Shutters on the Beach

We go every year to LA to visit family and stay at two hotels. The wonderful Beverly Hills hotel and then we go down the beach and stay at shutters. Unfortunately Santa Monica has deteriorated massively over the years but we keep hoping it will start to revive. We booked the hotel through Amex this time and received a few nice perks. $200 towards food. Arrival drinks and an upgrade if possible. This was the first problem. We were offered an accessible room. Kevin told us it was the best room and there was another accessible room but it wasn’t ready. Walked to the furthest point of the hotel and entered what can only be described as the worst room in shutters. We went back to Kevin and said it wasn’t acceptable. Miraculously the room which wasn’t ready was ready. We looked at it and it was our usual beautiful room. Kevin told us the hotel was very busy and there wasn’t a table for dinner. You can imagine how that went down. Miraculously a table was found. Dinner and breakfast were excellent but we felt the whole service in the main bar was very poor. A duo (piano and bass, lovely girl singer ) was ruined by an over zealous bass player. He did a very loud bass solo in every song ( lovely girl, ditch the bass player. ) for the first time we are not sure if we will come back again. I also don’t like the resort fee. We don’t use any of the amenities they charge you for. Maybe try Ociana hotel further along the coast. Ps as we left we were diverted on Ocean blvd by a shooting in the street. Nice.

Shutters is truly one of Santa Monica’s iconic hotel destinations. Right on the beach, by the beautiful and colorful walkway along the water, it’s hard to beat the location. I’ve been coming here for years- the hotel has a wonderful atmosphere, and the restaurants and bars are equally inviting. I’m a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium member, so I’ve seen a hotel or two over the years 😊, and what really stands out about Shutters is the people and the atmosphere. Coast Beach Café & Bar, the restaurant on the lower level right along the beach, is one of my regular stops. I’ve been coming here for more than 10 years, often two or three times a week when I’m not traveling, usually to get my caffeine fix before heading out for a longboard run. I’ll also stop in from time to time for a beer or one of their tasty Bloody Marys. Lisa and Alex are absolutely fantastic. They’ve been there for years and always make me feel welcome. They know my order, greet me and my kids by name, and somehow always have my espresso ready. They even slice up fresh apples for the kids, who love coming in for the chicken fingers and hot chocolate. That kind of personal service is rare these days. Lisa and Alex are invaluable employees and a big part of why I keep coming back. I also really enjoy the lobby bar and lounge area. The Living Room has a nice little al fresco terrace, where you can sit and watch the sunset, and there’s often music playing in the lobby bar. At times they also have live performers, which adds a great vibe to the whole place. On our most recent visit, Kate took care of my wife and me, and she was friendly, quick, and genuinely a pleasure to see. There is one area that I do think has unfortunately not been a shining star, and that’s the management. Mary, who was wonderful, is no longer with the hotel, which is a real shame. Sophia has been there for quite some time, but unfortunately, I’ve consistently found her interactions with guests and employees to be less than welcoming. On our last visit, my witnessed her berating our waitress, and it just didn’t look or feel professional. I actually had an experience with her about a year ago as well. I saw her, said hello, and called her by name, and she essentially scuffed and rolled her eyes at me without saying anything. At the time, I figured maybe she was just having a bad day and didn’t think much of it. But after repeated visits and seeing how she interacts with her employees, it unfortunately seems to be more of a pattern. And that’s disappointing because the rest of the staff is so friendly and welcoming. On the other hand, Art at the upstairs 1 Pico Restaurant bar is also always welcoming and efficient, and Katie at the hostess stand is consistently there with a smile and ready to help. Also, Pierce, who manages the valet entrance, is always attentive. The 3 of them are great example of the kind of employee who makes a difference. Overall, I highly recommend Shutters and its restaurants. The location is fantastic, the atmosphere is relaxed and fun, the sunset views are beautiful, and the music and the live performers make the lobby a great place to hang out. But more than anything, it’s the longtime employees who make this place special. A very special shout-out to Lisa and Alex at Coast. After more than 10 years, they still greet me with a smile, know my order, and make my kids feel welcome. That kind of service is priceless- and it’s a big reason we’ll keep coming back.

It's a great luxury hotel. As we live in LA, we rarely stay. Yesterday, our CPA appointment ran unexpectedly short and we bridged our time until dinner with drinks on their balcony. Service, ambiance (and view) and drinks we as nice as one would expect from a place like this. We were the only table who did not get chips with their drinks. Why "only" four out of five stars? Because of the chips? C'mon, gimme a break. Of course not. Without question this is a very upscale hotel. I try to avoid to combine this with upscale expectations - how could you rate this say against a $100-a-night-motel. The motel will always fall short. So in my rating world, when I go, the place as automatically three stars. If it had not, I would not go. Depending on the experience, regardless of the status of the place, I give it more, or ... less. The place is and was really nice and I highly recommend it. By pure definition, it sure deserves five stars. A five star hotel with five star service and five star prices. Now, having lived in the world of the rich-beauty-famous for most of my life, that alone does not impress me too much. If the five star hotel would fall short - and I have seen this, my individual experience may lead to two stars or less, and sadly, it happened. In this case, we loved it and would go again. BUT: to achieve five stars in my rating scheme, I need to be willing to make a 30+ min detour just to go to this particular place. And while ambiance, view & stuff was nice, it was not nice/ special/ outstanding enough to earn its five points. And after Shutters, I went to a place that was clearly worth five stars. A place I have been to often, in walking distance - and a place to I would drive an hour out of my way just to go. But that's another story :-)

We combined a celebration of my mother's 85th birthday with dropping my son off for his freshman year of college into a weekend at Shutters. We arranged for a private birthday party in the Coast Restaurant in the private dining room, and we also gathered the whole family together the next morning for breakfast in our room with room service. The rooms, the service, and the food were all exceptional, and the hotel staff very consistently went above and beyond for the event. I've been visiting this hotel on and off for more than thirty years since I first came to Los Angeles, and it's really impressive how well they've kept up the standards!

The Shutters is a wonderful experience the location, rooms ,staff and service were excellent. Expectations were high and they were exceeded. We had a small medical issue while there and the staff was so attentive and helpful!!! Along with providing what we needed without asking.