We just spent four nights at the Huntley. We were very impressed with the room. It was just like the photos from the website. A nice big and bright room. It was especially clean, they actually clean twice a day.

We had no problem with the hotel staff, found them to be quite friendly. Although the staff in the restaurant were not and the food was overpriced. Lovely views though.

Also one of the two elevators was broken for our entire stay. Very poor.

On the whole we'd go back in flash.

We stayed 8 nights at the Huntley Hotel in a Premier Ocean View double room. The room was large, very clean and beds perfect. the bathroom was very small but the shower great. Two complaints - the elevators - only two and one was broken for 7 days!! Amazing as I had read about this in other reviews of the hotel. The Huntley is a good hotel and the best bit is watching the crazy wanna bees queue for the elevator to the Penthouse bar. The bar is cute but I've seen better in Edinburgh or Glasgow . It is so overrated and the staff are incredibly unfriendly ! The Valet Parking is also too dear - $28 but you can find cheaper public parking up the block.

On checkin on Saturday night, the lobby was PACKED with drunk and loud pretty people. NOT a good thing. The attitude we received from front desk staff was slow and inattentive. Not to say he was snotty, he just seemed to be inefficient and not good at his job.

The room we got (Huntley King) was smaller than expected (it's NOT the picture you see on their website), but still nice. Small seating area, comfortable king bed, bathrobes and slippers and nice large bathroom. No complaints on the comfortableness of the room. Users who write that you're seeing wear and tear from this hotel must be imagining things. That, or they are supremely picky.

The Penthouse is as gorgeous as people say. Views during the day are spectacular. We went back in the evening for drinks and the first waitress was snobby as can be, the second was sweet. The kitchen stops serving fairly early on Sunday evenings (11pm I think) so beware of that.

In all, it's certainly not as bad as people say. Trust me, I've been to places that rate 1* and this is not one of them! It's not cheap though, but I looked around EVERYWHERE to find a hotel in SM for the right price (I really wanted a large room - a suite if possible) and this was one of the best I could find. That said, for the price, they really need to work on the service.

Oh, and $28 for valet is an outrage. LA is not that expensive for parking!

I travel often to Santa Monica and try to stay at different places in the area each time. I have eaten at the Penthouse at the Huntley (not very good, but excellent views). My overall impression after one night is that the hotel is suffocating - the lobby is nice and breezy, but the elevators and hallways are dark and warm and low ceilinged. The rooms seem nice on initial review, but the a/c works quite poorly, the wallpaper is peeling in the bathroom, the bath towels are unsubstantial, the tv doesn't have ALL the possible cable selections. For the $400+ I paid (After all taxes and valet parking) was way too much for what I got. There was not sufficient attention paid to details in this hotel to warrant it's price and, given the lack of attention to repairs (a/c and wallpaper), it does not seem to be aging well. This hotel will be struck off my hotel-rotation list for Los Angeles permanently.