More about Cal Mar Hotel Suites
We are at the Cal Mar Hotel right now...
by TripAdvisor Member Richtree7
Arrived on the evening of April 6th and will be here until the 12th. To this point the hotel has been great. Personnel have been very easy to deal with and also accommodating. Granted it is not a new hotel but it is clean and very comfortable. Has a bedroom with 2 dbl. beds and a large living room with a pull out couch and a kitchen. The accommodations allow me to sleep on the pull out couch and allows my 24 year old daughter a bedroom of her own. The location on the corner of California Ave. between 2nd and 3rd Street is excellent within an easy walk to shopping and the beach/ pier, etc. I am a bit surprised there hasn't been more positive feedback about this hotel. The total price for a 6 night stay, before taxes, is $854.00 with a $10.00 per day wifi internet available. We have rented a car (PT Cruiser) from Ace Car Rental at LAX for about $80.00 for the entire stay. Yesterday we took the StarLine Tour of the Stars homes and the Hollywood Tour ($90.00 for the 2 of us). Just happened to spot Melanie Griffith crossing the street on the Sunset Strip yesterday and today we were in Carney's, a railroad car hamburger joint on Sunset Strip, for a hamburger and spotted Cuba Gooding Jr. who was also in there for a burger to go. We thought that was pretty cool. Santa Monica does have a lot of homeless people, as stated elsewhere on this forum, but we haven't been approached by any of them. To this point, the biggest con of the trip has been the traffic while driving back from the Hollywood area today. Will probably report further after completion of trip.
Great place to stay
by TripAdvisor Member KathyCollins1
Stayed here for 8 nights in April and had a great time. The hotel staff are very friendly and helpful. Apartments are very big and spacious, which is great when you have a couple of kids with you. Shops and beach are all close by so the location is good too.
We would definitely stay here again!
Not a luxury hotel, but nice, clean, and basic
by A TripAdvisor Member
I stayed here with two friends in early April 2005 and the suite set-up worked well for us. We were in town for a wedding, so we just wanted a decent, clean place to stay and the Cal Mar delivered on those expectations. The hotel is very clean, but not luxurious. I would definitely recommend it for people who want to check out the Third Street Promenade area of Santa Monica. It's a very convenient location and a pleasant place for 20 somethings who aren't expecting the Four Seasons. I didn't swim in the pool, but it didn't look like it was very large.
Nice, clean and great staff
by TripAdvisor Member nightfoxEngland
Myself and my husband stayed for 1 week at the Cal mar Suites in Oct 2004. It was our first time in LA and we wanted to do all the sites eg Universal/ Hollywood etc. The hotel was great in our opinion, i consider myself to be quite fussy when it comes to cleanliness and this place although not the ritz was fine, it was large with a huge kichen and living/ dining room. very clean and the staff on the front desk were really helpful when we were traveling to our desinations. The cost of other hotels on the beach are a rip off considering that there are lots of homeless drunks near by and who wants to pay $200 a night for that ! Car mar is away from all the drop outs in a safe residental area. Really if you want somewhere large, clean and in a great location than stay at Calmar. ps hire a car as it is really tricky getting from place to place.
Good for a family
by A TripAdvisor Member
We stayed nine nights in July 2005 at this hotel. The place was great for our family (two adults, three children). We live in Europe and we read the reviews before our trip to USA. For us this hotel was a good choice.
Negatives were: 1)Our apartment was downstairs and all the steps upstairs sounded like they would have jumped up and down with heavy shoes. But at nights we slept well, there wasn´t too much noise then. 2) There isn´t air-conditioning at the hotel, but open windows and the fans were enough for us at that time (It wasn´t too hot when we were there.).
Positives: 1)The location is great. 2) The pool is nice (maybe needs some renovation...). The children liked to swim a lot. 3) The hotel staff is very friendly. 4) Rooms are very clean (they are old, but clean) 5) The kitchenette is nice when you stay with children. 6) Rooms are quite big (we had two roll-away-beds + a sofa-bed for the children). 7) Parking is free (But don´t bump the pillars!:-)
If we sometimes travel back to LA, we´ll stay at this hotel again.
Great size suite
by A TripAdvisor Member
My husband, two children under 3, and I have stayed here 3 times now because we love the size of the rooms and the location. It's in a safe neighbourhood and close to the beach/park and 3rd Street Promenade. The only major drawback was the noise from the street at night, depending which side of the hotel you stayed in. The other noise was from guests trodding up and down the stairs, sounding like elephants! It was a bit difficult for my children to nap through that and for us to sleep at night when guests return late. They've also now started to charge extra for cribs, so we're looking for other places to stay for a change.
Very clean and spacious
by TripAdvisor Member Jacqui29
Read the reviews before we booked and was a bit unsure. Thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. We were very impressed by the size of the suite/apartment, for a couple it was more than adequate. It was cleaned every day with clean towels. Staff were friendly and helpful. We ended up extending our stay and they did their best so we didn't have to change rooms. No food served, but we like trying out different places to eat, so wasn't a problem at all. It looked very pretty when it was all lit up at night. I don't normally write reviews but thought that the Cal Mar definitely deserve it. We took a few cards when we left and would recommend it to friends going to LA. We had a car so getting around wasn't difficult for us. It's not a 5 star hotel but seeing as when you are on holiday you don't really spend that much time in your hotel it was just what we needed. We travelled around the states and stayed in 4 star hotels and had more disturbance by hotel guests next door than we did at the Cal Mar.
Had a great time at the Cal Mar
by TripAdvisor Member twocars
My family and I stayed at the Cal Mar one night in October 2004 and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. I knew going in that Santa Monica near the ocean would be a pricey area and calls to several hotels confirmed that. However, I stumbled across the Cal Mar and was at first skeptical of the reasonable cost given the area. I booked a room anyway and was very pleasantly surprised with the value received for the cost. Granted, the furniture and kitchen appliances are dated and there was no elevator, but the two bedroom suite (actually an apartment) we received on the second floor was clean, spacious and everything I could have expected. The hotel is within a few blocks of downtown Santa Monica and the Pier. The windows were also old fashioned, they actually opened to let fresh air in. Noise also came in but I didn't think it was bad given the location. Parking was somewhat limited but I had no trouble finding an on site spot. Our room did not have air conditioning (I don't know if others do or not). When we were there the high temperature was 70 degrees F and the night was cool. This might be an issue during the summer when temperatures are high. Since the hotel is located in an established neighborhood every street has a sidewalk and the area just invites you to walk around it. I took a leisurely stroll through the area after it turned dark and felt completely safe. There were many other people also walking around. In summary, the Cal Mar is the best and I will definitely be staying there again on my next trip to LA.
Forum Posts
santa monica hotels
by AngiBabe
I am looking for a hotel with a pool for a family of four that is near the beach etc.
Has anyone stayed at the Cal Mar Hotel Suites, they look a bit dated but I've seen some good reviews.
Any ideas would be great, mid price range is ok.
Thanks
Re: Re: santa monica hotels
by AngiBabe
I think about $150 a night per room, about £100!
