TL;DR: This Santa Monica Aesthetic Travel Guide skips the obvious and gets straight to the good stuff: beautiful hotels, standout restaurants, great bars, ocean views, and places with serious style. Here’s where to stay, eat, drink, and wander.
In a city known for trying too hard, Santa Monica is the exception. Let the rest of LA chase the spotlight. Santa Monica’s already glowing. Golden, breezy, and effortlessly cool, this little stretch of the Westside has casual sophistication down to an art.
Santa Monica doesn’t try as hard as the rest of LA, and that’s exactly the flex.
I’m a hotel designer who basically lives on planes and power walks through lobbies for a living, and I’ve done the homework so you don’t waste a minute on “meh.” I’ve wandered the lobbies, ordered the cocktails, eaten the food, checked out the bathrooms, and taken notes so you don’t waste your precious vacation time somewhere mediocre. You deserve better than that.
So let’s soak up the sun and get rolling!
This post may include affiliate links. If you choose to book through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Hotel | 1415 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401
The Georgian Hotel
The Georgian doesn’t just sit on Ocean Avenue; it poses. Turquoise façade, yellow trim, palm trees swaying like they’ve been cast for the scene. It’s eight stories of Old Hollywood charisma, and once you clock the fringed umbrellas out front and the bellhops in tailored jackets, you know: this hotel gets it.
Click here to check current room rates and availability.
Here’s the thing about The Georgian: she’s not trying to impress you. She already knows she’s iconic. That robin’s-egg-blue façade? It’s been stopping traffic since 1933. And when you walk through the door, you don’t just check in, you enter a perfectly preserved moodboard of Hollywood’s Golden Age, reimagined through what the design team called “Havana Art Deco.”
Step inside and the real show begins: gold mohair banquettes, deep blue walls, Wes Anderson-red key boxes, and an undercurrent of speakeasy mystery. You’ll want to touch everything. You probably will.
Click here to take my full tour of this amazing Art Deco icon in Santa Monica.
The lobby winks. The pink velvet banquettes flirt. The minibar in the suite deserves its own agent. And don’t even get me started on the Georgian Room downstairs. It’s a speakeasy supper club where legends once recovered from offshore gambling nights and the romance still lingers in the air (along with a perfect Negroni).
And the basement bar? That’s where the ghosts live. (In a good way.) The Georgian Room has been reborn as a candlelit supper club just for hotel guests, complete with a built-in 1918 Steinway and tufted booths worthy of whispered secrets. Even if you’re not staying here, at least walk through. If you’re lucky, it’ll make you want to book a room. If you’re really lucky, you’ll never want to leave.
Click here to check current room rates and availability.
Restaurant | 1415 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Sirena Restaurant at the Georgian
Sirena spills out onto the hotel’s terrace overlooking the Pacific, with striped umbrellas, lush greenery, and that particular Santa Monica light that makes ordering a second drink seem completely reasonable. The whole thing has a little Amalfi Coast fantasy going on but still feels unmistakably California.
The menu follows suit: coastal Italian with a California accent. Think oysters and calamari, mozzarella di bufala, pastas, branzino, chicken Milanese, and cocktails made for lingering. It’s open throughout the day, but I’d aim for a long lunch, aperitivo, or dinner timed suspiciously close to sunset.
And really, lingering is the point. You’re sitting on Ocean Avenue, looking straight out at the Pacific, at a hotel that’s been part of Santa Monica since 1933.
Go hungry. Stay for sunset. Order the second drink.
Bar | 1415 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401
The Sunset Bar at The Georgian
Before you check in, before you even speak to a soul, The Georgian introduces you to the most important feature in the room: the bar. Not hidden in the back. Not off to the side. Front and center. A glowing emerald quartzite horseshoe that radiates elegance, attitude, and excellent taste. Take a full tour of the bar here.
The horseshoe shape is made from hand-selected Italian emerald quartzite, a rich, veined, luminous stone that catches light differently depending on the time of day. It’s set under the room’s original arch, and Fettle exaggerated the symmetry of the existing architectural details so the whole space feels balanced and intentional. Soft pink walls. Custom lighting fixtures. Custom velvet-upholstered furniture where each sofa is slightly different from the rest: one-of-a-kind pieces that make every seat feel like your spot.
Velvet draperies dangle from the top of the bar. Those curtains close off the liquor bottles by day, so the space reads as a cafe during morning hours and transforms into cocktail theater by evening. Love the flex disguised in drama. So sit and order something classic. Something photogenic. Something with a twist. And raise a glass to the hotel bar that knew it was the star of the show and made sure you did too.
Click here to check current room rates and availability at the Georgian Hotel.
Restaurant | 1104 Wilshire Blvd Ste A, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Citrin: Where the Food Does the Flexing
Michelin-starred restaurants can be a little… tense. You know the ones, hushed dining rooms, servers who look like they’ve taken a vow of silence, food that arrives like a still life you’re afraid to disturb. Citrin? Not that. This is the kind of place where the food is world-class but the vibe says “you’re here to enjoy yourself.” And I did.
Chef Josiah Citrin’s Michelin-starred Santa Monica restaurant does modern California cooking with serious French technique but without making the whole evening feel like you need to sit up straighter. You can go à la carte or prix fixe, which makes it a little more approachable than its very fancy sister restaurant, Mélisse, tucked into the same building.
The space is sleek and unbothered with dark woods, clean lines, a hint of moody lighting, and a bar that hums with actual life. It’s minimalist in the best way: nothing shouts, nothing distracts, and your table doesn’t feel like a spotlight. Slide into one of the curved leather booths, order a martini (or the egg caviar if you’re feeling iconic), and prepare for one of the best meals in Santa Monica without anyone making it weird.
Hotel | 700 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Proper Hotel
You know a Kelly Wearstler project the moment you step inside. Not because it looks like something you’ve seen before, but because it absolutely doesn’t. She’s the reason “boutique hotel” means what it does now. And at the Santa Monica Proper, she took her signature fearless style of bold textures, vintage oddities, curved everything, and let it breathe. California beach energy, but make it couture.
👀 P.S. There’s also a Proper Hotel in Downtown LA. You can take a virtual tour of that one right here on my blog.
The lobby actually feels like someone’s very chic, very layered living room. Chairs that shouldn’t go together somehow do. Ceramic, marble, teak, oak, all in play. The tile-clad columns are bulbous, the walls are hand-troweled, the floor pattern was inspired by aerial shots of beach umbrellas. Even the front desk is sculpted like a seashell, with a sand-textured canvas behind it because of course it is. There’s a library/art nook called The Grotto, and a 9-foot bronze chain-link sculpture pierced by neon light. (total Kelly move).
Click here to check current room rates and availability.
Bar | Hotel | 700 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Palma & Calabra
Palma, at Santa Monica Proper, is layered, lush, and wonderfully weird in that very Kelly Wearstler way. Curves meet stripes. Vintage meets modern. Plants appear to be having the time of their lives.
It’s an easy stop for coffee, breakfast, lunch, or a cocktail, and a very good excuse to get inside the Proper even if you’re not checking in.
Design note: Don’t just look straight ahead. Look up, look down, look at the furniture. Palma is basically an interior design masterclass in layering pattern, texture, shape, and color. Look and learn.
Then head up to the rooftop at Calabra. It’s beautiful people, curated cocktails, and neutral tones. It’s a lifestyle brand. This is where Santa Monica comes to look casually expensive while nibbling on artfully plated hummus and pretending not to notice they’re being noticed. My take? Sure, the rooftop is beautiful. It’s also buzzy, branded, and slightly exhausting if you’re not in the mood to schmooze over rosé. I wanted to love it. I didn’t. Maybe it was all the posing (too much. even from our waiter). But I did love the downstairs Grotto where the books are real and the furniture is better company. Just me?
Restaurant | 2309 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90405
Alfalfa – The Prettiest Salad I’ve Ever Had (oh, and the Doughnuts)
I know what you’re thinking. She’s putting a salad place in an aesthetic travel guide? Yes. I am. Because Alfalfa earned it. This is the prettiest and best salad I have had to date. Full stop.
Or wait, not full stop. Full disclosure: there were also doughnuts.
But the salads. The salads are the reason I’m writing about Alfalfa like it’s a Michelin-starred bistro. Because these are not filler greens with a few toppings. These are full-on, beautifully layered meals that just happen to be healthy. Each bowl is composed like a still life: vibrant produce, crisp textures, bright garnishes, herbs for days. You’ll want to take a picture and finish the whole thing. (You’ll do both.)
But wait…there’s more. Doughnuts.
I saved the best for last because these deserve a proper spotlight. They’re entirely gluten-free. Every single one. And before you make that face, stop. I need you to listen. These are not “good for gluten-free.” These are good, full stop. People with zero dietary restrictions choose them on purpose. That kind of good.
The glazes are original. The dough is moist and flavorful. And yes, they’re ridiculously pretty. The lemon thyme stopped me mid-bite. The tres leches made me whisper “oh” like a weirdo. And the blood orange? That one was for a friend… until I ate it in the car on the way to deliver it. (Sorry, not sorry.)
Alfalfa nails that impossible California trifecta: fresh, fast, and deeply good-looking. It’s lunch you want to eat — and more importantly, one you feel good about after. Even if you had the doughnuts. (That’s what we call balance, folks).
The Soul of Santa Monica
That’s Santa Monica, where a salad gets plated like fine art, a rooftop bar becomes its own personality, and even the doughnuts have a design ethos. It’s a place that rewards people who pay attention. So take the long way. Order the extra thing. If you let it, this city will slow your pace and raise your standards.
Where Are You Going Next?
One good trip has a way of starting another. Where’s your next destination?
LA is a choose-your-own-adventure with valet parking. Start here.
The Downtown Los Angeles Aesthetic Travel Guide →
New York has approximately a million options. I narrowed it down.
The NYC Aesthetic Travel Guide →
Nashville is so much more than boots and bachelorettes. Go see the good stuff.
The Nashville Aesthetic Travel Guide →
Desert modernism, perfect pools, and cocktails that match the sunset.
The Palm Springs Aesthetic Travel Guide →
And if Mexico City isn’t already on your list, we should probably fix that.
The Mexico City Aesthetic Travel Guide →
