Oceana Santa Monica, LXR Hotels & Resorts

very good！

This hotel regularly sells for over $1k. I'm genuinely perplexed at so many glowing reviews. The structure is a converted motel or old apartment building, while the interior has been almost completely updated, it still has a motel feel. The walls are paper thin, the floors squeak, and the bathroom door takes a lot of effort to open and close. I received a pre-arrival email asking about preferences. We actually exchanged 2 or 3 emails where I requested a room not on the ground floor. The associate also mentioned a suite upgrade (I'm a Diamond member). However upon arrival, I was told that the property is full, not only no upgrade, we got the smallest room (judging from the diagram) on the ground floor with a view of a wall. While the room is nicely decorated, the bed linen is not premium at all. The bathroom counter space is almost non-existent. The room is also oddly shaped, with a large TV pushed in a corner, and a desk pushed in a different corner. Single tiny window looking out to a wall (the other side of the wall is a dingy apartment building). For a high-end hotel carrying a premium price, one would expect pretty good service. In fact the level of service is no different from a no-frill brand such as Hampton Inn. Aside from the small pool, there are basically no amenities. No turndown service at night. There is not even a coffee maker in the room. We made a request for additional water bottles that got ignored. Had to call a 2nd time. Overall it was a disappointing stay. The location is good for our purpose. It takes 20 minutes to walk to Santa Monica pier. Parking across the street is easy and free after 6pm.