We are spending time in both Newport Beach and Anaheim with grand kids and then we want to wrap up our trip in the Santa Monica area. We plan to spend a day at the Reagan Library and then a day (Saturday because late opening) at the Getty Villa and Getty Center. Then we will have one free day plus some time the morning that we depart from LAX. Any suggestions for lodging. One place that I am considering is Channel Road Inn. I know you will want to have a price range. I would like to say no more than $300 but am certainly fine with less. Two of the three days we will be gone most of the day. Any thoughts?

When is your trip? Santa Monica is not a cheap place to stay. I plugged a midweek date in November (not Thanksgiving week) into booking.com, both the Wyndham and the Georgian are under $300 not including tax and parking. Georgian has no pool though. There are others, take a look.

We will be there March 31, April 1 & 2. A pool is not important because it will only be the 2 of us.

Marina del Rey has a number of hotels, from Ritz Carlton to Marriott Courtyard, and in between. We have liked the Jamaica Bay Inn.

A client put me up at Loewe's so I don't know how much it cost. I could see the Pier from the right place on the sofa, and I rented a bike nearby to visit Venice and Marina del Rey. It was a good client!