PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

Situated on enviable real estate along Ocean Avenue -- right next door to the behemoth Loews -- this welcoming hacienda-style beachfront motel embodies the surfer/sun-worshiper ambience you'd expect from a Santa Monica lodging. The well-tended complex sits above and across an alley from the beach but offers excellent views and direct access to the sand via a private path. The inn offers cheery rooms with California-themed decor -- including beds with down comforters, Egyptian-cotton sheets, and surfboard headboards -- hardwood floors, and Spanish-tiled bathrooms. Five one-bedroom suites also have kitchenettes and trundle beds that make them great for families or longer stays; all rooms have minifridges, 27-inch TVs, and ceiling fans, as well as free wireless Internet. A handful of rooms have only showers in the bathrooms, so be sure to request a room with a tub from the friendly front-desk staff if it matters to you. (And no, it's not the hotel from the Eagles' hit -- that hotel is rumored to be in Mexico and the album's cover photo is of the Beverly Hills Hotel.) Tip: Pay a few bucks extra for a courtyard view, as the cheapest rooms face the parking lot and noisy Ocean Avenue. And be sure to check their website for specials.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Los Angeles 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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