Editorial score of 9.2 of 10, the composite average of the three factors above (Rooms, Service, Location). Method at our methodology page. Affiliate disclosure: booking links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you, and never change our verdict.
Why is Hotel Casa del Mar a top Santa Monica beach stay?
Hotel Casa del Mar earns its place because it puts you on the sand in a genuine landmark rather than a beach hotel built to look like one. The Renaissance Revival building at 1910 Ocean Way opened in 1926 as a private beach club for Los Angeles's transplant elite, designed with an arcaded ground floor and coffered ceilings to announce that the Pacific coast had reached European resort standards. A restoration in the late 1990s converted it to a hotel without stripping out its character, so the marble corridors, the oceanfront terrace and the direct beach access are much as the original members knew them. In 2026 the building marks its centennial, which is a reminder that the address has been synonymous with the Santa Monica shoreline for a hundred years.
The reason to choose it over the newer coastal options is the specific alignment of the place. This is a hotel where the ocean is roughly thirty feet from the front door, where most rooms face the water, and where the design keeps pointing you back toward the Pacific rather than inward. It is a five-star property run with warmth rather than formality, the kind of service that suits a honeymoon or a long weekend more than a corporate booking. Set your expectations for a historic beachfront hotel with genuine period bones, not a glass-and-steel resort, and understand that the beach outside is a busy public one, and Casa del Mar delivers one of the strongest oceanfront stays in the city.
What are the best rooms to request?
Request an ocean-view room or suite as high as your budget allows, because the water is the entire point here and the height sharpens it. Most of the 129 rooms and suites face the Pacific, and the design aligns the bed, the window and the bathroom's hydrotherapy tub toward the ocean, so the view is present whether you are sleeping, soaking or standing on the balcony. The bathrooms are Italian white marble with the hydrotherapy tub and Diptyque amenities, and the upper categories add space and a cleaner sightline over the sand toward Palos Verdes on one side and Malibu on the other. The two-floor penthouse with its wraparound terrace is the property's best accommodation, positioned at the crown of the 1926 building directly above the water.
The honest caveats are the ones common to historic beachfront hotels. Because this is a nearly century-old building, room sizes and layouts vary, and the lower or partial-view categories do not deliver the full postcard that the marketing implies, so it is worth paying up for a clear ocean view rather than a courtyard or partial one. The beach at the door is Santa Monica State Beach, which is public, popular and can be noisy by day, so light sleepers should ask for a higher floor. Book a high ocean-view category, treat the hydrotherapy tub and the window as the two features you are paying for, and the room rewards it.
Ask for a high ocean-view room on the Malibu-facing side for the sunset, and run a hydrotherapy soak as the light drops for the room's signature moment. Book Terrazza for a window table at dusk, and if you are marking an occasion, give the team a day's notice so they can arrange floristry, champagne and a beach or terrace setting.
What is the dining like at Hotel Casa del Mar?
Dining centres on Terrazza, the hotel's lobby restaurant, which trades the earlier seafood concept for an Italian-coast menu served under floor-to-ceiling windows that give roughly 180-degree views over the Pacific. It runs from breakfast through lunch to evening cocktails with live music, so it works as both the all-day room and the destination dinner, and the ocean is a constant presence rather than a backdrop glimpsed from a corner. The kitchen leans on small plates and coastal Italian cooking suited to a beachfront setting, and the lobby lounge and in-room dining extend the offer so a full day can be spent without leaving the sand. For a beach hotel, having a genuine sit-down room with this outlook is a real draw rather than a convenience.
Does it have a spa and pool?
Yes, and wellness is one of the hotel's defining strengths. Sea Wellness Spa runs the treatment menu with an eco-minded, coastal approach, and there is a heated outdoor pool set to catch the ocean views. The signature wellness feature, though, is in the rooms themselves: the hydrotherapy tub in every room means the bathing experience is central to a stay here rather than something you book separately, which is unusual and specific to Casa del Mar. Between the spa, the pool and the in-room tubs, the property makes a coherent case as a restorative beach base, and the sand and the boardwalk outside add the walking and swimming that round out the day.
Signature amenities
On Santa Monica State Beach
Directly on Santa Monica State Beach, near the pier · about 25 min from LAX
What's nearby
- Santa Monica Pier
Boardwalk & rides8 min walk - Third Street Promenade
Shops & dining12 min walk - Shutters on the Beach
Neighbouring hotel1 min walk - Venice Boardwalk
Beach path south10 min drive - Malibu & PCH
Coast north25 min drive
The landmark, the tubs, the terrace
Facade
Ocean-view room
Pool
TerrazzaHow does Hotel Casa del Mar compare with the other beach stays?
Against the field, Hotel Casa del Mar is the historic, Italianate oceanfront choice, and the decision comes down to the mood you want on the sand. Shutters on the Beach is its sister property one minute up the sand, a Cape Cod cottage-style hotel with a more casual, New England feel, and the two are the classic Santa Monica pair. Malibu Beach Inn trades Santa Monica for Carbon Beach in Malibu, smaller and more exclusive, the pick if you want the quieter, more private stretch of coast. The Georgian Hotel is the Art Deco option a block back from the sand, with character and value but without the direct beach. Casa del Mar's own trade-off is that it is a busy public beach at the door and the oceanfront premium is steep.
| Hotel | Style | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel Casa del Mar | 1926 Italianate beach landmark | Ocean views, hydrotherapy tubs, romance | Public beach, steep oceanfront rates |
| Shutters on the Beach | Cape Cod beach hotel | Casual coast, families, the same sand | Less grand, equally priced |
| Malibu Beach Inn | Carbon Beach boutique | Privacy, exclusivity, quieter coast | Small, far from the city, needs a car |
| The Georgian Hotel | Art Deco Santa Monica landmark | Character, value, ocean-adjacent | Across the road from the sand, not on it |
Frequently asked questions
Where is Hotel Casa del Mar and when was it built?
Hotel Casa del Mar is at 1910 Ocean Way in Santa Monica, directly on Santa Monica State Beach near the pier. The Renaissance Revival building opened in 1926 as a private beach club, was restored and converted to a hotel in the late 1990s, and marks its centennial in 2026.
How many rooms does Hotel Casa del Mar have?
There are 129 rooms and suites, most facing the ocean, with Italian white marble bathrooms, hydrotherapy tubs and Diptyque amenities. The upper categories and the penthouse are aligned so the bed, the bath and the window all face the Pacific.
What is the restaurant at Hotel Casa del Mar?
The hotel's restaurant is Terrazza, in the lobby, with an Italian-coast menu and floor-to-ceiling windows giving roughly 180-degree views over the Pacific. It serves breakfast, lunch and evening cocktails with music, and there is ocean-facing and in-room dining alongside it.
Does Hotel Casa del Mar have a spa and pool?
Yes. Sea Wellness Spa runs the treatment menu, and there is a heated outdoor pool with ocean views. The signature wellness feature is the hydrotherapy tub in every room, so the in-room bathing experience is central rather than an add-on to the spa.
Is Hotel Casa del Mar good for a honeymoon or proposal?
Yes. The alignment of the ocean view, the bed and the hydrotherapy tub makes an in-room honeymoon setting that needs no extra programming, and the beach and penthouse terrace suit a proposal. The team handles floristry, champagne and photographer coordination. The trade-offs are valet-only parking, high oceanfront rates and beachfront that is public and busy.
Other luxury stays in Los Angeles
#9 · Santa MonicaShutters on the Beach
#26 · MalibuMalibu Beach Inn
#37 · Santa Monica