The Sea Shore Motel is in the heart of "old" Santa Monica, on Main. This is great--everything is within walking distance, including the beach two blocks away--but it's bad because the traffic (and occasional screaming person) is right there, and it is *noisy*.

Still, I rate the Sea Shore as excellent because the staff were extremely courteous and accomodating, and the room itself was very comfortable. The bed was divine. The Sea Shore has a nice rooftop patio perfect for skygazing. The price is very reasonable, though I did have to pay extra for my dogs. Still, they are quite lenient about leaving your (well behaved) dogs in the room--they're fine with it, just as long as you don't venture far and you have your cell phone on you so you can hurry back if they start making noise.

Overall, great budget choice. Just don't forget your earplugs.

We chose to base ourselves here for our visit to LA. It is about 15 minutes by taxi from LAX airport costing about $22. The location is good; about 10 minutes walk to the beach and thereafter a pleasant walk of about 15 minutes along the promenade to the popular pier area and downtown Santa Monica with it's innumerable attractions including shopping in the Third Street Promenade. Or the less energetic can take a ride downtown from outside the motel in a frequent service bus, (which costs only 25 cents for Seniors!). The room was clean, spacious and comfortable. Not surprisingly, being on Main Street, there was quite a bit of traffic noise, especially in the early hours-but it was not too intrusive or disturbing. There is ample free parking, usefully tucked away behind the building It's a family run motel and the reception staff coudn't have been more pleasant and helpful. We stayed only two nights and a measure of it's poularity, and reasonable cost for the area, was that it was fully booked throughout. Although no pool, there is a sun deck area on the first level and a cafe adjacent to the motel which offers continental-style breakfast and refreshment facilities throughout the day. Closeby there are other cafes and an Irish-style pub a couple of minutes walk up the the street. For those wishing to include a tour of LA during their stay there is a pick-up arrangement at the entrance for a full day bus trip which includes stops for visits to various attractions, including Universal . At $80 plus tax for the full tour we took, it's not particulaly cheap, but it includes Rodeo Drive, Chinatown and Hollywood and takes up most of the day. We'd certainly stay here again.

This time we stayed in the Deluxe rooms which are situated just a couple of doors up from the main motel and are above a ladys boutique, How fantastic are these rooms, There are 4 of them and they are reached by going up the stairs to a securely locked gate and courtyard.
They have a large L shaped living area with a big 6 seater dinning table a fully equiped kitchen with large fridge/freezer, dishwasher, etc. TV, balcony with chairs and table overlooking Main St if your at the front of the building - overlooking residentail property at the back which is much quieter and catches the morning sun. Big bedroom with 2 beds and lots of wardrobe space, and a nice large bathroom. You also get your own personal parking space.

Couldnt be better situated to get around, lots of resturants at all different types of $$ and walking distance, our favorite is the Dhabh a nice india curry house on Main st towards SM pier just past the doggy park.

Also, you can just park your car there for a few days as we did its only 2 block from the beach, catch the tide bus or just walk to 3rd St / Pier.

This was our 3rd time staying at the Seashore and would always recommend it if your looking for a great location and resonable price

This motel was a great find! The rates were very reasonable, our room was a good size, immaculate with 2 very comfortable beds, table with chairs, television with cable, a refrigerator and a decent bathroom. Its not the most modern of motels but it has a lot of charm and the staff, most notably Hank were very friendly and helpful. There is also a gorgeous wee coffee shop on site serving delicious breakfasts/brunch but closes early.

We arranged a tour of LA through reception and on arrival Hank gave us a map of santa monica and told us that the best restaurants in santa monica were located beside the seashore motel - how true!! There are some outstanding restuarants nearby - we loved the world cafe and the omelette parlour further up main on the opposite side of the road. The world cafe is great for lunch and dinner, massive portions, reasonable prices and great patio atmosphere complete with fairy lights! The omelette parlour cannot be beaten for brunch! There is also an excellent mexican restuarant and an Irish pub across the road called Finn McCools - great atmosphere, food and bands every night we were in.

Location-wise this motel is perfect! I think it was 2 blocks away from a great beach full of locals and not many daytrippers, the walk on the 'ped' walkway down to the pier is very enjoyable and feels safe even at night time. Its just the right distance out of the main shopping area to be convenient yet away from the hustle and bustle and there are some really dinky (but expensive) boutique shops along this area of main street and at night there are fairy lights draped between the street lights! Def recommend staying in the seashore motel as a base in LA - we were not impressed with downtown LA when we went on the bus tour and were very glad to return to santa monica!