Los Angeles skyline. Credit: Todd Jones Photography
By Vince Font
If you’re planning a romantic getaway, steer clear of dartboard-in-a-map approaches. Los Angeles hotels may be a dime a dozen (or perhaps a buck a dozen, once you adjust for inflation), but scoring that one-in-a-million bullseye shouldn’t be left to chance. With that in mind, here are three of the finest Los Angeles beach hotels where you can enjoy both the Southern California scene and the coast.
- Hotel Maya in Long Beach has a self-proclaimed joie de vivre that’s bolstered by its close proximity to one of the city’s great attractions, the Queen Mary. It’s also home to one of the few truly elegant waterfront restaurants in LA, Fuego, which specializes in Mexican and Latin American cuisine. The freshly renovated rooms offer scenic ocean and city-skyline views. It’s also pet-friendly, but for a romantic getaway I suggest leaving Spot at home.
- Hotel Shangri-La in Santa Monica has the ubber-modern exterior look of a futuristic hospital, but the oceanside bluff it’s perched on gives it away. Inside, it’s head-to-toe Art Deco from suites that scream “glamorous” to the dining room that whispers “feed me gourmet things.”
- Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes stands as an example of all that’s right in the world when ocean meets land meets man-made structure. I’ve never had a coastal view actually take my breath away, but this came close. Bungalow suites offer private patios and a taste of what it must be like to be royalty.
Vince Font is a freelance writer born in Puerto Rico and currently escaped to Utah. When not dreaming of interstellar travel, he’s on the hunt for weird, wacky, and off-the-beaten-track vacation destinations. Next stop: The Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast.
