Hotel Review: The Shore Hotel Santa Monica
***While we do often review travel destinations where accommodations are provided, this is not a sponsored post. It is my honest review of a place that I enjoyed staying, and hope that I can share this gem with you as well! 🙂
A Short Getaway to Santa Monica
When I (Laci) had a day-long workshop scheduled to be held early in the morning in Santa Monica, I knew that it would be a challenge to make it into the city from our home without encountering hours worth of traffic. Hmm, I thought…what if I just stayed right there the night before, and made it a little “Mama beach getaway?” I roped in a friend who was also headed to the same workshop, and we started searching online for the perfect place for a girl’s night.
I’m so glad I discovered the Shore Hotel. What a cool place! It’s located right across the street from the beach, and very close to the Santa Monica pier. It’s also a short walk to plenty of neat local stores and restaurants.
Welcome to The Shore
Though the driveway can be a little tricky to pull into (you have to make sure you approach it on the right side of the road, and it’s a sharp turn with not much warning), you’re met with great customer service from the moment you arrive. I parked at the check in space, and the valet helped direct me to the front desk, where check-in was easy and fast. They even offered me a bubbly drink while I waited in the beautifully decorated lobby.
Super trendy style
This was a double bed room, which was perfect for me and my friend. I really loved the turquoise and orange color scheme. That bright pop of color is SO me! It gave it a trendy, hip vibe that I wish I could recreate at home.
There were plenty of neat details, like the comfy chair with the bright red table full of area travel info and magazines, and the concierge newsletter that pointed out nearby Farmer’s Markets and restaurants. There were even special activities hosted by the hotel, listed on the back of the newsletter!
A Tech-Lover's Dream
I also appreciated the alarm clock by the bed that had a wireless charging station and usb ports. I can’t count how many times I’ve stayed in a place where I get frustrated at the lack of places to charge my device near the bed! This place had a well-thought out amount of outlets, so I was able to work on my laptop, charge my Kindle, and plug in my cellphone all at once.
There was plenty of drawer space to store my luggage, and a tall bureau to hang my coat in. I like how the orange-y wood color matches the rest of the room’s feel. Under the coffeemaker, there was even a mini-fridge, which was useful for storing my leftovers from dinner.
I decided to try out Doordash for the first time, where I ordered a yummy salmon dinner from The Cheesecake Factory. It was really easy to do; you just choose a restaurant and meal, and tell them where to deliver it. In this case, the “Dasher” simply met me in the lobby, and I picked up my hot meal to enjoy on my balcony in the ocean air.
By the way, the customer service here is top-notch. When I walked down to pick up my dinner, the front desk staff greeted me by name and wished me a nice evening. Very cool!
Privacy Please? :/
When I originally researched this hotel before I booked the room, one thing that concerned me was seeing photos like this:
Notice anything…um…MISSING between the toilet and the bed?
That might be a bit awkward when staying with a colleague, I thought. It was hard to tell from the website and other people’s trip photos whether this was truly a see-though wall, and if it was in every room. In the end, I decided to chance it anyway, because a beach-adjacent hotel was just too good to pass up!
You’ll be happy to know that there IS a screen that drops down to hide the bathroom area. So nobody has to watch you in the shower if you don’t want them to. Haha! It’s a switch right by the bathroom light panel that retracts the screen up and down. However, one of the benefits of leaving this screen open most of the time is that you get a lot more light in the room.
Relaxing Rainfall
The bathroom was really spacious and clean. You get plenty of light from the illuminated mirror, which is great for us gals applying makeup, and the shower is roomy. I loved the rain showerhead in the ceiling, because I’m a tall girl! There have been times I’ve had to crouch under too-short showerheads. Not the case here!
I would definitely stay at The Shore again in the future. Despite being right on a major street, the room was quiet and peaceful. Everything was clean and comfortable as well, and the staff treats you like royalty.
I hope that next time I’m in the area, I’ll be able to bring my family and stay for more than one night. It looked like there were all sorts of fun things that the hotel offers (like free beach cruiser bikes), and I would have loved to try the pool area and walk to the nearby beach. At least now I know where to stay the next time I’m in Santa Monica!
