Santa Monica - trades off its name and proximity to the airport - but really its an overpriced piece of real estate. It will therefore come as no surpse that although this is simply a Travelodge, it still cost more per night than a decent 4* hotel elsewhere along the coast.

Nevertheless the room was a good size. The TV bizzarely was huge. Recall it being pretty hot and needing water but none was available in the room. I also recall there being 3 pillows. Not wishing to have a pillow fight at 2am with my friend we called room service who 1 hour later finally bought said pillow. By this time we'd passed out and wasn't best pleased to be woken up. The excuse was that he'd been busy checking people in. Seemed unlikely (given it was 2am) but it pretty much summed up the service you'll get here i.e. not much.

Brekkie was average. Location was average. Room was average. All in all pretty average.

We stayed for 4 nights 15-19 OCT. I am writing this from the WIFI available free in every room, a big bonus if you need it. A good / smooth stay. Do try and ask for a 1st floor room as otherwise if you in a courtyard room, people do not have the courtesy to keep their voices down and chill out in the seating available there. It may not be that close to the beach but its not that bad. Its kind of easy access to almost everything if you have a car. The freeway is round the corner and you can join it to go almost anywhere like Universal/Hollywood etc. Not sure if its good for honeymoon/big families but the kitchenette is a plus just in case you need it. The rooms are typical travelodge but clean and no complaints. The bathrooms too are alright. Given the prices and quality of the beach properties its worth it. Again only if you have a car. The hotel has free parking but if you are late in the evening it can get full up. Still there is an outside parking as long as you drive out of that before 9 AM to avoid a ticket. The breakfast is more that what I expected, supposed to be continental but boiled eggs were also thrown in. Reception is small but then how much do you use it. Overall for a budget, the value in return is good. We booked it through their website as it was the cheapest. Yes it can get a wee bit noisy as the roads are busy but then again once the doors are closed, windows shut, its not that bad. I was surprised to see a large flat screen TV, if you are interested. An in room safety locker was a plus. For a couple it was enough.

Room comfortable with Wi-Fi acces, best traditional breakfast since a long time (fruits, cereals, eggs, pastry, juice, coffe, milk) .

The personnel was great, specials thanks to Keith who serve the breakfast at 5:30 in the morning and he was in a good mood too. Everything was great, the room was clean, quiet, with a large patio, and it was easy to go to the beach by bus. We took It just in front of the hotel in fact. The price is OK in area like Santa MOnica, I recommend it.

The rooms were large and comfortable, the kitchenette was nice. It was nice that the tv had HBO. If you stay in one of the buildings with a courtyard realise that the walls are thin and that you will hear every conversation from your neighbors, as well as people sitting outside in the courtyard area.