Le Merigot Hotel Review

Le Merigot Santa Monica, as its name suggests, is a hotel for tourists who want to experience French-European elegance in a casual laid-back Southern California beach setting. This JW Marriott Hotel and Spa is located at the beach on Ocean Avenue and just two blocks from Santa Monica Pier, Le Merigot is a luxury hotel but not as expensive as Shutters or Casa del Mar but it holds its own, compared with the two most extravagant hotels in Santa Monica in terms of service and amenities. It exudes unpretentious luxury yet is comfortable and relaxing enough for your stay in Santa Monica. One thing that sets it apart from the other hotels is its creative package deals or promos like the "California Dreamin" which lets you choose between a convertible Porsche Boxster or a BMW Z4 Roadster rental car, and other similar packages. The hotel is kid-friendly and pet-friendly, good news for travelers with kids and pets in tow.

The Le Merigot, with its French architecture flaunts terraces bathed by sunlight and stone walkways overlooking a heated outdoor swimming pool. Surrounding the pool are lounge chairs and a couple of cabanas with the blue hues of the Pacific Ocean. The hotel offers full spa services, which use natural products and botanicals, on massage treatments that include Swedish, hot stone, shiatsu, Reiki and cranial sacral massage.

The lobby at the Le Merigot, with its sea-inspired elements, is painted in rich honey hues and is adorned with colorful oil paintings to create a warm atmosphere. Le Merigot also has the following additional facilities: an on-site bar lounge, a coffee shop-café, a gift shop/newsstand, a patio, an on-site restaurant and a video library.

Veering away a little from its European theme, Le Merigot features lighted verbena-scented candles and Japanese Ikebana-reminiscent flower arrangements in the public areas during daylight and evening hours. The hotel also has a business center for the busy tourist-trying-to-get-something done while on vacation. The business center has a single computer and offers free print and fax services. Wi-Fi internet access is available in public areas. For the business traveler, 10 meeting rooms, capable of accommodating up to 450 people, are available.

The guests' dining pleasure can be satisfied in the in-house restaurant, Cezanne. Living up to the hotel's European theme, Cezanne offers a wide array of French and California cuisine. The restaurant, praised as "L.A.'s best hotel restaurant" by Angeleno Magazine, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as brunches on Sundays. Guests may opt to dine in the terrace of the hotel. You can enjoy after dinner drinks in the patio area served in the intimate bar, Le Troquet, located between the lobby and Cezanne. There is a Le Merigot Happy Hour in the late evening. Guests are treated to fine wines, aged cognacs and rare liquors, and even handmade cigars at the Le Troquet.

To keep up with your workout routine, there is complimentary fitness center at Le Merigot. It features the outdoor Poolside Cardio deck surrounded by outdoor cardio machines. For guests wanting to stretch some muscles indoors with a full circuit of upper and lower body weight training equipment with more privacy, then the indoor training facility is for you.

Le Merigot has 175 spacious non-smoking guest rooms with many offering great ocean views. The rooms are decorated with hints of French elements of design, with pale gold and soft white as the dominant colors. Floor-to-ceiling windows allow guests to enjoy the warm California sunshine. The beds feature down comforters and 400-thread count Frette linens are the only cloths that touch their surfaces. The guestrooms also have high-definition TVs, mini bars, coffee makers and high-speed internet access for a fee and 24-hour room service. The bathrooms, all marble, have wicker hampers, bathroom scales, vanity mirrors, and separate toilet areas. Valet parking is available . Children 18 and below are free of charge when occupying the same room as their parents.

Le Merigot Hotel on Santa Monica beach offers everything you would expect from a first-rate luxury hotel.