First off, I strongly recommend to friends or family who want to visit Los Angeles to base themsevles in Santa Monica. It really gives you the best base to explore from; the beach nearby, great air quality, tons of restaurants, great theaters, and also (importantly) not everything is super pretentious and "velvet-rope" infested (I'm looking at you WeHo).

As a former resident, its always weird to go back and visit LA on business. Things change a lot, I've seen neighborhoods rise, fall, and rise again. But Santa Monica has always been very reliable. Just trendy enough, not so trendy that it becomes passe.

So you picked Santa Monica for your trip, which hotel. This hotel is not a bad choice, is sort of splits the difference in a lot of way. Its not too hip, not too expensive, but also not too memorable.

Location within Santa Monica is good. Very short walk to Third Street, pretty short walk to Main Street, short walk to the Pier, everything within arms reach. Check.

Staff is also excellent. They go above expectations for this type of property, I think. Lots of genuine hellos and conversation. Good job.

On the negative side, while you'd THINK a hotel in this spot has lots of great beach views, it doesn't. Only a few rooms have good ocean / pier views (ask for one!) but even then, the windows are sealed shut, no great sea breezes and salt air to inspire.

Rooms are OK, pretty generic overall. Amenities are as expected. Public spaces are a bit more inspiring that the rooms themselves. Housekeeping was not flawless (room had a few rough edges).

Le Merigot is classified as a JW Marriot, but if you compare it to the one downtown, this is a lot less new & shiny & hip. To me its more of a good solid Marriott, not so much a JW.

This is also not a bad choice if you have status with Marriot chain. I have a gold status and they recognized this, gave me a slightly upgraded room and comped the internet. All as they should!

Anyway, love Santa Monica, this place is totally servicable and the staff go above and beyond. If you want to splurge on something memorable, look into Shutters or something else, knowing that you'll pay a bit more.

Stayed here will attending the Rose Bowl. We choose it for the location which is great. Near beach, shopping and restaurants. Cora's is a block away! The staff was friendly and attentive. The rooms were a clean but a little worn for a hotel at this level. The windows do not open. The Cezanne restaurant food was good. The pool area has many levels and a lot of nooks and crannies for relaxing with some privacy. Very little noise between rooms. Since this hotel was part of our package I don't know what we paid-probably too much. I would not pay more that $300 a night should I visit again. Even that is a lot but the location is great. I would check out other hotels in the area to compare.

I read the reviews before staying at this hotel for 4 nights in early December. The staff were attentive and very personable; however, it seemed as though they lacked the professionalism and knowledge that other solid 4 star hotels such as the Fairmont have. Speaking to one doorman, I thought I was staying at a regular Marriott. Remember this place is $350+ per night during low season.

The views from the room were disappointing as the beach front condo directly in front blocked most of the view of the ocean. There was no balcony as has been stated previously. The hotel room bathroom was very nice with all the marble tile, but I couldn't help but say on more than occasion it would be nice to have heated tiles as they were very cold at night and in the morning.

The restaurant staff did whatever it took to make our meal enjoyable and it is one of the few hotel restaurants that actually use real silver plated cutlery. Excellent food.

I was a little disappointed that the business center charged to use the Internet to look up a restaurant.

Great location and the hotel was well maintained.

from a well known property ? Location is good and the public areas are ok but I have to say the pool scene is disappointing (water is TOO COLD) while the open air gym is still too hot to be enjoyable (even with the fans). For the price, there are other options.