Santa Monica Proper

The pool

• Rooftop heated pool
• Pacific + coastline
• Alcoves + daybeds
• Poolside dining

Why it's on the list

One of the very few rooftop pools on the Westside — heated, on the top deck, with a panorama of the Pacific, the coastline and the mountains. Alcoves and daybeds run the edge, and the poolside kitchen leans Balearic. Laps with an ocean in the frame.

The stay

Santa Monica Proper is the beach-side design hotel — a Kelly Wearstler interior and one of the very few real rooftop pools on the Westside, aimed at the Pacific rather than a skyline. Being in Santa Monica changes the whole trip: you're walkable to the beach, the pier, and Third Street, and out of the daily downtown-to-Hollywood traffic entirely. At $$$$ it's a genuine splurge, but it's the one hotel here where the ocean is the view — the pick if you want the coast, not the city.