alibi13

Hi, Does anyone know anything about the Sheraton 4 Points in Santa Monica? My brother and his girlfriend, and my father and another brother, will be spending 1 night in Santa Monica, and they are thinking of staying here. Most other places are either way too expensive for their budget, or require a 2 night stay. I thought mabe the Bayview Hotel closer to the beach, or the Cal Mar Hotel. Thoughts?

emd

alibi: What Bayview hotel are you talking about? The only Bayview I know of is the former Holiday Inn Bayview, which is now the Four Points. Four Points is pretty nice for a Four Points. I stopped in to look at it while staying in SM recently. It was recently renovated and has nice rooms and furniture and a nice big outdoor pool. But it is a few blocks off the beach (4 short blocks). It is walkable- you could take a chair and small cooler and go down to the beach and stay for a good part of the day, but you wouldn't want to forget something at the hotel and have to walk back. (Also, there is a little place to eat right on Pico and Main, in the direct path you take to walk to the beach from the hotel, where you can walk back up a block from the beach and grab a sandwich or something for lunch. It looks kind of funky, pink, green, blue, like a little beach place you'd see in the Caribbean, but the food is pretty good to go or eat in their outdoor covered area.) One nice thing about Four Points is it is close to Main St., where there are alot of places to eat, some of them very good (like Chinois). There is a neat farmer's market on Main behind the Victorian place on Sunday mornings, w/great omelet bar, fresh produce, cheeses, flowers, fresh baked goods, waffle and crepe stands, live music, some crafts, etc. It's neat, and very southern CA, and you can walk to it from the hotel. So I like the Four Points Area. It is not real near the 3rd St. Promenade shopping and dining area, although it is walkable to it in my opinion (15 min walk).

alibi13

Thanks for the thumbs up on the Sheraton. The other hotel is actually called the Bayside Hotel and not the Bayview. It's owned by the same people who own the Cal Mar hotel. Thanks for all the area suggestions.

emd

I don't know the Bayside Hotel (or the Cal Mar) but I'll look it up and post on what the location looks like to me- I know the layout of SM.

emd

I looked them up. As it turns out, I do know the Cal-Mar. I walked in and checked it out once as I thoguht of staying there for several weeks when I had a long wrok stint in SM (it is a converted appt. so you get a full kitchen, lots of space, etc., and I wanted to be able to cook). There was no AC when I checked it out, and there are posts on tripasdvisor indicating that there is still no AC. I left when I found that out. It can get hot in Santa Monica in summer, not dreadfully hot, but I spent a week housesitting in a friends house there last June without AC and it was hot during mid-day, and even at night- we used fans but it was still warm. It is a small property (36 suites) and has basically no services except cleaning. It needs updating if they haven't done it since I was there- it was kind of dumpy. Also no elevator. On a residential street so it is quiet. # or so blocks from the Promenade.
I looked up Bayside, and while I do not recall seeing it in person, it is close to my friend's house where I was housesitting. I tis more like a small drive up motel, 36 rooms. It is on Ocean Ave., btwn. the 3rd St Promenade, Main St., and the Pier. Tripadviosr.com has mixed reviews of both of these places. No restaurants or bar in either one, also no AC at Bayside. It sounds like it needs an overhaul, although it is close to the beach.. Have you checked tripadvisor.com for reviews? Both have several. The Four Points has gotten very good reviews since they completed their renovation in last 4-5 months.
Bear in mind that in Santa Monica you can walk and play on the beach, rent bikes on the walkway on the beach, etc.- but no one goes in the water without a wetsuit,even in summer. So as long as they can walk to the beach, they will eb ok- it;s not like they are goign to go swimming in the cold pacific water and then be sorry they have to walk wet back to the hotel...

emd

Jsut wanted to pointout that you might want to take a look at the report posted by janellelewis on this board just now - she stayed at Four Points Sheraton SM recently and gave it a good report.

alibi13

Thanks for all the help.