Santa Monica Travel Forum

I am planning on staying a few nights around the Santa Monica area and would like to stay close to the beach although to get better value I am happy to go a bit as I have a car. I wonder is there any area close to the coast where car parking is likely to be free for guests and reasonably priced hotels.

Just a few minutes away is Marina del Rey and on Washington St. is the Holiday Inn Express. It is used by many Europeans and has good value. Continental breakfast and free parking. I visited a fellow VTer at this hotel and it is not fancy but clean. Only about 5 minutes to Santa Monica via Venice Beach. Close to beach and LAX as well. Look up their site be going to http://www.ichotelsgroup.com and put in US and Marina del Rey, CA under location.

There are a lot of inexpensive hotels in Santa Monica that offer free parking. Here are a few: Santa Monica Gateway Hotel, Cal Mar Hotel Suites, Holiday Inn/Beach at Pier, Hotel Shangri-La, Santa Monica Beach Hotel, Bayside Hotel, Best Western Gateway Hotel, Days Inn, Days Inn Santa Monica, Ocean Lodge Santa Monica Beach Hotel, Santa Monica Pico Travelodge. Sant Monica College has a webpage listing Santa Monica hotels with rates from $60-$90 at http://www.smc.edu/apps/Pub.asp?Q=163