The hotel is very clean, it is very nice. Food is excellent. Excellent hotel.

This property is located a short walk to the famed Santa Monica pier. The rooms are very spacious and contain many of the amenities that a frequent business traveller finds important: in room coffee maker, functional working area and a large flat screen TV. My only complaint about the working desk is that it sits on the opposite side of the room and faces away from the TV. The room is decorated in beach style appropriate with its physical surroundings. The bathroom is very functional if not large.

First off, I strongly recommend to friends or family who want to visit Los Angeles to base themsevles in Santa Monica. It really gives you the best base to explore from; the beach nearby, great air quality, tons of restaurants, great theaters, and also (importantly) not everything is super pretentious and "velvet-rope" infested (I'm looking at you WeHo).

As a former resident, its always weird to go back and visit LA on business. Things change a lot, I've seen neighborhoods rise, fall, and rise again. But Santa Monica has always been very reliable. Just trendy enough, not so trendy that it becomes passe.

So you picked Santa Monica for your trip, which hotel. This hotel is not a bad choice, is sort of splits the difference in a lot of way. Its not too hip, not too expensive, but also not too memorable.

Location within Santa Monica is good. Very short walk to Third Street, pretty short walk to Main Street, short walk to the Pier, everything within arms reach. Check.

Staff is also excellent. They go above expectations for this type of property, I think. Lots of genuine hellos and conversation. Good job.

On the negative side, while you'd THINK a hotel in this spot has lots of great beach views, it doesn't. Only a few rooms have good ocean / pier views (ask for one!) but even then, the windows are sealed shut, no great sea breezes and salt air to inspire.

Rooms are OK, pretty generic overall. Amenities are as expected. Public spaces are a bit more inspiring that the rooms themselves. Housekeeping was not flawless (room had a few rough edges).

Le Merigot is classified as a JW Marriot, but if you compare it to the one downtown, this is a lot less new & shiny & hip. To me its more of a good solid Marriott, not so much a JW.

This is also not a bad choice if you have status with Marriot chain. I have a gold status and they recognized this, gave me a slightly upgraded room and comped the internet. All as they should!

Anyway, love Santa Monica, this place is totally servicable and the staff go above and beyond. If you want to splurge on something memorable, look into Shutters or something else, knowing that you'll pay a bit more.

Stayed here will attending the Rose Bowl. We choose it for the location which is great. Near beach, shopping and restaurants. Cora's is a block away! The staff was friendly and attentive. The rooms were a clean but a little worn for a hotel at this level. The windows do not open. The Cezanne restaurant food was good. The pool area has many levels and a lot of nooks and crannies for relaxing with some privacy. Very little noise between rooms. Since this hotel was part of our package I don't know what we paid-probably too much. I would not pay more that $300 a night should I visit again. Even that is a lot but the location is great. I would check out other hotels in the area to compare.