Hotel Shangri-La

Very disappointed with my stay no hot water at all during my stay . I advised reception on Friday morning the 12 of April and the receptionist advised that she will get maintenance to look at it but when I returned that night again no no hot water . The guy at reception was hopeless and did not believe me when I approached him at front desk he then proceeded to come to the room 105 to see for himself He let the water run for at least 5 or so Minutes and kept on saying it’s warming up and of course it never did . Meanwhile I check out as I had no shower for 2 days and no offer to change room. Would definitely not stay there again On the positive side clean bed and room but no service everything is on line including speaking to staff after hours

I am not sure how to describe this place, but it is definitely not a four-star hotel. On the plus side: (1) great location (I would not say great views as I could not see anything through my windows thanks to the permanent condensation), (2) large rooms. On the minus side: (1) no housekeeping included (what kind of hotel is this?) leaving you running after staff to get a new roll of toilet paper… which they could not immediately provide as they « were waiting for the manager to bring some as they had run out of toilet paper » (again, what kind of hotel is this?); (2) crazy amount of noise as if you were in a nightclub, including past 10 pm; (3) poor Wi-Fi to which you need to reconnect every five minutes; (4) recurring issues with the water temperature - often, only boiling water available from the bathroom, including from the cold tap (!), meaning you are not able to have a shower when you want unless you want to burn yourself; (5) on some days no food/drinks whatsoever available as the restaurant is not open every day - perhaps they could get some vending machines installed; (6) the reception desk is often unmanned, so there is nobody available on site to deal with problems promptly; (7) only one lift in working order, but hijacked most of the day by staff going to the basement/roof terrasse, meaning that you often have to take the stairs unless you want to waste your time waiting for the lift; (8) a general lack of care and attention. A good example: it rained very heavily one day and all the furniture at the pool was just left there in the rain, with all the cushions getting soaked to the core. Another example: a housekeeping staff blocking the lift with her cleaning cart that was half in the lift and half out whilst she was typing messages on her cell phone (and there is only one lift available in the entire place). All in all, frustrating and disappointing especially as it was far from cheap. I recommend avoiding this place.

This is a great hotel for many people. It’s not a full service hotel in that there’s no room service, you have to request housekeeping. I, female, came with my teen daughter. We always felt safe. The location is perfect. Pier, restaurants , shops all within walking distance. Pool and outside area is gorgeous. All rooms on floors 2 and up have great views. There is street noise. We didn’t hear nightclub noise, even though it was open, which I saw complaints of in other reviews. It’s my second stay at a Sonder and I will seek them out in other cities.

Comfortable beds and pillows. Huge and beautiful room. Good price with an ocean view. Great location for a family vacation. Easy to walk everywhere except the pier since it is a lot further away than it looks. But overall this is just a wonderful place to stay!

This is a slightly quirky hotel. On the plus side the rooms are big with wonderful ocean views. The Art Deco look is great and the bathroom has a huge bath. There is also a lovely pool with plenty of space. The staff were very good and helpful. The hotel is close to downtown Santa Monica. On the downside was the rooftop bar, ridiculously expensive for a sunset view, also a bored surly doorman to the rooftop bar. The hotel is still undergoing some renovation and hopefully will add something lovely. This hotel is not for everyone, but you can’t have original Art Deco chic and 21st century swish. I really enjoyed the difference this hotel gave compared to the world wide blandness of some hotels.

On arrival after 4pm room still not cleaned. The bath had no plug (stopper) so had to place a plastic mat over it, and the supposed spa bath had 1 or 2 out of 8 jets working. 3 times I asked for a bath plug and still didn’t get one. The pool area is disgusting. It hadn’t been cleaned and again jets not working in plunge pool but you wouldn’t want to get in it anyway. I had a small refund but said this was not satisfactory, I am still waiting on a response. So disappointed this was the trip of a lifetime. This place could be so nice but not up to scratch at all. I have a video too but can’t upload.

I was concerned reading the mix of reviews however we were very pleased with our stay at Sonder the Beacon. We've travelled extensively, always research hotels carefully and try to be prepared for how things are going to be. Once we booked, we were able to communicate through the Sonder chat feature, always receiving prompt responses. We stayed in a 2-bedroom apartment and it was very spacious with a full kitchen and 2 full bathrooms, perfect for our family of 5. We were initially missing kitchen linens and also requested extra garbage bags and these were brought up a short time after messaging through the app. Some 'issues' mentioned in other reviews were minor. No restaurant on site (looked to be under renovation?) so we grabbed groceries. I guess that could be an issue if staying in a regular room and not an apartment-style room however, there are restaurants/coffee shops literally 2-3 blocks away. Shower wasn't terribly hot..not a big deal. The pool and hottub look a bit rundown but they're clean. I read they are being redone starting in February. The rooftop bar was active 2 out of our 5 nights and being on the 4th floor, there was some noise but we were prepared with earplugs. Our 3 kids never heard a thing. You can't beat the location. Directly across from Santa Monica beach and a short distance to the Pier and the Promenade. Homeless congregated more in those areas. Overall, it was a pleasant stay in a quirky, historic hotel.

Best hotel I stayed at, The Staff was super polite and pleasant to speak to, and they helped with everything I needed assistance with from restaurant recommendations to info on the city. Super helpful, would come back!!!

No internet in the suite for our 3 days stay. It is ironical for a hotel where you have to order fresh towels on line. We have been going to this hotel for 10 years when it was the Shangri-La and always had a pleasant stay. Now that Sonder took over it is a disaster, the breakfast room is closed, the roof bar is not always open and you have Zero service. Rooms have not been renovated and it is even more expensive than it was before and you must do your bed and cleaning. No amenities in the bathroom, not even a shower cap. A total disappointment.