our trip here to L.A.. My sisters and I enjoyed the room with the fun beach/surfer flair, it was perfect for us and actually we loved it so much that we ordered pizza last night and hung out in the room just to enjoy ourselves. The sheets with the 320 thread count were an extra nice treat after walking all day long. Very peacful! We will be back to stay many years to come.

good deal-fun and funky

from fullmoonrising
looking for a good value and havng stayed in various hi-end hotels in Santa Monica my family of 4 (parents and 2 adult children) reserved and checked in. The room i reserved was not available due to a reservation mix-up, however they did
a good job of accomodating our needs. Great beds with 300 thread count egyptian cotton sheets and down comforters, room safes, mini fridge, tv with basic stations and steps away from the ocean. no room service-or ac (room fans and a great breeze), limited on property parking but the Loews next door provides disc rates for Hotel California guests. Loews also has great breakfast indoor or on patio and a guest pass is available for their health club. the Hotel California is a great location and very much like a european pensione. If you are looking for high end full service luxury or the bland anonimity of american chain hotel/motels then this is not your cup of tea. but if you want a little adventure, a great deal of character and some charm this is the spot.

Overrated

from A TripAdvisor Member
The revamp is somewhat superficial...the bathrooms obviously weren't done up and the place is generally noisy. Goof location, but my advice is to pop round the corner to the Holiday Inn, which costs about the same and has much better rooms.

Cheapish,Terrific atmosphere; one minute from the beach

from A TripAdvisor Member
My wife and I stayed for 3 months. Hotel offers rooms and long stay apartments. Decor, funky . Sort of David Hockney meets the Aztecs.A few rough edges but not many and more than compensated by location with direct access to beach and less that 10 minutes walk from the heart of town . Staff very helpful . We will certainly return there if we happen to be in Santa Monica

Campy and clean

from ilovemonkey
Cute little hotel on Ocean Ave. The beach view from the grouds is breathtaking. The grounds are simple with climbing vines and flowers that are native to the area are everywhere. Very charming. There is a nice little courtyard to sit around and eat. They even had a bucket full of sand toys for the kids to take to the beach (nothing fancy, were talking shovels and pails... If you are looking for FANCY, look somewhere else. This place is quaint and has character. We stumbled upon HC by accident, we decided not to brave the LA to Las Vegas traffic on a Friday afternoon and stopped by to see if they had any vacancy. They said they had a very large suite with a kitchen and they gave it to us for the cheapest rate (169) I was happy. It had a queen bed in the master bed. and two twin trundles in the main living part. The sheets were luxurious and the down comforters were such a nice touch. Everything was simple with wood and tile floors but CLEAN. Parking is 15 dollars a day and space is very limited. You must be an "LA driver" to maneuver in and out of these spots! The beach is about a five min. walk and the pier is right there too. RIDE the Ferris Wheel at the pier. It's the most awesome view and worth the two bucks. The only complaint I have about this hotel is about the way the staff made me feel. I felt as if I was bothering them anytime I asked them anything. Even on the telephone, they seem annoyed and defensive all the time for some reason. For example, the man who booked my room as I stood there was talking ont he phone at the same time and it took SO long because of that. I felt like i must have been on one of those reality TV shows and that any minute they would show me the hidden cameras and thank me for my patience with a prize or something! Weird.

Best of our Los Angeles experience !

from hoped
I'm sad 2C any of negative reviews. We cannot say enough wonderful things about this find ! We haven't stopped bragging about it since back in Florida. We ended up at HC by accident in Oct 2003. They only had 1 rm left, a suite, gav it 2us at reg rm rate x 3 nites! Rms hav SO MUCH CHARACTER; exceptionally helpful office staff! Exceptionally clean. Made our trip 2 LA memorable, so much that we are trying 2 take our older children back 2 experience this awesome place on the beach. Our nitemare stays were in Los Angles, not Santa Monica Hotel California.

Honeymoon Happiness

from lucy1112
We stayed here after having our wedding at Gladstones. They were helpful and upgraded us to a wonderful suite for the night. Close beach access. Quiet cool little pathway. Room was clean and spacious. Cool little getaway. Thanks for everything.

I loved it!!!

from A TripAdvisor Member
I loved the Hotel California! The rooms are very cute, I love the decor!!! The staff was very friendly and helpful, especially the front desk. I would recommend this hotel to my friends. It's such a find...it's like a little secret-I almost passed it by but luckily I stopped to check it out!

Do not subject yourself to this torment

from A TripAdvisor Member
Please read the reviews and pay attention to them. If there are more negative review than positive ones, then the place sucks. Please also pay attention to the way the positive reviews are written. In my opinion some of the positive reviews are nothing but "self-appraisal".
My fiance and I stayed in this hotel in summer of 2003. Believe me it looks great from outside and a good location too. BUT wait until your first night is through. Remember there is never a manager on-site. You and your complaints are always handled by a "gum-cracking", rude, indifferent teenager who also seems to have an ongoing boy friend problems (as evident by long minutes we had to wait by the front desk listening to her until her conversation was done). The manager will call you back if he can get over his amnesia. He is never there anyway.
The hotel has only a few rooms (no more than 30), however, it does not have enough parking space to support it. So some nights (most of the nights) you end up parking in some other hotel's parking several blocks away at your own expense. If you get lucky and get to actually park on the premise good luck getting your car out in the morning should you need it. Inadvertently your car is always blocked by a jerk or two or three. And forget about all the partying by a hord of drunks every night next door. Can you call someone at three O'Clock in the morning to come and shut them up? No, because the office is conveniently closed. We woke up one morning at the sound of one very very angry guest who needed his car out and couldn't get it because it was blocked. He was threatening that he would "kill" the "manager" if his car is not out in 15 minutes. What did the "manager" - more like a front desk clerk - do? Nothing! What did the guest do? Gave up! Place has no air-conditioning either. I am not going to even bother you with many other things that this place had wrong with it. I think you know what I talking about by now. Also remember the place is not that cheap either. And by the way, I called the so-called manager several times after we came back to at least put a closure to our horrible time by at least giving it to him. Guess what? He was nowhere to be found.
Surprized? The place is a loud dump, infested with drunks, careless and indifferent people with really not much of anything to offer including at least decent servive and PR. Save yourself the headache and trust these reviews.

Top Local Tips for Santa Monica

Fajitas!! For del;icious beef fajitas stop by The Broder Grill on 4th street and have a margarita.

4th street a great place to spend an evening.

easy Traffic from Las vegas to LA wasnt bad. I thought LA would be a nightmare, it wasnt bad. kind of reminded me of Chicago. I was in Santa Monica, took 15 to 10 all the way, not bad. 215 was busier than 10 early afternoon.Get a map if you dont know the area. 10 goes right through east to west to the beach. pretty easy. Santa Monica BLVD is very busy, know where you are going if trying to go to hollywood, or beverly hills. Hollywodo easy to get to, Via 101, or Santa Monica. Hollywood and Highland is the heart. (i didnt know when i went, had to walk a bit) good rock and roll shops on Hollywood BLVD

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Other names for The California Hotel

  • hotel california santa monica
  • california santa monica
  • california hotel santa monica
  • Address: 1670 Ocean Ave - Santa Monica - California - 90401 - United States
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6.0/10

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