Oceana Santa Monica
Oceana Santa MonicaHilton’s focusing on elevating their premium offerings, adding new properties to their portfolio or recentering existing ones. Their LXR brand has a relatively limited but growing selection. I’ve been curious about LXR’s Oceana Santa Monica since it opened in its latest iteration over four years ago, despite a few lukewarm reviews. I recently took the opportunity to redeem a Hilton free night certificate for a single-night stay at the property. Indeed, a cert is probably the only way I planned to stay at this property, as the standard points rate was 105k for the night of my late May stay, and cash rates routinely approach or exceed $1k nightly. Today, I’m discussing a few areas which stood out most from my experience.
The Room
Before the Stay
In late February, I booked an Oceana King room, one of the base room types available at the standard award rate, with my cert. But a few days before my stay, Oceana Santa Monica notified me that I had been automatically upgraded to a Lanai Suite. This is one of the few times I’ve experienced the greatness of Hilton’s automated elite upgrades in advance. Interestingly, while I was a Diamond Hilton Honors member at the time booking, I was only a Gold when I checked into the property. What a delightful surprise!
But it doesn’t end there. Upon check-in, the front desk agent assigned a Coastal Kitchen one bedroom suite. I asked about my previously-confirmed Lanai Suite, and she mentioned this is comparable suite adding a kitchen. Never mind the fact I wasn’t planning to use a kitchen for the one-night stay and that oddly, I noticed certain suites can have cheaper cash rates than entry-level rooms. Regardless, I was grateful for whatever suite I got as a lowly Gold.
During the Stay
After a quick ride to the second floor and a short flight of stairs, I arrived at my suite. The spacious suite felt like a one-bedroom apartment, and perhaps it may have been one, given this building’s previous lives. I entered to the spacious living room. It held a large couch, coffee table, chaise, television, dangerously-located minibar, and view overlooking the atrium pool. The kitchen is adjacent, offering another couch, large fridge, other appliances, and terrible view of the very-close apartments (or are those condos?) next door.
Beyond the living room is the single-vanity bathroom, nice but not exactly luxurious. Then I entered the generously-sized bedroom fully committing to the coastal vibe. The king size bed holds a city of pillows extending to the middle of the mattress. The full-size closet offers plenty of space but a too-high safe.
Aesthetically, the room popped – mostly a good thing. Bright blues, yellows, and reds contrast with black and white framed photos of celebrities of the bygone era like Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, and a young Marlon Brando. All spaces are well-lit and controllable via conveniently-located automated switches.
I spent most of my time during the Oceana stay in the generously-sized living room. I imagine these suites are handy for hosting groups. But I wasn’t able (or necessarily interested) to fully leverage the space for that purpose.
Amenities
This is where I find the hotel most lacking, at least at its current price point. The property offers a traditional pool not much bigger than something you’d see in the suburbs. But it’s surrounded by a beautiful design and chairs, including a restaurant patio. The fitness center is located on the lower level and provides a sizable amount of cardio equipment and weights in a small footprint. Instead of looking at myself in the fitness center mirror, I opted for better views of the Pacific during my morning jog oceanside. Judge away.
The pool and fitness areas offer complimentary water, with the latter also providing small refreshments like Nature Valley and Chewy bars. I didn’t visit the spa just past the fitness center.
The current restaurant situation is a bit perplexing. I found it in a small room marked as “103.” A waiter welcomed me to what he called the “temporary” restaurant, mentioning that the hotel’s main Sandpiper restaurant is currently under renovation. I ordered inside, but the waiter offered to seat me outside on the Veranda patio adjacent to the pool. I promptly accepted. Breakfast was fine, even if at unsurprisingly-inflated Southern California rates. My breakfast burrito ($32) and consistently-refilled/not-quite-warm-enough coffee came in well over $50 including all taxes and gratuity.
Service
I didn’t have much interaction with hotel reps during this brief stay, but the service I did receive was impeccable. Front desk agents were smooth and accommodating. During check-in, I requested late checkout as a Gold member (somehow, without smirking). The rep confirmed 12 noon (a slight improvement from the 11 am standard checkout) and requested I inquire again in the morning about a later time. After breakfast the next morning, I confirmed a 2 pm late checkout without issue. Beyond the front desk, my only other interaction was with the restaurant waitstaff. They were attentive enough and capable of small talk, not a safe assumption anymore.
Oceana Santa Monica – Conclusion
Going into this stay, I knew the Oceana Santa Monica and its price point were just as much, if not more, about the location as anything else the property could offer. Despite this expectation, I found myself inevitably comparing it to Hilton’s other premium properties in the area, specifically the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills and the Conrad Downtown Los Angeles. The Waldorf offers more amenities in a similar nightly rate neighborhood (points or cash). The Conrad does, as well, and at a substantially cheaper rate. But I also know this is an apples and oranges comparison, highly dependent on an individual’s situation and needs. This gets back to one’s location requirements.
Therefore, like many other Hilton properties, I think it’s best to consider Oceana Santa Monica as a Hilton free night certificate first (or only) option. Many can get optimize their return on certs by staying at properties like this, particularly where they would never pay regular points or cash rates.
Beyond that consideration, I’m more than satisfied with my recent Oceana Santa Monica experience and would stay here again if I had the need and certs. That’s a pair of big ifs, though – two I’m not sure will ever come again in this lifetime. And of the three LA metro area properties I just mentioned, the Conrad comes out on top for me.
Have you stayed at the LXR Oceana Santa Monica? How was your experience?
