Casa Del Mar

We haven’t even set foot in Casa del Mar yet – and already wish we hadn’t booked it. As Europeans, traveling to the US these days is exhausting enough: entry restrictions, paperwork, long flights. You cling to the idea that at least your hotel will make it feel worthwhile. Especially when it’s a place you’ve been loyal to and stayed at multiple times before. Casa del Mar managed to kill that anticipation in one email. We simply asked to add one more night to our stay. Not to change dates, not to cancel and rebook, just to arrive a day earlier. This is what we received: Good afternoon, We’re excited to welcome you to Casa del Mar! Unfortunately, we’re unable to modify this reservation, as the rate code has expired. Attempting to make changes would result in the entire reservation being repriced at the current available rate. Please let us know if you have any questions or if there’s anything else we can assist you with. Excited to welcome us? By telling us you’ll reprice the entire stay because of one night? This is exactly how you erase the joy of traveling before it even begins. A hotel that positions itself as luxury and guest-focused just made it clear: you are not a guest, you are a booking ID!!! We will still come – only because everything is booked and locked in – but the one thing a great hotel experience needs most has already been destroyed: anticipation. Casa del Mar, you didn’t just mishandle a request. You took the excitement out of our trip and turned loyalty into regret before we even arrived.

I would return here. The hotel itself was beautiful and the people were incredibly nice. There was live music in the evenings and activities on the weekends like yoga. We ate breakfast at the hotel - it was pricy but delicious. The location was perfect and the pool was well-designed to accommodate a relaxing atmosphere. The one constructive criticism I would provide is that there seemed to be a disconnect between the front desk and other areas of the hotel which often resulted in taking more than one conversation to accomplish a task like having your room cleaned. Overall, a positive experience.

Having stayed here before we were expecting a good experience. Booked a different room type which was great by the pool. The finish and quality right through the hotel is perfect, every staff member are right on the button in terms of care and kindness, whilst always being genuine. The bar and lounge areas are beautifully furnished and so comfortable. In the evening great live music embellishes. Location is obviously unbeatable. I don’t think you can improve on this for a stay in Santa Monica or LA. Perfection.