American Motel

I’m giving them 5 stars because they deserve a bump AND because they are a small CHEAP motel and amongst the 4 cheap motels in Santa Monica (others: Palm, Holiday & Pavillions) — they are the nicest. First of all location. You can’t beat it for that price. You can walk to the Santa Monica pier or promenade or beach in 10 mins.
I stayed there for several nights. I was lucky and got the room above the office, #9 — on it’s own, away from the rest. It was delightful. It gets the nicest breeze. They have no internet, which even other CHEAP hotels usually have. They have cable, but the TV sucked. The stairway to this unit was a bit dangerous. I actually hairline fractured my shin-​bone on it. The room was relatively clean — that is to say, there were no stains on the linens and no lingering odors — but it clearly hasn’t been renovated in 50 years and the bathroom looked like something you would find in a shanty, but it worked. The sink got clogged, but they fixed it right away. I saw 1 cockroach, and ants, but since I was there for a while, I put down some ant poison and that worked. No fridge, no microwave, no phone.
The joint is run primarily by a lovely woman named Tamara. She’s the nicest lady, but she looks like she’s had a rough life — I hate to say, but she looks like she’s spent some time on the streets — but she’s great. The owner appears to be an Iranian, comes by for a few hours and is also very nice. There is another guy who helps out when Tamara isn’t there. He’s also very nice. But he drinks all day, and appears to live in a van parked on site. I also noticed several other tenants /​guests who appeared to stay for some time, who seemed to be one step from the sidewalk, renting these rooms with their entire SS check, or pitching in together, or just renting a space for their vehicle, in which they lived. There was one guy who never bothered anyone but would walk around the neighborhood screaming obscenities as some unseen person. Another guy I recognized from the venice boardwalk as a panhandler, who never wore much more than a pair of board shorts, and he lived there. There was always some tourists staying — often for a week or longer. I saw japanese, europeans, who seemed to enjoy it. It could get noisy. It’s on lincoln blvd, and sometimes the «guests» staying in the garage area would make noise, and occasionally you’d get some random guy screaming outside a door. One night I woke up to someone trying to get into my room with a key. He got the door open as I got to it, opened it — and there was some guy asking «is this #5?»…uh, No… The fucked up thing, is the lock wasn’t that great, obviously. Well, even if I slept through it, I’m sure he wasn’t looking for trouble and would have realized his error, but really?
If you’re expecting the holiday inn, or better, than you will not find that here. This is a CHEAP motel, some call them transient motels — they are rough. but as long as you aren’t attacked by bed bugs, you’re not gonna die here and for $ 80+ /​night, for this location, it’s a great place.

Wher to even begin, well let’s start on a positive note. The lady was nice she was really a doll. Old country sweetheart. But amongst check in he room was instantly a horror. Not to mention we waited until 4pm to check in because it needed to be cleaned. So ok first there’s like this terrible smell and when I say terrible I mean just that. It was like someone pissed all over the floor (drunk moments I guess and couldn’t make it to the rest room) and the fact that a vodka bottle was on the counter just confirmed that. The fun continues and the drunk asslaunt goes into the rest room shower and shits in the drain, yes people the room was tha my filthy whoever stayed there prior popped in the tub and the cleaning team didn’t do a great job. The worst part is even after having it cleaned it was no coming back. The room had bed bugs that creep up on u at night and the sheets just gross. Like im being nice to. I won’t lie it was cool that they had great cable channels like the literally had everything like normal freakin cable it was a relief. Anyways nice lady great cable everything really disgusting

All i have to say is LOL.
Its hidious, dirty, definitely homeless people camped out downstairs, but for the price in that location, what do you expect. Its super close to the beach and the owners were sweet when we left.
Sheets and towels were clean, no bugs as far as i could tell.
Overall, the experience was just funny.

While I’ve never stayed there (and never would), I live just blocks away and walk past the place several times a week. It looks amazingly, almost surrealistically horrible and squalid, more like a dump that you would find in an industrial city in Russia than a motel anywhere in the US, especially seeing some of the people that stay there (or is the guy with no shirt the proprietor?).
I guess the only people who stay in this place are either drunks on a binge or party goers that are too drunk to drive back from Santa Monica, check in late at night, and don’t see how awful it is or are too drunk to care.

Okay, so this place was bad. There were homeless people camped out downstairs, the heater (although off) made scary noises all night, no remote for the TV, the pillows were black (but I always bring my own pillow and blanket so whatever), etc. It was bad. But it really wasn’t THAT bad. The sheets and towels were clean and they gave you soap like a normal motel. The TV worked and had a bunch of channels. It’s the cheapest place you can possibly get that’s only 4 blocks from the beach.
I was about to give this place a really bad review, but then I read Nick T.‘s review and I was a little offended. I don’t think you should judge someone by the number of teeth they have, especially when you’re requesting a service that they are providing for you, the person in need. It didn’t smell that bad in the room, definitely nothing like ‘puke, piss and rodents’. I don’t believe when he says there was a half smoked cigar in the bathroom (plus, who would leave their lighter?), or that there was no toilet paper. (My room had a brand new roll) While I wouldn’t expect a Bible in the drawer, I definitely don’t believe that there were ketchup packets and condoms. Anyway, I just found his review very harsh, and while the place realistically doesn’t deserve more than two stars, it didn’t deserve that much (lying) dogging just to get a laugh. People deserve more respect than that, especially since they can afford to own a place in such an expensive area, and um, I don’t think he can.
Oh, and while I’m at it, Jaime C., there were no roaches or termites. And you have a 2 minute interaction with the ‘staff’ (I wouldn’t call them staff, just people who own the place) and what they were wearing really should have nothing to do with the room. Just sayin.

good enough to sleep off the liquor. cheap motel but for the price cant beat.

Ok. Here’s my disclaimer. I’ve never stayed here. However, just got a call from my sometimes homeless, mentally ill bro-​in-​law. He’s staying there and says he’s in a king size suite! Based on the other reviews, I have to believe that they are true, as I know from experience, my bro-​in-​law will be taking in his homeless friends and other wayward souls to stay with him while his SSI money lasts. Too bad. it’s a great location.

OH MY WORD!!! LOL! This is the worst hotel I’ve ever seen! It looks like an apartment building, there are roaches in the rooms, and termites eating the bathroom.
Not to mention, the staff in the lobby… The woman did not have shoes on, the the man did not have on a shirt, nor shoes!
What’s sad is that out of towners might see the name, «American Motel» and think that because it’s in Santa Monica, it’s the place to be. NOT! It’s more like a trailer park in a 3^rd world country!
STAY AWAY!

Where do i begin? I guess the toothless lady with the pitbull at the front window, not desk, should have been a red flag. The rate was decent and being a bit inebriated in the wee hours of the night, i wasnt about to go hotel shopping in Santa Monica.
Toothless hands me a single key, attached to a grimy keychain and I’m off. I walk to the room, open the door and the smell hits me, My God, the public urinal troughs in TJ smells like a bed of roses compared to this but in my current state, I just dont care, I want sleep and I want it now !
I believe the smell, not the alarm on my friends phone, woke me up this morning. I took his bottle of cologne and proceeded to douse the floor and the bathroom with it, in a vain attempt to mask the permeating scent of puke, piss and rodents. I crank the fan to max and I open all the windows. I’m now gagging slightly from the cologne but given choice between «oh that toilet ! » and «eau’ de toilette » I’ll choose the latter.
So now I’m up and I need to use the facilities in a bad way. As I close the door and seat myself, I notice the half smoked cigar and a bic lighter on top of the empty paper receptacle. Nice. I half panic from the lack of charmins but was imediately relieved when I saw a quarter roll hanging out behind the toilet. Beggars cant be choosers my friend.
I now inspect the bed that I slept on, I smell the sheets and was surprised that they smelled decent and clean. The blankets had a few cigarette burn holes but that didnt bother me too much. This isnt exactly the Bellagio I tell myself and sat down. I noticed that there is no phone. Dammit, I was going to call for room service and a massage.
I open the drawer hoping to find a yellow page book, No yellow pages, no Gideons bible, just 3 packets of ketchup from McD’s, 2 hot sauces from a KFC and a Durex extra ribbed condom (for her pleasure). I slam it shut, and went to turn on the tv. No remote in sight. the channel down button does not work and it was already on channel 83. I hit the up button, found a news channe after 3 hits and left it, I did not want to push my luck.
I’m not even about to shower here. First I may not come out cleaner and quite possibly dirtier. I also have no towels and this establishment does not provide. I tell me friend to get dressed so that we can get the hell out of here. He wanted to shower but saw the cute little roach family hanging out in the shower and decided the he too could wait until he got home. Good choice.
If I could give this place a negative 2 stars I would. I cant decide who to call first, CDC or the county health department.
I cant wait to hit the showers.

Very comfortable and friendly people. I highly recdommend them.