Santa Monica Hotel — Hotel in Santa Monica

Dishonest and Unprofessional – A Nightmare Experience - Do not trust Alisha Richardson

I had an absolutely terrible experience with this establishment, and I feel compelled to warn others. This place is not a hotel—it’s a motel situated right beside a highway, with constant noise that makes it impossible to relax. The description online claimed it was a quiet location near the water, which couldn’t be further from the truth. I was in my room for no more than five minutes before deciding it wasn’t acceptable, and that’s when the real issues began.

I was assured I could cancel without penalty, but instead, I’ve been charged my original booking cost, a “holding fee for incidentals,” and an additional $400 for no apparent reason. In total, I’ve been charged more than $600 above what I originally agreed to, despite not staying a single night. When I contacted Alisha Richardson, she assured me that I would be refunded everything except the cost of one night. Weeks later, I still haven’t received any refund, and instead, I’ve seen new charges on my credit card that I can’t even begin to explain.

I now have to cancel my credit card because I genuinely don’t trust this business. The lack of communication and the random charges make me feel completely taken advantage of. The staff I dealt with at check-in seemed young and inexperienced, and the whole situation has been handled with what feels like complete disregard for honesty or professionalism.

This has been an extremely frustrating experience. I ultimately stayed at the Ocean View Hotel for the week—it was $200 more, but worth every penny for a clean, peaceful environment and staff who don’t engage in these shady practices.

If you value your time, money, and peace of mind, do yourself a favor and avoid this place. I will be reporting this business to the Better Business Bureau and considering legal action. There’s no excuse for running an operation in such an unprofessional and seemingly deceptive manner. Stay anywhere else.

Note: I’ve attached my email from them stating they would reverse all charges except for one night which is not what I agreed to. However I have been charged more and also no reversal or refunds have been made...

Just arrived in the beautiful Santa Monica and just pulled up to Santa Monica motel checked in and went to our room (17) which had a fridge seeing as it was upstairs.

Opened the door and all three of us just looked at each other however trying to remain positive neither of us could overlook the food debris on the floor shabby decor, curtains and bed clothes. There was grey dust on the brown curtains and on the Windows. Under the bed we found coins, wrappers and remains of a granny's phone case. It was clear from this that rather than picking up the mess, the maid just kicked it under the bed. The kitchenette has tea stains, dripped down the fridge and about a years worth of dirt on the kitchen shelf. Generally there was an abundance of dirt and dust on the kitchen floor (I would give it a one out of five for food preparation cleanliness) and the grouting in the shower was a lovely vibrant orange from previous users... Although cheap accommodation it could have been at least clean.

We quickly reviewed other available accommodation in the area and the motel receptionist kindly refunded us 4 nights accommodation however we still had one night in the SMM of horror. That night, we slept fully clothed on top of towels from fear of bed bugs.

The dirtiest accommodation we have ever stayed in.

To conclude, better to shell out a bit more for something you can trust such as a more reputable company such as the Marriott (which was our...

Found the Santa Monica Hotel on Hotel Tonight and saw the cute photos with my fave color - pink - and had to stay. |Free parking was a nice plus! 15-20 min walk to beach was very enticing. |The check in and room and late check out all exceeded our expectations. The pictures online lived up to the reality. There was a cute seal stuffy on the bed with a welcome card! Receiving a hand-written card from Sierra was so nice. I’m keeping it!|We asked Laura for a late checkout and she was so accommodating. She really took some pressure off of us to rush in the morning. |Forgot to bring cash for tip but have to shoutout Ruth for keeping the rooms so nice and clean and hospitable. The water was filled in the Nespresso machine which was a nice little pick me up. |The listing said no breakfast so I was so pleased to have all the breakfast options in the morning. Very vegan-friendly options - more than our stay the previous night at a Hilton brand hotel. |Please stay here! The atmosphere is so warm and inviting. The hotel is so charming with a cute little lounge area. The price was perfect and great value for this area and being so close to the pier and third street promenade. |It is a drive up and park motel style hotel. We slept with the windows open and the noise level was perfectly fine. We felt totally safe. The front desk is open 24 hours and they have the door open all the time. Was not worried about anyone...