Mr. Deals Reviews the Huntley Santa Monica

Post #13 compliments of Mr. Deals…

You may remember a couple weeks back I wrote about how Mrs. Deals was pretty unhappy about a pending work trip because it didn’t involve me staying at one of the big chains. Well I just returned from that trip and I figured I would give you the Mr. Deals version of what it was like to stay at a hotel that was not approved by the Mrs.

Let me start by saying the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica is located in an absolutely fantastic spot in my opinion. You are one block from the beach and about the same distance from the 3rd street promenade. Right there you have two great ways to spend a day that doesn’t involve sitting in the brutal LA traffic (it once took me an hour and twenty-five minutes to go 8 miles).

Because this was a work gathering, we spent 2 days onsite at the hotel making good use of the conference rooms and rooftop bar. As a company of 70 or so, this was perfect. If you need to do a small event they’ve got rooms that are about the perfect size for a gathering of 20 or a gathering of 70-80. They also have a great outside patio area where we held our lunches in the middle of the day. I’m sure most of you aren’t interested in this stuff so I’ll move on to more important things…

The Penthouse. This rooftop bar/restaurant is awesome. You’ve got probably one of nicest views of Santa Monica from this place and a sunset up there is not to be missed. Drinks can be a little pricey, but the view is worth the price of admission. Also, since it is a restaurant you will see tons of folks going in and out. In typical LA fashion, you get a lot of very done up people. And given that we were there on Valentines day, I think this is a popular spot for dates. Dates that our debauchery most likely ruined because we were a bunch of rowdy co-workers that like to drink.

Now to the room. Clean, big, 42 inch flat screen, desk, etc. There’s not much to write here because as far as Mr. Deals is concerned if the bed is comfortable and clean, I’m good to go. I should mention for you lady travelers out there, there’s a nice big walk in closet. I never really unpack a bag, but this was great to keep my stuff out of the open area of the room. My biggest disappointment about the room was that there was no pen. I’m serious, what kind of hotel leaves a pad out with no pen? I’m a big fan of hotel pens.

Here are the two things I loved about this place aside from the location and the rooftop. First, turndown service that included little chocolates.

These chocolates were delicious and they left 2 every night with some smooth jazz playing on the radio. It was great to walk into. Also, I’m not sure I remember the last time I got a chocolate or even turndown service. I’m wondering if Mrs. Deals steals the chocolates before I even see them. Hmm…

And the number 1 thing I loved about this hotel, the shower. Yes folks, you heard it right. The shower. The bathroom was nothing special and actually it was quite small, but the shower was a full size stall, no tub and had the single greatest feature of any hotel I’ve stayed in, a perfectly placed shower handle.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been to hotels where this handle is right under the shower head and sometimes you get a cold blast of water in the face or on the top of the head. That’s just the worst as far as I’m concerned. If there’s a shower curtain you can avoid it, but if it’s a long stall, sometimes you just get nailed and it’s not fun. I’m not going to lie, I would go back to this hotel just to take a shower.

I’m sure there’s more I could write about this place, but I’ll leave you with the quick roundup. If you are going to LA and want to be by the beach, close to shopping/restaurants, a place to grab a drink and watch the amazing sunsets, have a comfortable/clean bed and a fantastic shower handle set up, the Huntley is your place.

Just bring your own pen.

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