If you want to be in a hotel at the beaches of Los Angeles, they don’t make it easy for you. The place to be in Santa Monica is supposed to be either The Shutter’s or the Casa del Mar, but my husband, my teenage son and I preferred the Oceana to these two hotels because the location is nicer (a bit away from the bustle around the pier) and you get large, well-appointed rooms there which offer in addition value for money. We had booked an Ocean View Suite with the possibility of an upgrade to a Signature Ocean View Suite which we finally had. There is a large living room and a smaller bedroom. The bathroom is adequately sized and in addition there is a small balcony with a marvellous view on the Pacific Ocean. The hotel has a tastefully equipped courtyard with a pool which actually is the heart of the place. The atmosphere there was very pleasant, relaxed yet cool. As far as food is concerned, there is a small, nicely furnished restaurant where we didn’t dine but only went for breakfast. As to this, I have to say that I wasn’t especially fond of having breakfast there. Although the buffet is well assembled and delicious warm dishes can be ordered, I didn’t feel very comfortable there. Maybe this was due to the great number of small children or due to the fact that you had to help yourself to hot drinks at the buffet or because sometimes tables and the floor beneath were not immaculately clean (after some untidy children had been there), I can’t say for sure. But this is the only negative point I can think of. Besides the young female employees who were in charge of the breakfast service were very friendly and helpful. That can be said of all the staff we met. Extraordinarily cordial were also the people at the valet parking. A plus is the fact that there are bicycles at your disposal (complimentary up to a certain period of time). Worth mentioning is also that you get a welcome drink (a glass of Prosecco), a nice touch which we only had in this hotel during our whole trip through the Southwest of the USA. Overall, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Oceana for a few unwinding days at the beaches of Los Angeles.

I got to Los Angeles a couple of times a year, for a stretch of up to 11 days. It can get tiresome. There are other more trendy hotels in Santa Monica. The fabulous people love to be seen at Shutter's. If that hotel is booked, they reluctantly trudge over to the Casa del Mar. About two miles down the street, is the Oceana. It is a smaller hotel with fewer rooms and a higher staff to guest ratio. What the Oceana lacks in "the scene" it makes up for in quiet, comfortable, large rooms. My room, 321, was almost 1000 square feet and included a kitchenette. The rooms on the north side of the building have balconies with netting over them to keep the birds out. The rooms on the west and south side of the building have balconies that do not have netting. The hotel has a small but decent gym and a small but acceptable pool. I would rather stay at the Oceana than any other hotel in Santa Monica because it is not a scene. If you want the scene, you should probably stay somewhere else. For me, the Oceana is for people who have been to Santa Monica more than a few times and just want to have a happy, simple time free of a lot of nonsense. The staff is very nice and the vibe is more of a small hotel than a big giant place. There are not enough rooms at the Oceana to host a convention. Amen, for that. When you stay at the Loews hotel in Santa Monica, they host giant conventions and you try to get on an elevator and suddenly you are surrounded by a dozen middle-aged former frat boys wearing name tags that state they are in town for the convention it makes you want to run and hide. The Oceana is a great place to stay if you are there for a long while and want to pretend you are living in Santa Monica temporarily rather than just visiting. It's very homey.

Our daughter lives in Santa Monica and we've stayed at the Oceana before. We were given the same suite that we had last time and it really felt like we had 'come home'. The staff are very friendly and helpful - they even remembered us from our visit six months ago. The pool, in an enclosed courtyard, didn't get a lot of sun as the sun is low in January, but the water is like a warm bath and lots of nice fluffy towels. We were able to bring our Santa Monica family to use the pool and they also joined us for breakfast one morning. Our 2 year old granddaughter was made very welcome too. Can't wait for our next trip to Santa Monica and returning to the Oceana! Highly recommend this hotel.

Stayed here for the Rosebowl with my husband and 2 sons (10 & 12). We all loved it. The staff were incredibly helpful and approachable. The room was spacious, well appointed and very comfortable. We had a view of the ocean and it is worth spending a bit more for. The pool, although small, was warm and my kids loved it. The food was good. The drinks (particularly the Basil Gimlet) were perfect. The availability of beach cruisers was an added bonus. We used these both days and enjoyed being able to get around town and ride along the beach on them. We were welcomed with a glass of Prosecco which was really nice after our drive up from San Diego. Would definitely stay here again!