This was the end point for a long road trip down the coast. LA was a bit of a shock after the serenity of Big Sur and other coastal towns, but The Ambrose was perfect base for exploring Santa Monica, Venice Beach and the Getty Centre.

Great oriental design, all relatively new looking, well appointed comfortable rooms with Aveda amenities in the bathroom, big comfortable bed, the healthiest breakfast on offer during our trip - great fresh strawberry/raspberry/blueberry fruit salad in the morning, (as well as killer pecan toffee danish pastries for the less healthy days!).

Most of all though the staff were brilliant. A restaurant recommendation for a birthday meal was spot on and they got us a table on the day itself in one of the top restaurants in Venice Beach.

Convenient and free parking under the hotel added to the convenience.

The only thing I would change is that there's no tea/coffee making facility in the room, but they were happy to make tea (for a charge) down in the reception lounge.

Also, great little japnese garden out front.

I stayed here sept 26-29th at the end of a week of touring California with a family member. I booked this hotel after reading the positive reviews here, but several minor problems added up to an overall bad experience. (Just FYI, I have traveled domestic and international extensively, and I am pretty easy to please.)

Room: We stayed on first floor with 2 beds (were very comfortable). The room was nicely appointed, but seemed "worn" - wood floor damaged in several spots, area carpets very worn looking, curtains frayed in places, and the room also had a bad odor (NOTE TO STAFF: THERE ARE SEVERAL NATURAL EARTH FRIENDLY CLEANING PRODUCTS THAT SMELL GOOD!) Bathroom would have been beautiful, but there was a giant crack that went through entire width of vanity that ruined overall appearance.( +did like the recycle bin in bathroom- great idea!) Woke up first morning with ants in my bed (closest to window), ants on me, ants in my suitcase, ants on the curtains.

Service: After telling staff about ants, they changed all the bedding and I'm not sure what else they did. Ants were back the next am,(a few in the bed again) but not as bad (I guess it's the price you pay to stay green!) The dvd player/surround sound system was not set up properly to TV. I was highly looking forward to this feature as we were trying to relax the last few days of our trip. Two different staff members tried to fix and couldn't (after 10pm at night), said they would fix it the next day - was never fixed. Breakfast was good, but don't sleep in and go later, hardly anything left - also very few places to sit in lobby/outside. We had to sit on concrete wall outside. Stayed up late Wednesday night and wanted to sleep in late for at least one morning of vacation - Thursday morning was a bad choice - very loud fire alarm testing for at least 15 minutes!!! The best feature of the hotel was the free parking!

Little things like these don't usually bother me when I travel, but all of them added up together made a bad impression and tells me not to stay there again. And when I compare it to all of the hotels I stayed at in California on this trip (4), this was the most expensive and had the most problems. (and yes I know this area is expensive, but quality control was better at the $90/night hotel I stayed at earlier)

If you like Thai food, you MUST eat at the Orchid (Thai fusion restaurant in 3rd street promenade). The red curry lobster bisque and thai chowder were to die for!!! I ate there twice in two days!

I wish there were a 4-1/2 rating button for the Ambrose. I've stayed there before, love the place and would definitely stay again. But there are little things that I find, if not exactly annoying, somewhat off-putting. The young staff is pleasant enough, efficient enough, but they don't really seem to enjoy their jobs. It's as if they have to work hard to be nice to guests, to bring a welcoming smile to their faces. This attitude begins on the phone when you call for information or reservations. Strange. During this last visit I must have asked the front desk a half-dozen times for somebody to fix the cordless phone in my room; never done. The TV was outmoded and the picture marginal - time for flat-screen replacements, Ambrose. As another guest pointed out, bathroom lighting was surprisingly dim. To eat the lovely breakfast the hotel offers guests either have to rush for the single dining table or maneuver little side tables next to living room type furniture, being super careful not to spill coffee or crumbs. These little things dull the polish in an otherwise outstanding, highly recommended property. However, if I were the general manager....

We book this hotel a day before we left for USA. We made a brilliant choice, this hotel was really good. The reviews on Trip Advisor does this hotel proud.

The rooms were finsihed to a high stardard, and were very different. The beds that we slept in, I could have stayed in all day.

The location is away from the beach, whitch I think is a little better than being directly on the main strip. It was in a nice neighborhood where it was very quite.

The stuttle car that took us into the Center was very good, saved us time and money. And looks very nice when you are getting out of a Lexus(hahaha). I will be returning to this hotel, when I go back to Santa Monica.