The Ambrose

Wonderful stay at the Ambrose. The staff at the front desk was fabulous. We arrived an hour before check in but our room was not yet available. We were quite content to work on our laptops
in the lobby until it was; but they upgraded us to a better room was was ready, so we checked in right away. This was a small gesture, but indicative of the service provided. Our room was very quiet and well appointed. Great continental breakfast included as well. I’ll definitely stay here next time I’m in town, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Ambrose to others.

I had a wonderful stay at the Ambrose! The staff was VERY friendly which really added to my overall experience. The hotel looked more like condos from the outside and then had a boutique feel on the interior. Not modern, but clean and nice. The atmosphere is definitely mellow, so I would recommend this hotel more so to individuals/​couples interested in relaxing or people traveling with families. If you are looking for a hip hotel or pool scene, this should be nixed off of your list. There is a simple, complimentary breakfast every morning in the lobby which was nice as well. :)

Let’s talk about this hotel.
Super swank, very nice, has all the trappings of a premium luxury hotel. The room was fantastic and again, something that you would expect from a hotel of this quality.
…but let’s talk about something I think is more important.
What set this hotel apart from me was the care and service that two individuals working the Front Desk exemplified on March 9, 2016, and it wasn’t even for me. Nevaeh and Bernell spent the better part of an hour on the phone with a man who desperately needed a hotel because his wife was going to the hospital close by. The hotel had only one room left that was initially too expensive, and so the two of them called hotel after hotel in the area trying to secure this man a place to stay so he could be close to his wife.
10 minutes go by…
Then 20.
Then 30.
These two individuals had every opportunity to tell this man, «sorry, there’s nothing else I can do for you, best of luck,» and send this person on their way. Eventually they were able to actually make some special arrangements to get this man a room for him, and it was directly because their actions inspired those around them.
That kind of service is something that I would expect from a multi-​thousand dollar a night hotel. If this is even an **occasional** act here I could not recommend that his place more highly.

Very pleasantly surprised by this booking. The Ambrose is an older hotel that lives like a condo complex in Santa Monica. It has recently undergone a face lift, and if our room was any indication, for less than $ 250, we found ourselves very pleasantly surprised by the new dark furnishings, extremely high ceilings, outdoor patio (1^st floor) and decent continental breakfast included in the price.
This is not a full service hotel, but for a small hotel, its a good value and a good location. There is always someone on staff here, friendly and willing to help out. The hotel is right around the corner from St. John’s Hospital (a top cancer treatment center) should you need to be close by. We were here for a trip to the Rose Bowl, and didn’t want to gamble with Pasadena air quality (even in terrific January) and so ended up on the Westside.
Just 20 blocks to the beach (the hotel is on 20^th Street and the numbers go down as you move towards the beach) and close to the pedestrian-​friendly 3^rd Street Promonade, SM Pier, and improved Westside food scene, this hotel is a good option.
Breakfast is only served till 9:30 am, so don’t sleep in. Other downsides included the arbitrary price increases outside of the listed price on holidays (price swung up $ 100 for NY Day) and the premium parking at $ 25 a day, plus all the fun resort and city taxes, but that seems to be par in any Southern California hotel these days. The breakfast timeframes could be a little more forgiving, and while I love a good hotel robe, these here, and the towels, tend to be more thin and scratchy than I would like to see.
Otherwise, a good remodel, a good location, and a solid stop if staying in Santa Monica or the Westside.

Very nice and clean hotel. Breakfast is simple but delicious. The hotel itself is smaller. Staff professional and friendly. Our room was cleaned everyday. I would definitely recommend this place.

Cozy and beautiful hotel! My firm flew me to one of our offices in Santa Monica and booked The Abrose for me because it was so close to the office. It was my first time there and the hotel was just so nice. It made my trip feel less stressful after all that traveling.
The staff was very friendly from the concierge to room service. I loved my hotel room. The bed was comfy and had a pretty nice view. The one thing I liked about it the most was that they kept their mini-​fridge stocked. It had coconut juice, Voss water, and other beverages. My room even had mini liquor bottles, cookies, and treats.
I was so tired to even explore my first time in Santa Monica, so I ended up calling room service which was 24 hours! I ordered their veggie lasagna, macaroni and cheese, an ice cream bar, and salad. Yes, I ate all of that in one sitting. The person who delivered it was friendly and was very happy when I tipped him. Please tip them, they work hard there.
They also had activities around 6pm, such as Yoga, but I didn’t go because I was so tired. They have a lovely courtyard with a koi pond and nice patio furniture. The continental breakfast served delicious food as well.
Booking the room is pricey, but worth it. I’m excited to go there again.
4 stars for sure.

Still great. Renovations finished or close to finished. New owners, pretty much same great staff. My favorite in Santa Monica.

The location of the hotel is ideal if you want to be close to the beach. The rooms were spacious and looked nice and there is adequate parking below the hotel. Upon entering the room, the first thing I saw was a cockroach crowing in the bathroom. Not a good sign if this is the first thing you see in your room. The fridge was full of drinks the hotel preloaded, do not drink if you don’t want to pay for them. This took up all the space in the mini fridge. The breakfast had a wide variety of food and drinks, show up early if you want the good stuff. They do restock on the more standard items throughout the morning, so there will always be food.

This was one of the best hotels I have been to the staff is very polite nice rooms with comfy robes nice soaps a big flat screen, a mini fridge with many drink a mini bar, that has snacks also a quant porch with chairs and a table… breakfast was really good, pastries, cereal, toast, coffee, tea, yogurt or juice to start the morning off right and all this a amok price recommend this and a good walk to the peir/​beach

Rooms come with balcony if requested, pastries and fruit, friendly personable staff, great driver for quick trips within a 3 mile radius. Wi-​Fi unreliable.

Pro: The impressive part is the furnitures and decorations. The decoration is a combination of old fashion Chinese and western, I like the durable and classic style of furnitures and doors. Instead of noisy CNN, the free Breakfast has jazz as background music, which reflects a higher taste and better quality of life.
Con: Internet is really slow and disconnect constantly.

I am staying here on a work trip for 1 night. The hotel is clean but old. The tv is maybe a 17″ box tv. The elevator is iffy and barely closes. I can here toilets flushing, doors opening and closing and people walking down the hall. It is not worth the price my company paid to put me up here. Next time I’ll stay somewhere else.

I stayed here last year for the LA Marathon (March 2014). We dropped off my friend at the entrance so she can check in and then we got the key to access the underground parking garage. We accessed the hotel from the parking garage through a different door than the main entrance. It was easy to get in and out of the parking garage, so we could leave any time and come back. It was a modern hotel with a nice lobby and courtyard area. The fitness center was also nice with 2 treadmills, 2 ellipticals, a bike, and a TV. There were fresh fruits and coffee/​tea laid out, which was a nice touch.
The room was nicely furnished. We were on the first floor and had a sliding door that led to a patio with 2 chairs. The bathroom was really nice. Great place to stay at!

Everyone in the management of the Ambrose from the people in the front desk to the general manager were fantastic. They were friendly, helpful, fun and positive. The rooms are large, clean and nice.
We borrowed the free bikes for a day and rode on the beach. They even have a car service for drop off and pick up anywhere within 3 miles, all for free!
I’d definitely come back.

Downgrade alert!
The hotel is under major renovation right now. How will you know this when you make your reservation? You WON’T! Unless you read this review first.
The entire first floor is closed. That means you can’t check in without going down the ramp into the parking garage. It also means that, after 8pm, when they lower the garage gate and make it key-​access only, you can’t check in at all, unless the guy standing outside watching for this hasn’t gone home yet. Seems like he left around 10pm (maybe earlier?). I guess you could scream and make a bunch of noise, that might get someone’s attention.
Likewise if you want to leave (on foot) and the gate is closed — you have to find one of the hotel staff to open the gate for you. There’s no way for you to open it from the inside, without being in a vehicle that will trip the weight sensor.
They will not offer you any information about this on the website. They will not offer you any discounts for the inconvenience. They will not even offer you a waiver or discount on the $ 22/​night parking fee — even though seemingly, you have to park your car there to get in or out of the hotel right now.
Apologies for the inconvenience? Not so much. I could go on and on about how this hotel isn’t that special (walls are covered with smudges and fingerprints of yesteryear, carpets are outdated and smell like Uncle Frank’s basement, televisions are 90’s era CRT — that’s right — the only hotel in LA without flatscreens), but I’d prefer you read my last post regarding the customer service — it still stands. There is a complete attitude at this hotel, that it is your privilege to stay here. I highly recommend you take your privilege somewhere else where your business is appreciated.

Beautiful, quaint, peaceful hotel with great attention to detail and very warm attributes. The free continental breakfast, small garden and marvelous wood accents in the actual room made for an exquisite stay. It was very reasonable for what we got AND for the location in Santa Monica. Very close to the Promenade without being having to deal with the traffic and noise.
And this was probably the best hotel staff I’ve ever encountered, which is saying something because I travel for a living. Every person that worked there was kind without being disingenuous, helpful without being annoying and informative without providing too much information. They were INCREDIBLY sweet to let my friend, who was getting married the next day, have an extended check out. They understood our situation and were accommodating almost without hesitation. I will always have them in mind when I need a hotel in Santa Monica.

Love this place. Very quiet and zen like hotel hidden in Santa Monica. The free shuttle was very helpful as well!

We stayed at The Ambrose in late-​February while on a little weekend vacation. Normally, I’m a fan of more «modern» boutique hotels, but we read great reviews and managed to get a great deal (third night free!) so we gave this one a try!
What I loved:
–Third night free!
-«Green» hotel
–Very clean and comfortable room
–A cozy atmosphere
–Great location, with an easy commute anywhere we were going
–Affordable in-​and-​out parking in a secure lot
–Complimentary breakfast and coffee that didn’t suck
–Free shuttle (although we didn’t take advantage due to distance/​time restrictions)
–Very friendly staff
What I wasn’t crazy about:
–Their «old school TVs» were kind of shocking!
–The parking lot was a bit crammed and confusing, could easily get into a head-​on collision while coming or going
Overall, it was a great hotel. I would definitely stay there again!

I would stay here again the next time I’m in town!
Here are some highlights and notes:
–Choppy but free wifi
–Gated garage at night
–Clean but narrow rooms
–Generous breakfast
–Organic pastries
–Friendly staff
–Aveda products
–Free taxi
–Free bike rental
–Walking distance to Whole Foods

they just remodeled. the hotel rooms are on fleek and they have huge ass tv’s. love it!