Manhattan Beach hotel review: The Belamar, a comfortable boutique stay

My husband and I just stayed at the the Belamar in Manhattan Beach this weekend. He was on a business trip, and I was tagging along for the chance to stay at a hotel that our friends from Atlanta have raved about for a couple of years now. After two nights, I would definitely return, and I’d recommend this comfortable boutique hotel to other friends and business travelers.

Loved: The décor. The Midcentury Modern decor and atmosphere of the lobby — along with the friendly desk staff — made me feel welcome at once. (The picture above was taken with my phone.) Valet parking was complimentary and chilled citrus-flavored water was available in the lobby. The Belamar is an older hotel that has been completely remodeled. Still, whereas it’s easy in some hotels to see remnants of the old hotel, I was hard pressed to find any of those signs here.

Our room: We had a Skyline room with a king-size bed on the second floor. It was spacious, had a flat-screen TV, iPod dock on the clock radio and both a desk and a separate seating alcove by the window. The bathrooms had marble floors and included Lather bath amenities.

Biz travelers: This is a great hotel for business travelers. There is meeting and event space on the property as well as at other locations throughout Los Angeles. Wi-Fi is free in your room. There are even free computers for you to use to check your email or print your boarding pass. The Internet access (in the business center) was a bit wonky while we were there — the Web browser closed out every few minutes, making it hard to work, but perhaps it was a temporary problem. The in-room Wi-Fi worked fine.

Didn’t love: Saying the hotel is in Manhattan Beach is slightly deceptive. Don’t expect to be in the middle of the beach action or steps from the sand. There was nothing aesthetically pleasing about the surrounding area on Sepulveda Blvd. and there were no ocean views, but the Belmar’s decor and its outside patio made up for it.

Location: There is a nearby walking path to the beach — about 1.5 miles gets you to the heart of Manhattan Beach’s trendy shopping and restaurant district; 1.7 miles gets you to the surf and sand. The Belamar is also only 3.6 miles from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Rates: Standard rooms cost $209 a night plus tax in August and September when you book through their website, and balcony rooms were only $10 more. When I checked Hotels.com, rates were as low as $169 per night in August.

Next time: We did not check out the gym or the on-site restaurant. Had to save something for the next visit….

– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger

[Photo credits: Jen Leo, thebelamar.com]

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This entry was posted on Sunday, August 3, 2008 at 2:00 pm by Jen Leo and is filed under Business Travel, California, Los Angeles, News, Tips & Advice, Travel Insider. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.