Close to LAX, filled with classic LA scenes, and, best of all, right on the sparkling beaches of the Pacific Ocean, Venice Beach is the natural choice as a place to stay for someone who wants to experience the LA lifestyle to the fullest. The community can serve as a jumping-off point for visits to other sights in the area, from Hollywood to Newport Beach. And Venice Beach offers quite a bit of variety from the typical chain hotels you’ll find in other parts of the LA area.
1. Venice On The Beach Hotel
If staying on the beach is your goal for a trip to Venice Beach, then you can take the name of this hotel literally. The Venice on the Beach Hotel sits right on the beach at Speedway and 29th Avenue, putting you steps from the sand where you can throw down a towel and enjoy the sun and surf. The hotel features a patio that runs its entire length along the beach, allowing you to enjoy the view without getting sand in your shoes. The patio is a great place to watch the sunset while warming up by the fire pits.
Inside the hotel, this small property — just 18 rooms — offers modern, up-to-date spaces with a clean, white vibe. The rooms run a bit on the small side, with standard rooms in the range of 130–150 square feet, though there is a larger one-bedroom suite option that measures about 500 square feet. Parking along Venice Beach can be tough, but the Venice on the Beach Hotel offers its own reserved parking for a fee. Be sure to check out the small rooftop deck when you’re at the hotel. It will fill up fast around sunset, so get there early to get the best spot to watch the Sun dip into the Pacific.
Pro Tip: Oceanview rooms will typically run you about $30 more per night in this hotel, but you’ll find the view on that side of the hotel much better than the street view on the other side.
2. Venice Breeze Suites
As beachfront properties go, Venice Breeze Suites aims to tickle your funky side. The rooms in this 31-room hotel make the most of the plentiful windows in this 1930s-vintage structure. Interior brick walls and a clean, industrial vibe give guests the feeling they’re stepping into a modern loft-style building with ample amenities. This hotel lacks a beachside patio but makes up for it with a small roof deck 50 feet above the beach, the perfect place for great ocean views. If your budget can handle it, spring for one of the Oceanview One Bedroom Suites on the corner of the hotel, giving you windows on two walls that will bring the beach right into your room. For those who want to eat in from time to time, the suites have kitchens with full-sized refrigerators, dishwashers, and ovens.
Pro Tip: The hotel has no parking, so if you have a car, you’ll need to find parking on your own.
3. Hotel Erwin
The top pick in beachfront hotels has to be the Hotel Erwin, a four-star hotel located on Venice Beach near the Venice Beach Skatepark. Consistently ranked among the top 20 hotels in the Los Angeles area, Hotel Erwin doesn’t look as impressive from the outside as it does on the inside. The hotel gives off a modern, beachy vibe in its public areas. Its 119 rooms on five floors are bright and open with a modern industrial look. Some rooms offer a well-sized balcony on which to watch the waves roll in.
As for eats, Hotel Erwin has a pizza joint on the ground floor and a coffee shop inside. But its crown jewel is the High Rooftop Lounge running the entire length of the building, offering a small menu of bar foods and a large menu of cocktails. This is the most popular spot on Venice Beach to watch the sunset, with crowds lining up early to order a drink and enjoy nature’s show.
Pro Tip: Because of the layout and orientation of the hotel, a block-long building perpendicular to the beach, oceanview rooms may not be worth the extra cost. Save your money and take advantage of the spectacular views from the roof deck regardless of your room type.
4. The Venice Beach House
If staying right on the beach isn’t something you need to check off your list, consider The Venice Beach House for a stay of a different kind. Located just a block off the beach at Speedway and 30th Avenue — still within a 1-minute walk to the beach — this craftsman mansion offers quiet luxury in a historic setting.
Built in 1911 to host luminary guests of newspaperman Warren Wilson, the house survives today as an island of classical luxury amidst the craziness of Venice Beach. Each of its nine named rooms has its own charm and flair, foregoing the modern fixtures you find in most hotels for the classic comfort accommodations you’d typically find in a bed and breakfast. Many people favor the downstairs rooms, like the Olympic Suite, with easy access to the lush gardens on the grounds. Even though you are in the heart of California beach country, the indoor common areas give off an old English feeling that can’t help but soothe anyone after a long day on the tourist trail.
Pro Tip: With just nine rooms, The Venice Beach House books up fast. Be sure to plan well in advance for your visit and be aware there’s a two-night minimum stay required with each booking.
5. Inn At Venice Beach
Moving a bit further from the beach (and just across the city line into Marina Del Rey), the Inn at Venice Beach takes an old three-story apartment building and turns it into a boutique hotel with a 1960s vibe. Located two and a half blocks from the southern end of Venice Beach, you’re a 5-minute walk to the Venice Fishing Pier and a 15-minute walk to the heart of Venice Beach.
The high point of this property is the lovely interior atrium and courtyard with a classical Italian fountain at its center and small bistro tables around the perimeter. There are interior rooms that open onto this community space, as well as second and third floor rooms that have balconies overlooking the courtyard. If you can swing it, book a suite. They are two-story loft arrangements with the sleeping area upstairs and a living room below that can sleep four people total. The hotel doesn’t have a restaurant or a pool, though there are many locations to eat within just a few blocks, including a Mexican restaurant next door that guests rave about.
Pro Tip: The bathrooms in the rooms are quite small, so it may be a tight squeeze to use them.
6. Boutique 444
The beach is the main attraction and makes up half of the name of Venice Beach, but don’t forget about the other half. The word “Venice” comes from the canals developer Abbot Kinney dug in his early 20th-century community to make it the Venice of southern California. Many of the original canals are gone, but several blocks of canals still exist just off Venice Boulevard and are worth a self-guided walking tour.
Boutique 444 is another converted apartment building, this time sitting not near the beach, but just half a block from the canals. The beach is an 8-minute walk away and the bustling Abbot Kinney Boulevard commercial district is less than 10 minutes on foot. Rooms run on the large side in this property, ranging from 250 square feet for a studio apartment for two up to nearly 800 square feet for a classic apartment that sleeps four. The property does not have elevators, so if stairs are an issue, try to book a ground-floor room for your stay.
Pro Tip: The website for Boutique 444 actually lists a different property than the one in which you will stay. It’s best to book through a third-party travel site to see the rooms and get booked into the right place.
7. The Kinney
If the beach is of passing interest and you’re more interested in strolling the trendy shops and restaurants of Abbot Kinney Boulevard, then The Kinney is for you. Painted with murals in the style of the street art in Venice Beach, bold colors surround you at this funky hotel located a short 5-minute walk from the heart of some of the best shopping in westside LA.
This three-story hotel has 68 rooms that include some suites featuring a living room and bedroom. The hotel features a central atrium lit by trendy lights where you can enjoy ping-pong, a firepit, and a pool/spa. If you want to see more of the city than you can on foot, get one of the hotel’s signature red bikes to explore the surrounding area.
Pro Tip: The hotel faces Washington Boulevard, which can be somewhat loud. Requesting a room facing away from Washington might help if you’re a light sleeper.
8. Samesun Venice Beach Hostel
A trip to Venice Beach is about meeting people and experiencing something different than you have back home. And one sure way to do that is to stay at a hostel. Hostels aren’t for everyone, with their shared spaces and general lack of privacy. But if you’re willing to give up some personal space for immersive time with other travelers, then Samesun’s Venice Beach Hostel is for you.
Throw out your images of dingy, dark European hostels. The property has bright, beachy vibes with natural wood highlighted by light colors throughout. The most affordable rooms have dormitory-style sleeping arrangements with up to eight people in bunk beds with shared bathroom space. You can also book dorm-style, four-person rooms or, if you prefer a bit more privacy, get a more traditional single-bed room with either a shared or private bathroom. Security is always a concern at hostels, so this property has in-room safes and lockers to keep your possessions secure while you’re away.
Pro Tip: This hostel is for adults only, meaning no one under 18 may stay there.
9. Podshare Venice
Further off the beach, there’s another hostel experience that offers true dormitory-style sleeping arrangements for a very affordable price — especially if you’re traveling alone. Podshare Venice offers 20 twin beds that sleep one person, or five queen-sized beds for two, all in a 2,000-square-foot space you’ll share with others.
The twin beds are stacked in “pods” that give you some small bit of separation from your neighbors, but not much privacy as every bed is open to the main living area. As with Samesun’s hostel in Venice Beach, there are lockers where you can store your valuables, shared bathroom facilities, and a shared common space. The whole property has a natural, calming feeling with lots of exposed wood and space open to the outdoors.
Pro Tip: If you’re worried about noise in the sleeping area, the property plays a gentle rain sound throughout the night to help drown out unwanted noises.
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