I have very mixed feelings about this hotel. We stayed here because both the Viceroy and the Fairmont were sold out and we were looking to stay in Santa Monica (rather than West Hollywood at the excellent Sunset Marquis). On the one hand, the price is reasonable considering the wildly wonderful beach location. On the other, the service leaves quite a bit to be desired as did the room. We had a suite overlooking the beach, it was a good value for the money size-wise so I would give it a 4 on that score but there were issues. First of all, check in at this hotel is 4 pm, which is something you should know if you're flying from the east coast. Check in is normally 3 pm (in my experience) and we are pretty spoiled since we usually book through Amex platinum and get 12 check in. So a 4 pm check in was an unpleasant surprise and believe me our room wasn't ready one second before 4. In fact, in my opinion it wasn't even ready at 4. When we checked in the carpet was wet. And I don't mean a little. It was full on wet, had just been shampooed (and it still smelled). There were no other suites available so we just sucked it up but it was kind of gross and i had to keep my flip flops on for the whole first night. Despite the apparent shampoo, the room had a kind of musty odor that persisted for the whole trip -- maybe just an inevitable part of being at the beach. So that's the bad stuff. The good stuff is that if you're looking to go to the beach, this is a great spot. Also if you're traveling with a family, this is probably an awesome place for you (we weren't and that was a bit of a downside for us--kids everywhere). The lobby is really nice-big high ceilings, modern clean look-- and a great place to have a meeting. Even though there are a lot of kids about, the lobby is very big and it's easy to find a private table tucked away between the columns. The restaurant food was good, nothing outstanding but it's a nice place to eat, overlooking the beach. The health club is very well equipped, much much better than a standard hotel health club.

We stayed over Xmas for 5 nights, rooms are big & beds are comfy, very clean & amenities are good, has everything except slippers. There is no complimentary water & the bottle in room is $7!
Wifi is free in lobby but $11 in room per day, valet parking is pretty much the only option for parking overnight its $35 a night bit pricey but valet service is very efficient
Lobby is located on 4th floor, there is a separate elevator to the beach on -1 & it will lead you direct to the beach.
Hotel has a really relax environment & pool is good size, lots of sun beds to chill out on.
Location is on right by the beach with lots of restaurants, the pier & shopping all walking distant, tourist sites are only a short drive away.
Hotel is also pet friendly
Will stay here again if returning to LA.

I came to LA for business and got a good price online. However, when I arrived from the airport, they couldn't find my reservation ( and were very snide about it ) and when it finally showed up, the rate was wrong and it took another consultation with the manager ( which took forever ) to get it corrected. Upon checkout, my bill was wrong again and I spent a lot of time nervously looking at my watch (with my taxi's meter running) waiting for it to be resolved. Beautiful hotel, great sushi bar but some of the worst service I have ever experienced in a hotel.

Stayed one night at the Loews in Santa Monica. Great location near the beach and the pier. Service was very attentive. Stayed in one of the rooms that had the extended balcony overlooking the ocean. Only a few of these types of rooms, by I highly recommend it. Nothing like a cup of coffee in the morning overlooking the Pacific Ocean.