My hubby and I recently stayed at this hotel for 3 nights, Oct 07. We will be in Marina del Rey monthly for my medical treatments. We will stay here again only because of the very close proximity to my treatment and being on the water is soothing for me. However, for vacationers etc., KNOW what you are getting before booking or you may be very dissappointed! I would NOT stay here for a special occassion trip. During our stay we had 2 different rooms, and looked at a 3rd room; all were bad. The first room (2 double beds) was bad, but the second one (king)was awful. The 3rd no better so we stayed put. As for the beds, while some have posted the beds were comfortabl, for us they were not. If you like a firm mattress then you will like the beds:)We had made reservations for a deluxe water view room w/balcony & king. Based on our experience of being in 2 different rooms (2 double beds and 1 king) we feel that the waterview balcony rooms with king beds are likely more popular, booked more frequently, and therefore have more much wear and tear which explains why they are so much run down than the 2 double bed room. To get a better conditioned room, maybe book a less popular choice? There isn't enough room here to cite how bad our king sized waterview balcony room was. Suffice it to say that the litany of compliments by many posters on this site were accurate. Even the tub glass door handle in our room was virtually off the door and hanging by only one side. It would be less obvious (and been safer) to simply take it off altogether. For safety reasons, we bent it down to keep from getting injured by the exposed rough edge end of it.! However, the location is splendid if you can tolerate all the rest. It is the only hotel in Marina del Rey right on a harbor fingertip. The hotel is in a very nice area with walking areas right on the harbor which we loved. While we didn't stay in a cityview room, from what we could tell they seemed to be a parking lot view, but it is a very nice harbor parking lot, very large with plants, etc:) The hotel is quite old, in dire need of refurbishing, 3 story, 3 wings of rooms. One entire wing is dedicated to nonsmoking rooms so that could be a safety consideration for some. One wing (waterview) very closely overlooks the pool which during our stay was very noisy with lots of kids squealing. We were on a different wing not directly overlooking the pool, but still had to close our balcony door during the day and early evening. A cityview room would have been much quiter if sound is an issue for you. Also if booking a waterview know that the waterside of the property has med-size shade trees right next to the hotel. If looking for privacy-2nd story, but possible view obstructions. The 3rd floor water view rooms are totally unobstructed view where you can look out, but others can look in, and the sun beats down on the glass and makes the room hot. The 2nd floor shade trees would help with that, but again, may obstruct views. Almost all guests we obseved on the 3rd floor balconies were struggling with the sun beating in their eyes (no shelter); most didn't stay out long making the additional expense of the balcony room a questionable value for them. The hotel room ac/heating system has a mind of its own, regardless of where you set it. We began to wonder if the wall device was just a decor decoy as it was certainly not regulating anything. Our first night was miserable. The window in our room wouldn't open, and the room transitioned from being too hot to breathe to needing to get up and hunt for an extrra blanket:( After transferring to a balcony room we could at least leave the door open all night to help stabilize the room temp. As for what's in the area; not much, lol. There is a very nice grocery store (Ralph's) within walking distance where we purchased great deli fruit/veggie trays, sandwiches, and even a roasted chicken for snacks/lunch. Upon request, the hotel delivered a small refrigerator to our room for my hubby's glaucoma medication to be refrigerated. There is also a fabulous California Pizza Kitchen nearby where they have great salads and fresh veggie pizza options. In all fairness it should be noted that the hotel also provided 2 fresh white pool/shower robes, lovely toiletry amenities, sm coffee pot & hairdryer. While out on our balcony we could hear people in the room below us on their balcony cursing to the heavens about how awful their room was; particularly furious their internet connection was nonfunctional as they were there on business; they checked out the next day. We had trouble getting a connection to function in our room as well. When we checked out at the end of our stay the hotel staff never asked the usual "how was your stay with us?"--they know. We paid $149 per night w/AAA discount, but you have to watch them and be insistent as they will at first confidently state that the $159 is the discount rate; it isn't. When I asserted that I knew otherwise, they apologize for *the confusion* and provided the advertised rated. Given the state of the hotel either is an *outrageous* price. But, know that the surrounding hotels are $200-$400 and none are right on the water as this one is. Carefully weigh your needs & options--choices. There are no bargains in Marina del Rey; it is a high end community. If you don't care about being near the water, there are more economy hotels with no views, bad parking, and scrunched locations several blocks away, but I wouldn't want to stay in them. They are closer to the Venice Beach area, a very alternative community---not my choice. South of Marina del Rey is Inglewood, an area visitors should avoid for safety reasons. All of the greater LA area is a melting pot of a variety of communities; know your surroundings.