Shutters on the Beach

Located beachfront, Shutters on the Beach draws both Santa Monica locals as well as travelers from around the globe who desire a comfortable yet sophisticated setting.

• Sunset drinks on the balcony of the Living Room
• The fitness facilities and pampering spa
• Ocean Front Suites that feel as if you are living directly on the beach

Shutters on the Beach and Casa del Mar, managed by the same family, are located side by side along a choice stretch of Santa Monica State Beach. The historic Santa Monica Pier, with an arcade and a 1916 carousel by master amusement-ride builder Charles I. D. Looff, is only a short walk away. Guests have signing privileges at both hotels and can use both pools. But Shutters and Casa del Mar look and feel vastly different.

For my money, it’s no contest. Shutters has an easy, Vineyard-Nantucket style. The wonderful lobby lounge—with overstuffed couches, leather armchairs, blue-and-white porcelain, two fireplaces and phenomenal beach-themed paintings and photographs by such artists as Robert Motherwell and John Diebenkorn—is the kind of place where you can have a tête-à-tête or, with sand still in your flip-flops, relax with potato chips and a glass of Champagne after a stroll on the Venice boardwalk.

In 2004, star interior designer Michael S. Smith went to town on the 198 guest rooms and suites: they all now have hardwood floors, Oriental rugs and four-poster beds. Bathrooms offer pedestal sinks, whirlpool tubs and marble showers. All of the rooms were refreshed in 2017 and have a small balcony or a terrace, but the best, of course, front the ocean. Suites come with Bang & Olufsen stereos and personal laptops. The Smith-designed spa is beach-chic, with seashell-embedded walls and wooden furniture. Ole Henriksen, who tends to Hollywood stars at his West Hollywood salon, designed the treatments. There’s a pool on the third-floor terrace and a sleek fitness center. Two attractive restaurants are on the property, and several others can be found in the neighborhood.

Best rooms: The oceanfront suites such as 203, which can be connected with the room next door for a two-bedroom corner suite with a living room in the middle. Set just back from the beach, they feel like beach houses with all of the back-up of a five-star hotel.

Those looking for the best of the best in Santa Monica.