Hotel Casa del Mar

One keeps hearing, ‘life is good at the beach’. It certainly is blissful at Casa Del Mar. A staple of high end hospitality in Los Angels for multiple decades, it is a big building sitting right on the beach, which oddly is rarity in Southern California. There are not so many 4- or 5-star hotels where one can come down from one’s room barefoot to walk the beach, and this is one of them, using the side door on Pico to avoid reception! 5-star, yet so relaxed. We love it there and now choose to stay in Sea view rooms on the north side of the building, facing Shutters, Santa Monica, Topanga and Malibu beyond. While the south side face the beach beyond parking lots, we can’t afford Sea front rooms, and it would be pointless for us to stay in Palm rooms or even worse City view rooms. That’s our choice, and we stay each time between 12 to 16 nights. The setting is classic sea side, very beautifully made, with big classic bathrooms, including separate toilets, separate shower stalls boating amazing water pressure, unlike many places in Southern California. Heavenly beds, in quite high frames: shorter people might have trouble to get in bed, but a stool is provided. They do a great job at keeping the grand old dame pristine, upgrading this and that year after year, most lately the lighting system and the communication. Service is fantastic consistently. Special kudos to housekeeping. These ladies do a fantastic job. Main service or evening turndown, they never fail at anything, never forget anything. And they know us by name. Valet is super friendly and nice, year after year. They even remember our name. Little to no interaction with senior management, which I find odd for guests returning for extensive stays. But then there is not much to complain about. Place was great value for money right after the pandemics, but double-digit room rate increases year on year are tough on European travellers. Valet parking was $50 in 2023 and has grinded its way up to $80 in 2026. More expensive than Four Seasons on Doheny. This makes any delay in pulling up the car after calling ahead unacceptable. And I do not even mention the compulsory resort fee, this American classic hidden fee. It is what it is. Space for improvement? Of course. Breakfast is good. Classic. Nothing to write home about. Pool service is poor, and the pool are mostly remain unattended with strayed towels all around on a busy day -a rare occurrence in itself. Some nice beach setting with chaise lounge and umbrella is on offer, occasionnally right by the water; but why close at 4.00 pm on a warm sunny day?

Hotel Casa Del Mer was an absolute pleasure. The hotel architecture is rather grand. The hotel staff attends you with old school service. From the front desk to the valet to the pool staff, everyone is charming and the service is first class. The room upgrade to pool side was a treat. The room itself was spacious and immaculate and very quiet while we were there. The bathroom was elegant, with excellent tub and water presure, and there was ample closet space for a 4 day trip. The mini bar was well stocked and the TV was enormous with excellent WIFI. Request room 523 if you want your own pool patio access. Breakfast was pricey, commensurate with the quality of the hotel and CA prices in general, but quantity and quality were impressive. The pool area was comfortable. The lounge chairs always seemed available and the pool and hot tub were very clean and not crowded in May. The view to the Santa Monica pier was lovely. For our purposes the location was perfect for walking the beach and accessing the I 10 or 405 when we had to travel. Our only slight hitch was requesting early and late check in/out that had been offered. We did receive both but a bit of hassle was required. Overall this was the best hotel stay I have enjoyed in some time. I will certainly choose Casa Del Mer every time I am in LA.

Really lovely place to stay in Los Angeles. Pricey, but worth it. Recommended.

Casa del Mar is absolutely gorgeous, and the entire experience was outstanding from start to finish. The service was incredible and the food was delicious. A special shoutout to Brian at check-in. I had accidentally booked the wrong date, and he went completely out of his way to accommodate me. That kind of service is rare and very much appreciated. Highly recommend!!

Wow. What a fantastic hotel, staff and location. Beautiful historic building right on the beach. Perfectly renovated and maintained. Will definitely be back our family loved our stay.