A pampering experience: beautiful, classic yet "beach casual" guest and public rooms, excellent service and dining/drinking experiences abound. Wish I could live there, except for the price.

We arrived, to be fair having been thoroughly spoilt and charmed by New Zealand and Australia, to Shutters on the Beach at 10 am after a long flight to be told check in was not until 4pm. We left our luggage and returned at 4pm to be told only one of our rooms was ready and was shown to a pokey room by the airconditioning vent and a dirty bath. When we complained and said we had requested, from our agent in the UK who had been exemplary until then, an ocean facing room the unhelpful front desk said we had only paid for a standard room which did not have ocean views. This was later contradicted by our London agent. We pointed out that these rooms had been booked in April and after much huffing the puffing we were moved. Our new room was better but still none too clean although the beds were comfortable. Shutters, we felt, was unfriendly and bad value. For example, paying $12 for 24hrs of wireless is just not what you expect from a top end hotel. Dinner at Coast (the beach cafe) was, however, excellent and the service was far superior there than in the hotel. A real disappointment but then we though LA as a whole was a disappointment.

This magnificent old building is a timeless classic that my wife and I absolutely loved. If you can overcome the annoying way you need to get into two lifts to get to most of the rooms, you will love this hotel. A mix of the modern (massive plasma, bose steroa) with the old (shutters, 4 post beds) gives it huge character. Staff were excellent as well. We dined at the two restaurants and found them to be very good as well.

Although very expensive and I can't recommend the restaurants, the hotel is beautiful and peaceful. The bed is so high that they provide step stools so you can climb in. The tub is a very big jacuzzi style, comfortable for two large people easily. The overhead shower is the "rainfall" style and the pressure is wonderful. Most rooms have two balconies. Try to get one on the 7th floor facing the ocean. Quiet and a great view of both the beach and Santa Monica pier. The staff are world class! In fact, they are so helpful and friendly that they felt like old friends when we left three days later. They even told us about an unadvertised service: you can, for free, have their town car take you anywhere in Santa Monica you want and bring you back as well. This service doesn't begin until 4pm but it can save you a small fortune in cabfares.