Hotel Casa del Mar

Originally built as a fancy beach club in 1907, the Hotel Casa Del Mar is a historic landmark. It went through a period as a rehab center before becoming the Pritikin Longevity Center. In the late '90s, Casa Del Mar officially opened its doors as a luxury hotel and was subsequently restored. Another major makeover conceived by Obama White House designer, Michael Smith, took place in 2015. The result is a luxurious atmosphere with loads of Mediterranean villa and beach details. The entrance, under an arched stained-glass window opens onto duel sweeping staircases below an iron chandelier strung with multicolored glass. The lobby -- redecorated in sun-bleached hues of sandy blue -- is furnished with colorful bookshelves, shell art, potted palms, and nautical antiques in a maritime theme matching the views that sweep out from the hotel's terrace onto the famed stretch of Santa Monica Beach. Guests are a mix of overnight tourists, business travelers, and local power players enjoying drinks and meals at the restaurant.

Casa del Mar is right on the beach in the beach-loving neighborhood of Santa Monica. Farther north on Ocean Avenue (the nearest main road) locals run, walk their dogs, and do boot-camp exercises with personal trainers along the seaside cliffs in Palisades Park. The hotel is ideal for beach activities, but a bit farther from tourist attractions in Hollywood.

• Directly on Santa Monica State Beach
• 15-minute walk from iconic Santa Monica Pier, which has a Ferris wheel, video game arcade, and assorted carnival-style amusements
• 20-minute walk from famous Third Street Promenade, a pedestrian-only outdoor mall with shopping, a movie theater, and chain restaurants
• 10-minute drive to popular Venice Beach, with skateboarders, surfers, art galleries, and hip restaurants
• 30-minute drive to Rodeo Drive/Beverly Hills, for high-end shopping and swanky mansions
• 30- to 45-minute drive to Universal Studios Hollywood theme park
• 30- to 45-minute drive to Hollywood Boulevard, the Walk of Fame, and Grauman's Chinese Theatre
• 30- to 45-minute drive to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

At 400 square feet, Hotel Casa Del Mar's average room is a nice size. Interior designer Michael Smith infused the rooms with coastal decor and a beach-blue palate. Deep cherrywood tables and four-poster beds are paired with white built-in dressers and work desks. Big 42-inch flat-screen TVs are nestled into the hutch above the work spaces. Many thoughtful touches give these rooms the feel of a high-end residence: bookshelves with real books, silver alarm clocks, vintage toys, and working binoculars. Keurig coffeemakers come standard, while Suites upgrade to Nespresso machines. The Penthouse Suites are massive: they used to be racquetball courts.

The bathrooms are covered in white Italian marble walls and floors, with glass walk-in showers and big separate jetted soaking tubs. All bathrooms are stocked with Malin + Goetz toiletries and a playful rubber ducky. Sixty rooms have full or partial beach views, and some look toward the iconic pier.

The casual fine-dining restaurant, Catch, has a live jazz brunch and a dinner menu that ranges from Wagyu to Black cod, with crudo and sushi rounding out a wide selection of American favorites. The bar ages its own spirits in white oak barrels with crafted cocktails. The lounge serves food starting with breakfast, and there's an extensive raw bar at night.

Features at Casa del Mar mostly revolve around the hotel's uninterrupted ocean views. The floor-to-ceiling windows in the lobby's Terraza lounge have beautiful views of the beach that inspire locals and guests to linger. The indoor cabanas create alluring semi-private seating areas with plush couches under striped awnings, and the place tends to foster a Hollywood cocktail scene with daily live events.

The outdoor pool and whirlpool are on a sundeck with beachfront views. But the beach itself is the main attraction, offering the quintessential L.A. scene of palm trees, golden sand, and ocean waves. Beach-cruiser bicycles can be rented (for a fee), and the hotel offers surf lessons. Kinesis strength training and yoga classes, as well as private trainers, are available for fitness sessions on the beach. For indoor workouts, the fitness center is equipped with treadmills, bikes and ellipticals, weight machines, balance balls, and free weights. Sea Wellness Spa doesn't have a sauna or steam room, but there are five treatment rooms and more services on offer than just the usual massages, including exotic treatments involving gemstones, magnets, and mud infused with diamond dust.

Catering is available for the hotel's beautiful event rooms, and The Colonnade Ball Room (a popular wedding venue) can host up to 300 people. Note that there's a daily resort fee and valet parking incurs an additional cost.