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, plus a Balearic-leaning poolside kitchen. 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.