The catch at Santa Monica Proper Hotel
Santa Monica Proper is a design hotel with a public roof, in the middle of downtown rather than on the beach. Five things are worth knowing before you book it: what a night costs once the fee is added, who else is on the roof, how far the sand is, what the rooms look onto and what outdoor space costs. None is hidden, and none outweighs the interiors if they are why you came.
On our shortlists
A $55 nightly fee, tax and $90.27 valet parking make the quoted rate a poor guide to the bill.
Every stay carries a destination fee of $55 plus tax a night, which covers various amenities including Wi-Fi throughout the property. Santa Monica adds a 15% hotel tax and, in 2026, a $7.25 tourism assessment per room night. The cheapest room on a Tuesday in early December was $586, which comes to about $680 with the tax and the assessment and about $740 with the fee. Valet parking is $90.27 per vehicle, tax included, with in-and-out privileges, and leaving the car after check-out costs extra. The hotel also holds $200 a day on your card for incidentals. Early December is one of the cheaper times of year: June and Frieze Los Angeles week (25 to 28 February 2027) cost more.
What to do. Budget about $160 a night above the quoted rate before parking. Ask whether the valet price is nightly before you arrive by car, and if you need a car for one day only, hire it for that day.
The roof and the lobby lounge are public, with DJ nights, day passes and events.
The heated rooftop pool is shared by hotel guests, Proper Club members and day-pass holders, subject to availability, and Calabra on the roof and Palma in the lobby take reservations from anyone. Palma has DJ nights on Fridays and Saturdays from 7pm to 11pm, and its bar stays open until 12:30am on those nights. The roof hosts vinyl DJ sets and social events, and the hotel has more than 24,000 sq ft (2,230 m²) of event space, including a ballroom, courtyards and the rooftop, with weddings and parties held on site. Some guests describe the pool deck as crowded.
What to do. Ask for the event calendar for your dates, covering the lounge, the courtyards and the roof, and if a pool day matters, reserve a lounger or cabana through Guest Services.
The beach is not at the door: the sand is a 17 to 19 minute walk away and the pier about 24.
The hotel has no private beach, and Ocean Avenue and the Pacific Coast Highway lie between it and the sand. From the 7th Street entrance the Third Street Promenade is 7 minutes on foot, the clifftop at Palisades Park 12, the sand 17 to 19 and Santa Monica Pier about 24. Downtown Santa Monica station, the western end of Metro's E Line, is 14 minutes' walk. The pier is 4 minutes by car and Venice Beach 10, off-peak. The hotel offers bicycles and beach gear to guests, with availability confirmed at check-in.
What to do. Use the bicycles for the beach path rather than walking to the sand with a bag, and allow the full 24 minutes if the pier is the plan.
No room is sold on a sea view, and some guests report traffic noise or slamming doors.
Room outlooks are described as city, garden, pool and landmark scenery, and no category is sold on an ocean view, so the sea is chiefly a view from the roof. Only the suites lean on the outlook: the Premier Suite has floor-to-ceiling windows set to catch ocean breezes, and the Sunset One Bedroom Suite is sold on its evening sunsets and views for miles, at $1,580 on a December Tuesday. The hotel stands on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and 7th Street, and some guests also report traffic noise or slamming doors in their rooms.
What to do. Light sleepers should ask for a room away from the lifts when booking. For the sea, book a table at Calabra or a place at the pool rather than a room.
Outdoor space costs extra, from $25 for a balcony to $178 for a terrace, and the smallest room is 320 sq ft.
The cheapest room on a Tuesday in early December, the Landmark Premier King, was $586, and no balcony or terrace is listed for it. Nor is one listed for the Deluxe King, the lowest tier of king room, which is 355 to 375 sq ft (33 to 35 m²) and was $594. The smallest category sold, the Deluxe Balcony King, is 320 sq ft (30 m²) and was $611. A private terrace is a different price: the Landmark Garden Terrace was $747 and the Garden Terrace King $764, which is $161 and $178 above the cheapest room. The balcony rooms sit in between, from $611 to $713.
What to do. If you want outdoor space, price the Landmark Garden Terrace first: it is the larger of the two terrace rooms and $17 cheaper.
Who should skip it
Anyone who wants a quiet lobby and a roof shared only with guests, sand at the door, a sea view from the room or a bill that matches the quoted rate. Anyone for whom about $740 a night, before parking, is the ceiling.
Who should book it anyway
Anyone who wants a Kelly Wearstler interior in walkable downtown Santa Monica: the Promenade 7 minutes on foot, a heated pool on the roof beside a circular bar with a fireplace, pewter-glazed ceramic columns in the lobby and historic windows in the 1928 building. Book a Landmark Garden Terrace for a private terrace, budget about $930 a night with tax and the fee, and the design, the roof and a short walk to dinner are what the money buys.
The catch elsewhere in LA
- The Beverly Hills HotelBeverly Hills
Extras sit on top of a four-figure rate. Beverly Hills hotel tax is 14 per cent and the hotel's other city and state levies bring the total to roughly 15.5 to 16 per cent, and parking is $70 a day, which you will want because almost everything is a drive.
- Shutters on the BeachSanta Monica
A $60 nightly resort fee plus tax is added to every stay, and overnight valet is $90 a night, so a room that starts around $740 comes to about $930 with the 15 per cent hotel tax, the fee and $11.25 in nightly tourism fees, before the car.
- Malibu Beach InnMalibu
Pacific Coast Highway runs directly behind the building, and some guests mention hearing traffic over the surf; the King Pier View Rooms have the highway in view. Ask for a sea-facing room on the third floor, away from the street entrance.
- Terranea ResortPalos Verdes
A $75 resort fee and $75 for overnight valet add up to $150 a night on top of the room rate and the Rancho Palos Verdes hotel tax; the one- to four-bedroom bungalows, casitas and villas carry a $90 resort fee.
- Sunset Tower HotelSunset Strip
The room rate is not the whole price. A nightly amenity fee of $52.43, tax included, is added to every stay, parking is by valet at $75 a night, and 16.695% hotel tax applies to the room.
- The Hollywood RooseveltHollywood
Noise is part of the deal. The hotel runs restaurants, bars, private events and pool programming, music and pool activity can be audible in the cabana rooms around the pool, the Tropicana is shared with day-pass guests aged 21 and over, loungers are first come, first served, and the pool can close for private events or film shoots.
- The GarlandStudio City
The 101 freeway runs along the north-east edge of the grounds, and some rooms hear it. The hotel had its balcony doors replaced in 2013 to cut the noise, so keep the door shut at night and ask for a room away from the freeway side.
- Silver Lake Pool & InnSilver Lake
Noise is the recurring complaint: thin walls let through footsteps from the floor above and the corridor, and street-side rooms hear Santa Monica Boulevard traffic into the night, so ask for a quiet room away from the boulevard.
- Hotel FigueroaDowntown LA
The entry rooms are small: the 1 Queen Bed room is about 187 sq ft (17 m²) and the 1 King Bed about 270 sq ft (25 m²), so book the king or a suite if you want space to sit.
Questions people ask
Good questions about Santa Monica Proper Hotel
What are the downsides of Santa Monica Proper Hotel?
Santa Monica Proper is a design hotel with a public roof, in the middle of downtown rather than on the beach. Five things are worth knowing before you book it: what a night costs once the fee is added, who else is on the roof, how far the sand is, what the rooms look onto and what outdoor space costs. None is hidden, and none outweighs the interiors if they are why you came. A $55 nightly fee, tax and $90.27 valet parking make the quoted rate a poor guide to the bill. The roof and the lobby lounge are public, with DJ nights, day passes and events. The beach is not at the door: the sand is a 17 to 19 minute walk away and the pier about 24. No room is sold on a sea view, and some guests report traffic noise or slamming doors. Outdoor space costs extra, from $25 for a balcony to $178 for a terrace, and the smallest room is 320 sq ft.
Who should not book Santa Monica Proper Hotel?
Anyone who wants a quiet lobby and a roof shared only with guests, sand at the door, a sea view from the room or a bill that matches the quoted rate. Anyone for whom about $740 a night, before parking, is the ceiling.
Our verdict
Book Santa Monica Proper to sleep inside a Kelly Wearstler interior in walkable downtown Santa Monica, with a rooftop pool for the afternoon. Pay the step up to a Landmark Garden Terrace for private outdoor space in the 1928 building, and budget for the $55 fee and valet.
Last checked: October 2026