An Alternative to Santa Monica's Pricey Beach Hotels

Where: 1255 20th Street at Arizona [map], Santa Monica, CA, United States, 90404

12/01/2006 at 1:35 PM
Tags: Santa Monica Hotel Reviews

Sure, we would all like to make like Pam Anderson and stay at Shutters on the Beach or even hit up the Viceroy for a few nights, but those places can get expensive.

So consider the Ambrose Hotel on 20th and Arizona. It's not quite a beachfront alternative, being 20 blocks from the beach but it will help your wallet out. The exterior with its Tibet meets Arts and Crafts, and Koi pool, beckons one to a 21st century shangri-la, particularly if you have just narrowly escaped some bumbling service at  the Best Western around the corner.

This mini-boutique hotel has many of the perks of its high rent cousins for just $199 a night like extra comfortable beds, wireless internet service, HBO, and an ultra gourmet minibar offerings (Vosges chocolate and Vitamin water) but without $15 martinis served by parsimoniously clad models.

Enormous bathrooms and a balcony in each and every room, upper floors even have views, make up for the somewhat smaller, but not uncomfortable, interior space. After your workout in the small but well equipped gym, don't skip the breakfast buffet, replete with Starbucks coffee, Stoneyfield farm yogurt and loads of good pastry.

And you're going to have to ignore the "Six Feet Under" look-alike funeral home across the street and walk up one block to Wilshire and you're in the heart of a happening part of Santa Monica with a Whole Foods to your right and a Gap to your left. Plus the Gaslite bar, also on Wilshire has karaoke nights on the weekend and the club on 20th and Wilshire called 20/20 has 80s night every Friday. Don't ask how we know, we just do.

[Photo: algolly]

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