6 Best Santa Monica Beach Hotels for an Oceanfront Escape

It’s easy to explore Santa Monica on your own two (probably flip-flopped) feet, as the downtown and beach areas are relatively compact and pedestrian-friendly. Strolling through Palisades Park, which stretches along the beachfront, and stopping to watch weightlifters at open-air gym Muscle Beach are among the highlights of any stay here.

If you want to move a little faster, or explore further along the coast, it’s also perfect for exploring on two wheels. Guests at stylish Shore Hotel are encouraged to do just that with complimentary use of beach cruisers. Take one for a pedal along the Marvin Braude Bike Trail – known locally simply as ‘The Strand’. It stretches for 22 miles from Pacific Palisades, north of Santa Monica, down to Torrance.

Free bike rental is just one aspect of the eco-conscious ethos at Shore Hotel, where green details include a solar-heated pool and reusable water bottles, organic coffee and sustainable toiletries in the rooms. The resort performs a delicate balancing act, with just the right amount of sleek, tech-savvy modernity to satisfy business travelers while being luxurious enough for the most indulgent of vacations.

It’s difficult to be subtle when you’re sprawled along one of California’s most famous beaches and are roughly the size of an entire city block. Yet Shutters on the Beach manages to blend in with its surroundings in the best possible way. The exterior, in elephant gray with bright white accents, shimmers by the sand and evokes the elegant coastal cottages of Cape Cod.

The colors become gradually bolder beyond the picket fences, from the glassy turquoise of the pool, surrounded by blue-and-white striped cabanas and sun beds, to rooms filled with potted plants, chintzy-cool patterns and rich textures.

It’s all quintessentially coastal – and very Santa Monica. This is especially true when your suite has direct access to the sand, as the best ones here do, so you can throw open the shutters each morning and start the day by gazing at the ocean and gulping in the softly salty air.

Santa Monica is that rare beast: a beach destination with a dynamic downtown that rivals far bigger cities. One without the other would be enough, but the combination is utterly irresistible.

The city is classic yet quirky, vintage yet modern, sleek yet wonderfully casual. The martini you sip at that elegant, mahogany-topped bar will be impeccable, yet no one expects you to dress in your fanciest gear – unless you feel like it, of course.

The Georgian Hotel perfectly reflects this particular brand of languid elegance. The lofty art deco building, dating from 1933, is a striking shade of turquoise, which deepens to a soft teal at dusk. The retro-cool vibes carry on throughout the hotel, particularly in the rooms – all polished dark wood, bold geometric prints and invitingly plush beds.

Hotel Casa Del Mar would blend in beautifully in Tuscany, and no one would bat an eye if it gazed down on Lake Como or perched by the Amalfi coast. Yet, despite its Mediterranean charms and resemblance to an Italian villa, the beachfront hotel is undeniably Santa Monica.

The 1920s building, a fine example of Renaissance Revival–style architecture, is filled with coastal Californian accents, from the palm trees and paisley-patterned sofas dotted through the lounge to local art hanging in the rooms. Suites have huge arched windows to frame the ocean and beach, so close you can almost touch them.

Some of the area’s best nightlife is right here in the palm-dotted lounge, where mixologists shake and pour concoctions with local botanicals and musicians perform nightly.

Sunsets in Santa Monica are a nightly show that no one wants to miss. It doesn’t really matter how many times you watch the sky change color, or whether you’re in a rooftop cocktail bar or sitting on a sandy towel. The broad beach, stretching between rows of skinny palm trees and the vibrant Santa Monica Pier, makes for a spectacular setting as shades of red, pink and apricot swirl above the ocean.

However, I’d argue that there are few better viewing spots than the private balcony attached to your room at Loews Santa Monica. The best ones have fire pits surrounded by cozy sofas and chairs, so you can stay outdoors until the sky turns into an inky, star-scattered blanket.

It’s hard to avoid the ocean when you’re staying at the Loews. It’s there, boldly blue, through the tall windows at the end of the lobby, and it’s just a few steps away when you’re hanging out by the pool. In fact, nothing is very far away when you’re staying here. You can be on the sand or walking down Third Street Promenade – the city’s pedestrianized shopping stretch – within a few minutes.

Hollywood glamor and seaside kitsch sound like strange bedfellows, yet somehow they work wonderfully together. At least, that’s the case in Santa Monica, where you can feel like you’ve wandered onto a glitzy filmset while simultaneously entering a riotous world of retro rides and candy floss.

Viceroy Santa Monica pulls off this same blend of quirky-chic with aplomb. While the elegant bedrooms’ primary color palette mirrors the coastal setting, pops of bold print and color add flair. The two cabana-lined pools ooze opulence, while an eclectic array of retro furniture and striking wall art keeps the look fresh and modern.