Regent Santa Monica Beach
Daily price line
Upcoming nightly rates
Review
Character and identity
Reopened in 2024 after a $150-million reinvention of the former Loews, this 167-room oceanfront property sits on Ocean Avenue directly across from the Original Muscle Beach, with the Santa Monica Pier and its Ferris wheel a short walk away. AvroKO's four-storey atrium lobby in sandy tones and brass sail dividers sets the design tone, while Wimberly's rooms run white-and-blue beach glamour at unusually generous scale (720 square feet at entry level). A U-shaped layout wraps Santa Monica's largest pool deck. Anchors include Michael Mina's Egyptian-leaning Orla, Ayesha Curry's Sweet July café, and the Guerlain Wellness Spa, the brand's first on the West Coast.
Who's it for
Best for:
Couples and design-minded travellers who want a polished, formal-leaning beach hotel with serious cooking and a destination spa. Suite-sized rooms make it a strong pick for longer stays, and the wellness programme, beach butler, and Pacific Garden lawn appeal to anyone treating Santa Monica as a self-contained resort stop rather than a city base.
Should look elsewhere:
Families wanting a kids' club, travellers seeking a casual, barefoot beach vibe, and budget-conscious bookers will find the formal service register and rates a mismatch. Ocean Avenue is also tourist-heavy and walkable to the busy pier, so anyone after seclusion should head up the coast.
Bottom line
The combination of Mina's Orla and the Guerlain spa, paired with rooms that start at 720 square feet, is what sets this apart from Santa Monica's other oceanfront options. Book a Malibu corner suite for the pier views or a private patio king for outdoor space and a firepit, and target a weekday stay to make the Orla prix fixe lunch part of the plan.