Wow! What a great place to relax!

I came to LA for my brother's wedding, and decided to make a vacation out of the trip. I was traveling alone with my two kids - 6 years and 9 months old; however, my parents and several friends of my family were also staying in the same hotel.

My flight arrived at 11 am; so of course we got to the hotel before check in time. The concierge asked if we wanted to have our luggage brought to our room and this gave us the freedom to find a place to eat lunch and explore the area. About a block from the hotel is 3rd Avenue Promenade, a street free from cars with shops and restaurants, my daughter enjoyed the dinosaur fountains immensely.

At three, I was given the keys to our room (807). Wow! The room was huge, and the best part was the walk in closet where I could put the stroller and our luggage, close the door, and then the room was free for the baby to crawl around. The renovations in the hotel seem to be complete, I spent several afternoons in the room (for baby's naptime), and did not hear any loud construction going on. The rooms are beautifully furnished.

The first day and the last, we walked along the beach to the pier. It is very hot out there, but absolutely worth it. If you have small children don't miss out on the Aquarium underneath the boardwalk.

The hotel provided a crib which was slightly damaged. But after one call to the front desk and a new crib was in the room by the time I had returned from dinner. The front desk and all the staff members I encountered were very helpful and friendly. The restaurant staff upstairs could use some more training at breakfast time.

Mediocre

In early September, 3 nights. On the positive side, front desk personel were pleasant, good housekeeping service, wall-mounted 42 inch plasma TV, large shower stall (no tub), room decor better that when it was a Radissson, but still mediocre.

On the negative side, my room (lower price category) was small with a tiny closet. The only drawers for clothing were in the night stands, 2 very small ones. There were a couple cubicles in the closet, but turned sideways so that you could not see in. AC control made a loud "snap"when it cycled on, waking me at night. The hallways are dismally dark with atrocious wall art (to my taste). There were no glasses in the bathroom. The wall-mounted TV screen was nice, but there was no place to sit while watching it, other than the bed, or by re-arranging the room chairs.

The Huntley is listed with "Preferred Hotels and Resorts". I have stayed at several of these properties, and this hotel is not in this class.

Getting there....

Stayed at the Huntley for business in late August. They seem to be in the late stage of renovation...and when it's done, it will be a nice (though not upper level) place to stay. Renovations of rooms are stylish. Rooms are fairly small, but welcoming. Plasma TV's are nice touch though mine had serious sound problems. Front desk staff helpful, though not super strong on follow through. Concierge staff was excellent, however. Restaurant had average food, but views make up for it. Lobby is chic and cool. Lots of people coming into the hotel for happy hour. Watch out for high parking costs ($18 per night) and $9 per day wireless internet access (that was spotty at best.) But great location and will be nice when renovations are complete.

Has potential, but not there yet

Stayed there for one night in late June, along with my wife and 18 month old daughter. The hotel is in a good location, about a ten minute walk from the Santa Monica Pier. We enjoyed the walk along the beach down to the pier. The lobby has been done in a boutique hotel style. As others have noted, only valet parking is available and it's not cheap (I think $18), but it's LA. We paid the corporate rate of $179/nite, which is a great rate for the area.

The room was not bad. It was small but clean and the bathroom, while not large, was sufficient size. There was a plasma TV on the wall which saves some space. It's about what you'd expect from a former Radisson. We requested a refridgerator for our baby's milk and they brought one up immediately. It was broken so they brought another one just as quickly. The restaurant on the top floor was nice, with a great view of the water. We ate breakfast there the next morning and the food and service were good and the prices were reasonable. There was almost no one else in the restaurant. But I don't think I'd eat dinner there since there are so many good choices in the area.

My only complaint is about the front desk: I happened to be in the area the week before our stay, so I stopped by the hotel and told the receptionist that we were coming the following weekend. We had reserved the lowest category room but she was very nice and said she would upgrade us to a large corner room so that we would have plenty of room for a crib. I watched her type this into her terminal.

When we showed up the next week, I asked the receptionist (a different one) whether we were getting a larger room. She said yes. But when we went upstairs, it was a small room with barely enough room for a crib. We were only staying one night so I didn't bother to make a fuss. But the next day when we were checking out, I asked the receptionist whether we had gotten the smallest room. She said "they're all like that." Then I told her that I had walked past a room with an open door--it had two beds and was much larger than my room. I asked whether those rooms cost the same. The receptionist yes, but that I didn't get one because the hotel was sold out the night before. (However, when I was checking in the day before, I overheard the receptionist on the phone saying that they had rooms available that night.) She said I should request the larger room when I make the reservation.

Of course, I had done all of this the week before, so they obviously either lost the information or ignored it when I checked in. So all of this made me suspicious that the receptionists weren't very diligent about their job and were laying on the standard lines about not having the information, sold out room, etc.

I would not stay there again, instead try another hotel in the area.

Horrendous

Where to begin with the bigtime bait-and-switch being perpetrated by this hotel? While various websites show The Huntley to be renovated, hip, calm etc - the reality is just the opposite -- the place is undergoing a massive renovation and is in total chaos. Try no running water from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on several floors; unrenovated rooms that are dull, musty and dreary sold for the same price as the new rooms -- about $300 a night; a "business center" that appears to be housed in a converted closet -- two PCs, one of which did not work when I was there, and no way to print to the printer that's in there even from the PC that does work. The in-room "high speed Internet" that's advertised is actually wireless only - so if you're an Ethernet user you're out of luck; but it gets worse. We started out in one of the old rooms -- which also just happened to overlook the hotel's rotting garbage dump. Why this area can't be covered or hidden with some foliage is a mystery. When I called to ask if there was a different view available (maybe the ocean?) they were nice -- switched us to the 8th floor -- a much smaller room but beautifully renovated -- until you looked more closely. No sooner had I unpacked did I notice big holes in the walls where it looked like electrical outlets were planned but did not go; the hallway floor by the elevator was crooked and sloping as if true structural renovations were called for; and the area was covered with dust and debris from construction work just feet from our door -- in fact parts of the ceilings in the hall areas were ripped out -- pipes were being installed (hence no water on this floor) and when I called to find out why there was no water in my new room -- I was lied to -- told there was a a "plumbing emergency" -- but I shouldn't worry "cause it'll be back on at 3 for sure." Later a bellman told me it was off every day at this time. So they moved us again -- now to the 16th floor -- where there was water and the hallway renovations were complete -- but as we unpacked for the third time all we heard were drills, jackhammers and other loud noises coming from what seemed like the room next door or just overhead. The walls are also paper-thin at this place -- we could hear our neighbors' phone and TV clearly from two of our three rooms. Parking is overpriced and the service is poor -- it took 20 minutes to receive our car. While one manager was helpful and did promise a refund for our prepaid reservation, (we'll see what happens there) generally the staff is clueless and needs all the hotel basics taught to them. While The Huntley may well turn out to be nice once it's completed, the fact that it's being sold as if it is spanking new, is clearly misleading. We ran screaming from the joint. Don't waste your precious travel time here.

Awful

Not pleased with the service we received at this hotel recently. Been there many times in the past and enjoyed it, but it feels like the service has really gone downhill (and its too bad, because the physical renovations are nice). The irony is that back when it was a divey hotel with a design straight out of the 70's, the service was quite decent. But now that they've renovated and "gone upscale", the service has a lot to be desired. And the "Topper", to turn a phrase on the restaurant at the top of the hotel, was when my wife and I got stuck in the elevator, on one of the hottest days of the year and with NO ventilation. When we finally got out over 15 minutes later, no apologies from the front desk manager on duty at all. She looked at us like we were nuts. We'll be back, only because we like the restaurant (great view), but we won't be staying at the hotel itself again.

Quite a nice play to stay!

Wish I stayed longer at this hotel! Two blocks from the ocean, few blocks from Santa Monica Blvd. and shopping promenade, great views from my room and fantastic, responsive staff. Requested a last minute change to expedite my room service and it was honored with no problem. My only minor recommendation is to update the halls and rooms a bit! I travel a lot for business and this is one of few hotels in which I would stay again in a second.

Huntley Beach Hotel Santa Monica

Huntley Beach H0otel, Santa Monica.

Their web site says that Internet access is a room amenity which it is for $10 per day added to an already exorbitant room rate. It also says that a minibar is a room amenity -- there was no minibar in my room. The restaurant was almost empty when we had breakfast but the service was appalling even then! Parking is $18 per day yet one could easily park oneself. I will not return to this hotel.

Surprise, surprise, wow

My husband and I attended our cousins wedding and this was the hotel they picked. I have to share this, from the moment we arrived , to the moment we left, we experienced such a peaceful great time. Their front desk staff were so friendly and nice, welcomed us with such big smiles and even though the lines were long at check in, they were extremely efficient and were very speedy, not breaking a sweat.Believe me, we have stayed in a lot of 4 to 5 star hotels and the front desk are normally very stoic and nonchalant, rude at most times. We were taken to our room by the girl at check in and our bellman even offered to unpack our luggage!!!! Can you believe that? The lobby alone is incredible, very New York trendy. We had a beautiful room , with a plasma tv and the decor was just so tastefully done. Not an oceanfront hotel, but we got a great view.The restaurant was great, beautiful views and the food was decent.

The only drawback we had was the service in the lobby cafe, the girl was on her cell phone the whole time while making our lattes. The gym is outdated but the equipment was sturdy.

Big kudos to the staff, everyone we encountered were so helpful and service is excellent at this hotel. My husband had trouble with his laptop for 3 days and could not get it to work, who helped him? The actual hotel manager!!! I couldn't believe my eyes, never have I ever seen a hotel manager. She stood there for an hour and fixed his computer. He was not the most pleasant person when he was dealing with the issue but she had the patience of a saint. I would have personally gone mad but after all I married him, so there you go. But most importantly, this is the hotel that we will always return to, such truly helpful, friendly,marvelous down to earth people.

Awesome

Wow. What a fabuolus change. We came back into the hotel and were astounded by our whole experience. It is absolutely fantastic. The lobby is very LA chic and extremely hip. The decor was something else, the ambiance was incredible. Every where we went the staff was incredible and they were all very friendly and outgoing. Our room was incredible, nice plasma television , beautiful in room decor and waht amazing views. I was pleasantly surprised at the whole hotel.Incredible!Four-thumbs up.