4 Points Santa Monica Sheraton
 

Hi!

I promised that I would post a review of Four Points SM when I returned, so here you go.

Overall, I would give the hotel 4 stars - regardless of what the pros say. It was absolutely lovely!

The employees were great. They went out of their way to help me... even got a room upgrade when I asked for a better view of the ocean.

The rooms - wonderful! They had very nice decor - big beds with several pillows and a down comforter. They were quite cozy. I have to admit, I was impressed with the rooms. If you get a regular room, it has a little balcony that overlooks Pico street and the ocean is about 3 blocks away. Not a great view, but a view non the less.

A suggestion to anyone staying there - spend the extra money ($30 for my upgrade) and get an ocean view room. Each ocean view room has a large terrace with furniture so you can relax and watch the ocean.

The only drawbacks I experienced were:
-- It's directly across the street from Santa Monica High School. The morning bell is just loud enough to wake you up. The other issue with the high school is traffic before and after school.
-- Parking! There was a large wedding there on our last weekend and the hotel ran out of parking spots. All of the cars were double parked and some of the valets did not give the guests numbered tags so there was a huge wait to retrieve your cars the next day.

However, overall, for $74/night on Hotwire, I thought this hotel was a fantastic deal. Granted, I've stayed at nicer hotels, but never at that price.

I would recommend it to anyone.

Oh- and one more thing for all of the single girls out there... it's the layover hotel for the airline crews. No exaggeration - I met a different pilot each night at their bar/cabana area! Just a little something to share. : )

janelle: Thanks for the great report. I have checked out that hotel but have not stayed there. Someone today on this board was trying to decide if it is too far from the beach- would you adress that? They were consideirng two ther hotels that are smaller and have no amenities to speak of, in order to get closer to the beach. I think Four Points is a walkable short 4 blocks to the beach, but would like your take on that.
You go tsuch a great Hotwire rate- and your is the second post I've seen about great hotwire rate at this hotel (other was on tripadvisor.com)
BTW- never would have thought about impact of the high school!

Samo High (where most of the Brat Pack went to high school and all my friends kids go there) is OUT for the summer. Today's the last day, so no worries.

While thinking about this, there's another mini hotel right around the corner on 4th -- the Double Tree Suites or residence, something like that, which is right across from the Santa Monica Courthouse and Civic Auditorium and easy access to the beach, promenade and Main Street. I've been there numerous times for lunch meetings, and it seems very nice. I think a lot of out of town lawyers use it when they need to make a morning appearance at the SM Court.

Glad to hear this is helping people!

Regarding the distance to the beach, it is a VERY easy walk. If you walk three blocks (downhill), you walk straight into the entry of Shutters, which was very nice. I had dinner there and it was scrumptous and not even that expensive.

Right behind Shutters is the beach, which has wonderful bike/walking/rollerblading paths. We rented bikes and rode from SM Pier up past Venice. It was gorgeous and a really fun ride. Not to mention the great fun in people watching. And, if you don't want to go to Shutters, there is a nice walkway to the beach.

4 Points really is the best of both worlds regarding rates, service, features, and location.

After spending 6 days at Four Points SM, I have to say, I'm looking at homes in LA. What a great vacation!

Janelle,

What did you end up doing with your son?