The Suite
Positioned with direct views of one of the most famous beaches in America – perhaps even the world – the Santa Monica Suite has the good sense to let the Pacific do half the work. As the very top key at Regent Santa Monica Beach, the suite opens itself up to the ocean at every opportunity, with vast windows pulling the light in and a balcony angled toward the sunset.
This is not one of those suites that mistakes square footage for personality. Of course, as the one-bedroom suite spans 3,200 sq ft, there is no doubt there’s plenty of space – a separate living room, dining area, and office give it the ease of a well-appointed apartment – but what lifts it above standard top-suite territory is its willingness to have a little fun. There is a marble-topped bar for pre-dinner drinks, a full billiards room that feels refreshingly rakish in a beachside hotel, and a private cinema room that all but demands a late-night screening.
The bedroom, by contrast, softens the mood. The palette is calm and sun-bleached, while the adjoining marble bathroom with a soaking tub, rain shower, and double vanity, feels suitably indulgent. But the balcony is the real winner. With a firepit and uninterrupted views of the shoreline, it feels made for the hour when Santa Monica begins to glow. Plenty of hotel suites promise a slice of California living; this one actually feels like it knows what that should look like.
Must knows
View
Pacific-facing suite with firepit balcony, billiards room, and private cinema
Style
Cool, coastal, contemporary
Special amenities
Beachfront, Business facilities, Cinema, Courtesy cars
The Hotel
Santa Monica is hardly short on hotels, but many fall into one of two camps: earnest beach stays that lean hard on surfboards and sunshine, or business-appropriate addresses that just happen to be near the water. Regent Santa Monica Beach takes a more unique approach. It has the sheen of an international luxury hotel, but enough restraint to avoid feeling misplaced on this stretch of Pacific coastline.
There is plenty of gloss, naturally: 167 rooms and suites in sandy neutrals and ocean blues, and public spaces designed to catch the California light at its most flattering. But the mood is not stiff. The best luxury beach hotels know that formality has no place within sight of the ocean, and Regent keeps things relaxed enough to suit its setting.
The hotel is also generous when it comes to what awaits once you’ve checked in. Dining spans four venues, led by Orla, Michael Mina’s Mediterranean restaurant, where breakfast, lunch, weekend brunch, and dinner are shaped by the chef’s Egyptian and Greek heritage. Nearby, the Orla lobby bar handles cocktails and lighter bites, while Azure covers the poolside shift with lunches, sunset drinks, and a front-row seat to the sea. Sweet July Café, Ayesha Curry’s breezy grab-and-go spot, takes care of coffee, pastries, and picnic supplies for the beach.
Wellness has a similarly resort-minded feel, with the 10,000-sq-ft Guerlain Wellness Spa featuring 12 treatment rooms, a plunge pool, sauna, steam room, and champagne lounge, alongside a menu of facials and body treatments. Elsewhere, there’s a 24-hour fitness center, a beachfront pool lined with cabanas and sunbeds, Bluejay e-bike rentals, beach butler service, and regular yoga and outdoor fitness classes.
What Regent has done is give Santa Monica something it has not always had in abundance: a beachfront hotel with genuine international-luxury heft, delivered with far better taste than the usual flip-flop fantasy.
Amenities
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24-hour Front desk
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Bar
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Beachfront
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Facilities for disabled guests
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Fitness classes
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Gym
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Outdoor swimming pool
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Pet-friendly
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Restaurant
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Spa and wellness centre
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Wellness specialist
