I recently had the opportunity to stay at the Viceroy Santa Monica and really enjoyed my experience. Yes, the decor is very modern, but it works really well at this property. I particularly liked the pool area, or as my partner called it, the backyard, where it was small and intimate for lounging by the pool and just relaxing without to many people crowded around. The cabanas were also great!

We dined at Whist restaurant on a Monday night taking advantage of their $25 a bottle of wine night - which is a really an amazing deal. Dining al fresco, poolside and with a great bottle of Zinfandel in California is a perfect moment.

This spot would also be amazing for a wedding or event. If you covered over the two pools, you could dine in the existing restaurant area and then having dancing with a DJ or a band in the pool and cabana area.

While the location is decent (not on the beach, which is the only downfall), and exterior is showing a bit of age, the interior makes up for it.

Having stayed at this hotel recently I can’t help but feel disappointed.
The hotel is trendy looking and minimalistic in style which is a question of taste. I guess for that kind of thing it was well done! (despite it not being my style)
The problems with the hotel is not so much its features but rather its approach and attitude towards its guests.
I guess someone out there thought about the concept of being cool and trendy translated into the staff as well, something that in reality makes them rude, careless and serviceless because they are too busy being cool. Everything at this hotel lacks attention and true care towards the customer. Its seems like the staff are busy having a good time and forgot why they are there to begin with.
By this measure despite the fact that there are 4 or 5 people working at the door, non of them bother opening the door for a guest, they are too busy talking to each other, I stayed for 5 nights and this was the case consistently. concierge is non existent, there is a desk there and at times someone is seating at that desk but try and actually get advise from them (when they are not on a brake) and you will quickly realise it is not a true concierge service. With respect to this, the concierge could only recommend one car hire company, which was across the street from the hotel, and double the price from any other car hire company which was also within a short taxi ride away. They claim not to know any additional companies I could work with and if I wanted to find out more, they suggest I would search for it myself at the business centre. The same concierge desk could also NOT recommend a studio tour in LA or offer to book it, again they suggest we will research it online ourselves. It begs the question, what the hell do they need a concierge desk for to begin with?
Check in at the hotel is odd as well, again “too cool for school”, you are welcomed by a condescending and over relaxed attitude of the employees who seat down in a very comfortable seat and talk to you as if you work for them although you paying $400 dollars a night for the privilege.
The room was good size and clean, bath and shower again good size, although if you are going to make a walk in shower of the such large size it would make sense to also have a bigger showerhead with more pressure, otherwise what is the point?
Pool area was nicely designed, although there is too little pool and too much seating area.
If swimming is what you are after this is NOT the place for you.
The public areas to include corridors and lifts are REALLY dark. You walk around half blind wondering which way to go.
Food and Beverage service is shocking, although the people that work there are nice and friendly, they don’t seem to be too concerned with their job, again very busy speaking to each other and only too happy for the guest to get up and approach them and asked to be served both at order time and at clearing up time and asking for the check. Food is nothing special.
All together the hotel is not a 5 star experience although demands 5 star prices. I think it is more noise then substance and I certainly think that for that kind of money this day and age one can do lots better. I will not be returning. To top everything up, despite room charges, this hotel also takes the liberty of charging over $30 a night for parking. In short, poor value for money and really the wrong approach towards customer care. This hotel could be much better if only it was managed correctly.

My partner and I stayed at the Viceroy for 7 nights and to be honest I have no strong feelings for the hotel either in a good way or a bad way. I have rated the hotel as 'very good' because it seems wrong to rate it as 'average' because it's not average. When you arrive you'll see that it's hip and trendy, with low lighting and a pool area the likes of which you wont be likely to have seen before, but at the same time it's not brilliant. And it's expensive for what you get. And you are expected to tip constantly around 20% (which for us non natives takes a bit of getting used to especially when you have the 20% tax too!).

The location is on the main road but on the 5th floor this didn't bother us. The only time our sleep was disturbed was on the Saturday night when the hotel reception, bar, restaurant and pool area turn into a nightclub and the valet parking seemed constant. Normal cars wouldn't have been so bad but these were big, noisy cars with the loudest exhausts I've ever heard and I'm into cars and bikes!

But the hotel does give you free ear plugs, which was useful that night! And I'm guessing that if our room had been overlooking the pool and not the road at the front that we may have needed to have used them a little more because it does get a bit noisy at the weekends - although to be fair I think we would have gone down and joined in!

The rooms are nicely styled and decorated but on the small side and the lighting in the bathroom could be better. The beds are comfy and room service is good, and a good selection of channels and in room movies are available. There are a limited amount of sunbeds with only about 5 or 6 ever being in in the sun (as opposed to shade) at any one time, so the pool area is not good for sunbathing but luckily the Santa Monica beach is a stones throw away.

We used the concierge services a few times, and they were always really helpful and friendly.

A couple of things to share with you though:

1. If you book a tour remember the prices are overinflated and you are expected to tip 20% of what the tour cost you.

2. Dont go to The Ivy restaurant. It's overrated and the food is not worth the $100 it'll cost you to get there in a taxi. My chicken enchiladas were on the verge of being unedible - honestly, even my partner who can generally find something to like in most food anything agreed.

3. If it's misty or cloudy in Santa Monica, get up and about and maybe get yourself over to the community centre and book a tour.

4. Go to Santa Monica pier; it has a lovely presence about it.

5. Try and go to Universal Studios; it's a really good day out and we didn't have queue jumping tickets (longest we had to queue was for 20 minutes).

Can recommend the Broadway Deli for breakfast, and the Crepe place opposite (oh my goodness the nutella and banana crepes were AMAZING!), and PF Changs (I think this is what it was called) for a chinese, and on main street there is a lovely Indian restaurant.

The food in the hotel is nice, if somewhat overpriced. The meals here for example were very similar in price but not quality, to the Michelin starred restaurants we had visited in Vegas a few days before. Completely recommend the tomato and cheese flatbread though because it was delicious! The service can be hit and miss too; 3 times we had to wander around at mealtimes looking for someone we could ask to get us our bill and 3 times we asked for drinks that never arrived which got on my nerves a little bit.

To be clear these comments to not apply to the day staff who serve you whilst you are sunbathing, who are very prompt and friendly in their service and deserve to be tipped.

Maybe it's just the English in me but if I've had to pay $15 for a bowl of cereal, ask twice for a cup of tea and then ask 3 times for the bill and wait 20 minutes for it, I begrudge having to pay a 15% tip (which has already been included in the check) but I guess this is not specific to this hotel, more LA in general.

I hope you find this review useful, and hope that you enjoy your trip to LA!

We ended our one month trip to the U.S. at The Viceroy Santa Monica. Of the 6 hotels we stayed at across the U.S., this was definitely the best experience in terms of service. We arrived Wednesday 23rd Sep and departed late on Friday 25th Sep. When we arrived we were immediately warmly welcomed by several people and assisted with our luggage. The check-in process was quick and easy and we appreciated the complimentary glass of champagne. Within a few minutes we were escorted to our room with our luggage. Matt assisted with our luggage and introduced us to our room and made sure we had everything we needed - he's an awesome guy. He even made dinner reservations for us at Whist and made our entire stay an enjoyable one. Everything was just so easy.

Our ocean view room (7th floor) was amazing and worth every cent. The rooms are beautifully decorated. The view of the ocean, the beach and the pier is incredible.

It's the attentiveness and friendliness of the staff towards guests that makes a great hotel and this place does it well. The service is outstanding at every touch point - arrival, check-in, restaurant, bar, pool-side service etc. We dined at Whist one night and although their menu lacked vegetarian options, the server kindly offered to speak with the chef and came back with a couple of options for us. The food was delicious - the ravioli just melts in your mouth. When I mentioned I wouldn't be having dessert as there were no chocolate items on the dessert menu, our server spoke to the chef and arranged a special chocolate tart dessert for me. This is the type of service you get that blows you away.

The only negative is that it was hard for guests to find seating by the pool area (especially after 4pm) - there always seemed to be private functions booked and the cabanas were always reserved. I hate to imagine what the weekend would have been like! If there had of been more available seats we would have spent more time by the pool drinking cocktails, however felt forced to go elsewhere as the hotel clearly could not accommodate hotel guests as well as the large number of visitors that come for drinks and dinner. I appreciate that it's the 'hottest place in town' right now and therefore lots of people want to drink and dine there, but hotel guests really should be prioritised in my opinion.

The locations is great - the beach is across the road and shopping at 3rd St Promenade is a short ten minute stroll.

I would definitely stay here again. Treat yourself and stay at The Viceroy Santa Monica. They make you feel welcome and special, and go out of their way to ensure your needs are met and that you are enjoying your stay. You'll leave feeling great about the whole experience.