Similar offers
Information:
Information:
Information:
Quote-start

God bless America? No, God bless the NHS.

Quote-end

5 Jan 21st, 2009  (Jan 31st, 2009)

71 Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful

Advantages:
Geared up for tourism; good weather; good base for exploring

Disadvantages:
none during daylight !

Recommendable Yes:

Detailed rating:

Value for Money

Sightseeing

Shopping

Nightlife

Ease of getting around

kevin121

kevin121

About me:

Less than 1000 points til I'm finally Orange! It seems like ages since I turned red! Alerts haven't...

Member since:21.11.2005

Reviews:49

Members who trust:71

I had opted to stay in Santa Monica when I travelled to California on a recent fly-drive. From here, I figured, I could see most of Los Angeles, before heading inland to stay at Anaheim, to meet The Mouse and his friends. Despite it being part of Greater Los Angeles, if you want to stay in LA, where you stay will probably come down to three neighbourhoods: Hollywood (which despite the heritage is really quite down at heel and grubby); Anaheim (to visit Disneyland) or here.

Judging from what I saw, a large part of the income in Santa Monica itself is based on tourism. Either in the amount of restaurants and cafes and bars there are, and the hotel/motel trade. It strikes me that there isn't really a difference between a hotel and a motel here because from what I saw, they all seem to provide ample parking. We chose to stay at a Days Inn on Santa Monica Boulevard itself as the hotel was reasonably priced but didn't seem tacky from the photos.

Broadly speaking, when it comes to the roads, the Streets run North to South (parallel to the beach) and the Avenues run West to East. Although I'm not the best of navigator's, this did make things easier for me when we were trying to find our way around the neighbourhood in the hire car.

The heart of the town, if that's what you can call it, is the Downtown area. This is from Pacific Coast Highway up to Lincoln Boulevard. The main attraction for tourists, be it shopping, dining out or clubbing is situated around Third Street Promenade, a wide pedestrianised street where you can dine al fresco and people-watch at the same time.

I can't talk about Santa Monica and not mention it's pier. This pier was built in 1909 and in the first building you come to called the Hippodrome Carousel Building, you will find the oldest carousel in the States, dating from 1922. Walk to the end of the pier beyond the usual touristy tatt and you'll come to the big wheel, or Ferris Wheel as the American's call it. You can't go there and not have a ride up in this, you get fantastic views looking up and down the beaches. This is supposedly one of the best locations in LA for watching the sun setting, but we weren't there at nightime, we were too busy tucking into our dinners back at a Third Street Promenade Italian restaurant. You can park on the pier itself at a cost of $8, but we chose to park along the seafront and walk to it.

The beaches themselves are clean and have lovely golden sand. There was a lifeguard on duty the morning that we went there, who has an area marked around him where you aren't allowed to sit. This was presumably to give him clear vision of the sea. I was expecting that this being Los Angeles, home of cosmetic surgery, and this being the beach where they had actually filmed the TV series Baywatch, I would feel out of place and be surrounded by only the most honed and beautiful bodies. I was relieved to find that that wasn't the case at all, it seemed very family friendly judging from the amount of people who had come with their youngsters.

On a more serious note, the only disconcerting thing for me in Santa Monica were the adults we saw begging here, complete with cardboard signs saying why they needed the money. One man we saw whilst we were eating our dinner al fresco in a diner along Third Street had written that he needed $50,000 for an operation. I couldn't help feeling uncomfortable sitting there, after all we were both chowing down on some lovely Italian food without a care in the world, whilst the man not thirty feet from us apparently had nothing to his name and was prepared to sacrifice his dignity to sit on the pavement with a cardboard sign in front of him.

Now, I don't know their personal circumstances, but it's indicitive of a country as big as the US that so many people apparently fall through the net when it comes to health care. I know they have two social healthcare systems in place called Medicaid and Medicare which are meant to cover essential health problems for those who don't have company healthcare plans, but presumably more complex surgery wouldn't be covered. For all it's faults, I've not known anyone to have to pay for the likes of an organ transplant in the UK.

Having spent three days there, and seen most of the other neighbourhoods in LA that we had wanted to see, I would say that Santa Monica is probably one of the nicer areas in the greater LA district that you can stay in. It's nowhere near as expensive as Bel Air or Beverly Hills and less seedy than Hollywood. If you've hired a car, then a short drive of about 6 or 7 miles straight up Santa Monica Boulevard will lead you right to these places for visiting anyway.

The only caution I would advise any travellers is, as when travelling anywhere, you do need to take care if you're out and about after dark. As with a lot of places I've been to in the States, what seems nice and welcoming during the day when it's bustling with people, takes on a different tone after dark. Venice Beach is a prime example of this. Just at the southern end of greater Santa Monica, it is definitely off limits after sunset.

The weather was excellent when we went in July, about 80 degrees with hardly a cloud in the sky and I would imagine that even in Spring or Autumn you would find the weather agreeable. The only potential hazard is the forest fires which spread through parts of LA virtually every year with devastating consequences for locals.

If you're thinking of going to LA at all, I would definitely recommend Santa Monica as a place to visit, or better yet as a place to stay. 

How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines

exceptional

very helpful

helpful

somewhat helpful

not helpful

off topic

Products you might be interested in »

Hilton Los Angeles-Los Angeles Airport, Los Angeles

Hilton Los Angeles-Los Angeles Airport, Los Angeles

Hotel - 5711 West Century Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90045, USA - 4 Stars - 1236 Rooms

Rate it now

Buy now for only £ 49.87

Sofitel, Los Angeles

Sofitel, Los Angeles

Hotel - 8555 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA - 4 Stars - 311 Rooms

User reviews (1)

Buy now for only £ 95.28

Ramada Inn Hollywood Near Universal Studios, Los Angeles

Ramada Inn Hollywood Near Universal Studios, Los Angeles

Hotel - 1160 North Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90029, USA - 2 Stars - 130 Rooms

Rate it now

Buy now for only £ 36.13

Hollywood Inn Express South, Los Angeles

Hollywood Inn Express South, Los Angeles

Hotel - 141 N Alvarado St, Los Angeles, CA 90802, USA - 74 Rooms

Rate it now

Buy now for only £ 31.63

Wilshire Grand Hotel and Centre, Los Angeles

Wilshire Grand Hotel and Centre, Los Angeles

Hotel - 930 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90017, USA - 4 Stars - 896 Rooms

Rate it now

Buy now for only £ 18.83

Miyako Inn and Spa, Los Angeles

Miyako Inn and Spa, Los Angeles

Hotel - 328 East First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012-3902, USA - 2 Stars - 174 Rooms

Rate it now

Buy now for only £ 51.04

Comments about this review »

KateHurst 01.06.2009 23:25

Very informative - it is quite true that there are some places you just shouldn't venture into after dark (I have relatives in South Africa and they don't walk anywhere after dark, plus every home has a little notice on the wall stating which security firm they are looked after by) and it is brilliant that you've added factors like this to your review. I think you've got a bit of everything in here - the atmosphere, some history, the tourist attractions. A great mini-guide!

ben-lloyd 16.04.2009 11:18

Hey, really great review. Thanks - you have educated me ;-)

jo145 13.04.2009 22:00

Don't suppose I'll ever go to california, but a really great review. Jo x

Similar offers for Santa Monica, Los Angeles »

1 to 10 out of 189 similar offers for Santa Monica, Los Angeles Show all similar offers
Georgian Hotel,  Santa Monica

Georgian Hotel, Santa Monica


Information: 
:  Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked......
 Visit Shop  >
Ebookers
Santa Monica, Bogota

Santa Monica, Bogota


Information: 
:  Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked......
 Visit Shop  >
easytobook.com
Medplaya Santa Monica, Calella

Medplaya Santa Monica, Calella


Information: 
:  Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked......
 Visit Shop  >
easytobook.com
Santa Monica Motel, SANTA MONICA

Santa Monica Motel, SANTA MONICA

SANTA MONICA


Information: 
:  Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
 Visit Shop  >
Lastminute.com
The Oceana - Santa Monica,  Santa Monica

The Oceana - Santa Monica, Santa Monica


Information: 
:  Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
 Visit Shop  >
Ebookers
Viceroy Santa Monica,  Santa Monica

Viceroy Santa Monica, Santa Monica


Information: 
:  Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
 Visit Shop  >
Ebookers
Travelodge Santa Monica Beach, Santa Monica

Travelodge Santa Monica Beach, Santa Monica

Santa Monica


Information: 
:  Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
 Visit Shop  >
Lastminute.com
Viceroy Santa Monica, Santa Monica

Viceroy Santa Monica, Santa Monica

Santa Monica


Information: 
:  Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
 Visit Shop  >
Lastminute.com
Doubletree Guest Suites Santa Monica, Santa Monica

Doubletree Guest Suites Santa Monica, Santa Monica

Santa Monica


Information: 
:  Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
 Visit Shop  >
Lastminute.com
Days Inn Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica

Days Inn Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica

Santa Monica


Information: 
:  Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
 Visit Shop  >
Lastminute.com


Similar »

H.I. Los Angeles / Santa Monica, Los Angeles - review by sunshine_supergirl

Advantages: Location, Standard, Price
Disadvantages: Little privacy but only what you would expect in a Hostel

H.I. Los Angeles / Santa Monica, Los Angeles - review by sunshine_supergirl sunshine_supergirl 08.05.2007 (14.06.2008) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of H.I. Los Angeles / Santa Monica, Los Angeles

Santa Monica Pier - review by kevin121

Advantages: Beautiful views of the pacific ocean and surrounding neighbourhoods
Disadvantages: Can get busy in summer

Santa Monica Pier - review by kevin121 kevin121 14.12.2008 (14.12.2008) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Santa Monica Pier

Days Inn Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica - review by kevin121

Advantages: Well located; reasonably priced rooms; large beds
Disadvantages: Not much in the way of hotel facilities

Days Inn Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica - review by kevin121 kevin121 27.12.2008 (27.12.2008) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Days Inn Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica

General: California - review by crhawk100

Advantages: all year round climate {except for this year 2005}
Disadvantages: first impressions were a bit iffy to say the least

General: California - review by crhawk100 crhawk100 11.04.2005 (11.04.2005) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of General: California



Are you the manufacturer / provider of Santa Monica, Los Angeles? Click here