Shore Hotel — Hotel in Santa Monica

Perfection does exist! You don’t always have to sacrifice one thing for another and this hotel proves it. Every little detail was planned and executed with perfection in mind. You don’t sacrifice elegance for practicality. The room is a perfect combination of modern elegance with a design that keeps every little guest need in mind. There is also the addition of neat technological features that just add to the elegance and sophistication. A glass shower overlooking the room with a privacy shade at the touch of a button. You choose privacy or room cleaning by pressing a button that gives a green or red light for house cleaning staff. The amount of glass that’s kept sparkling clean in this hotel is nothing short of magic. Your balcony overlooking the beautiful ocean view and pier is all glass! Like another reviewer mentioned, they modestly call this view “partial ocean view” but it’s just spectacular. With a view and convenient location like this, most hotels will depend on location and neglect important things like cleanliness or service, not this one, it actually has it all under one roof! The heated pool and hot tub, with the elegant vibe that matches the entirety of the hotel and amenities. We made use of the gym, the free bikes (actual perfectly comfortable working ones- not just an addition to amenities on a list that’s run down like other places), the pool, the lobby, and the luggage storage. Now asides from the perfection of the design, decor, and maintenance, this would mean nothing without the service. As impressed as I am with the hotel itself, I must say that I’m taking time out of my vacation (currently in the beautiful balcony) writing this review for the amazing staff that make all the difference. On a scale of 1 to 5, the staff is a 10, no exaggeration. They are handpicked and it shows in their loyalty to their jobs. From David at the front desk, to Tony greeting you at the door, to James with luggage, to the housekeeping who are not intrusive and manage to still do an excellent job, they are all working in perfect harmony. I just stopped by the front desk to ask for all the names of staff so that I thank them properly. I was met by Lena the manager, who is just as professional and lovely as a manager could ever be. Shout out to Tony who chased me to the elevator with some chocolates when I thanked him personally, he’s the sweetest guy welcoming you at every turn. I was told this is a family owned facility and I hope the owner of this beautiful hotel will read my attempt at appreciation through this review. Your dedication to perfection should be modeled in other places. This is nothing short of perfection and it takes very hard work to maintain such a beautiful image. I know you already appreciate your staff enough from the loyalty they emit in all their actions, but I hope this helps you know how lucky you are with the amazing group of people that run the show that you so professionally lead. This is a group of people with smiles showing, even behind their face masks! Thank you for this amazing place and for the 5 star experience that’s missing from 5 star hotels. I’m a frequent traveller worldwide and I know how rare this experience is, so I felt the need to let others know about this...

Beware of booking for business and corporate events!

I was there for the American Film Market and other business engagements. I have stayed at this hotel before but apparently management has changed so this stay was different! That said, if you are a past guest who is considering returning do not expect the experience or the treatment that you remember. For this stay, the issue was a bait-and-switch room rate which began with the hotel contacting me IN WRITING prior to my arrival asking if I would be interested in a nicer room at $4 less per night than what I had already booked. I wanted to be certain that this was a legitimate offer so I called the front desk directly for confirmation prior to my arrival and acceptance of any offer. I spoke with the front desk and inquired if the hotel was indeed offering me a nicer room at $4 per night LOWER than the room that I had already booked. Both the front desk and a manager confirmed that I was indeed being offered a nicer room at a $4 per night lower than the room that I had already booked. Upon check-in, I inquired once more if there would be any additional charges for the nicer room that they were offering me. The staff member who checked me in said no, there would be no additional charges and a nearby manager nodded in approval. This hotel states that phone calls are recorded, so if a guest gets confirmation from a manager on a recorded phone call, receives an approved rate in writing, and is told by staff members in front of hotel cameras there will be no additional charges, then a guest can be assured that there will be no baiting-and-switching of the room rate, right? WRONG! Upon check-out this hotel charged THOUSANDS of additional dollars for the room. I kept calm, followed up with a manager politely and reiterated all of written and verbal confirmations I was given, including the hotel recorded phone call yet I was curtly told “Yeah, I see how you could think that” but that there was no intention of honoring those written and verbal commitments. After MONTHS of time-consuming attempts to resolve this matter internally it appeared that this hotel would finally make good on its commitments, but they ultimately decided to double down. It should be emphasized that the hotel was responsible for this bait-and-switch room rate, not the American Film Market. As to the whether this hotel should remain on an approved hotel list, that would be a decision for others to make. However, moving forward I plan to explore the many other hotel options in the area and would advise others to do the same if asked. Whether you are a family on a budget or whether you are a business booking for a corporate function, conference or event, you cannot have peace of mind if you book a hotel that may or may not honor a previously confirmed price when you arrive. Imagine flying in from another country or from another continent with your family in tow or with dozens of your employees only to be told upon check-out that your rate has more than doubled. What would that do to your family’s budget/savings or do to your company’s expense account and its ability to meet payroll? Save yourself a headache by staying somewhere that...

Horrible service here. My kiddo takes night showers. On night 1 the water wasn't hot but rather lukewarm. We shrugged it off as a 1-off. But on night 2 it was even cooler and basically not even skin temperature so we figured something was broke somewhere or not working. So we call the frontdesk he sends up the night engineer. Night engineer comes up and turns on the sink to hot and shower to hot. His logic was to "clean out the systems' pipes" of old, water that cooled off. 20 minutes later and still no change in temperature. Still cool water when it should be hot. He tries to then convince my wife it's still "luke warm" and my wife says he's wrong to which he goes and gets his temperature gun. Temperature gun then says it's 74 degrees Fahrenheit when he points it at the bath tub spout and then 80 when he points it at the shower head water pouring into his palm (which was basically 80). He says 'see? lukewarm.' We're like no that's cool and NOT warm. Do note, "lukewarm" is considered mid-90's to 100. This was not even close to that. To which he says to try again the next day and maybe you could switch rooms as there's nothing he could do. He even "went to the rooftop and checked the boilers and they were working normally". So he leaves and then the frontdesk clerk has the gall to call to say he got the report from his engineer that the water was lukewarm and I say no it was cool and it's messed up for a hotel charging us $600/night to not have hot water. He says he lives in an apartment where that's normal sometimes (hint hint, you don't talk about your personal issues like your bad apartment in relation to your hotel you work at, especially when the guest is paying $600/night or the equivalent of $18k/month "rent", like hotel guests essentially are, for no hot water). Just a bad night and bad look for the Shore Hotel here. To make matters worse, the next day the hotel sent an automated text to see how we were liking the Shore Hotel to which I told them they have major customer service issues and clear hot water issues to which they ask if they can send an engineer to us (face meet palm).

Overall not the worst hotel ever though, the bathroom itself (beyond the broken barn door handle and beyond the lack of hot water) was done very well and cleaned very well by housekeeping. Usually you can see tiles coming off or broken or mold spots starting on this type of well-done tile however there was none of that. Additionally, their housekeeping folks are very nice. Also their heated pool was perfect as was the hot tub. Very clean and in working condition. We took advantage of that every day. Lastly their valet staff were incredibly nice and helpful. Xavier is a very welcoming, chill dude. Next time though we're going to their competitors...