We stayed 3 nights in June, 2008. After reading reviews here, I decided to ask for a 2nd floor on a quieter end. We were given room 211. It was perfect! It was like a little apartment with a kitchen, big living room, dining room and bedroom. My only complaint is that the bathroom was small and outdated with an... more

We stayed here for 4 nights in April and loved it. The apartments were large and we ended up putting the kids on the fold out sofa so we adults could have one of the small double beds each in the bedroom. Kitchen, pool and location were all great. more

At first I was quite aprehensive about this hotel from the outside, but I agree with another reviewer that this place grew on me. We were traveling as a family of 5 (two teenagers) and felt that we were not on top of each other. Loved the full kitchen for cooking some of our meals in. The kids loved the... more

I had some initial concerns on check in. It was like I was on vacation with my parents. The decor is definitely early 60s but the overall impression was okay. As time went on the place grew on me like a fungus. Sometimes noise from the alley at night, sometimes some odd smells but a certain allure like looking at... more

Stayed here over Easter break. It was great to have parking although we did have to pay for it. Room was clean with fresh flowers daily. Pool was clean and a great draw for the kids. We didn't really use the car around Santa Monica since the Pier, 3rd Street Promenade are all very close walking distance. We were able... more

This hotel smelled like a urinal!!! First they gave us room #208, which smelled like a urinal. I think the hotel knew it smelled like a urinal, because when we got there all the windows were open and the fans were on, even though it wasn't that warm. We finally gave up and moved rooms at 1AM because we couldn't... more

We stayed here in 2004, in room 109, and were pretty happy with the price vs. quality. This year they put us in room 106, overlooking the Huntley's trash area across the alley, and charged 65% more. Tax included: 2004, $145; 2007, $240. We got no sleep because at about 12:30 am the rude trash picker guy started in with... more

From the looks of it, the Cal Mar is an apartment building built in the 1960's, which hasn't been changed much since. The Cal Mar gives you a lot of space--a small bedroom, a large living room/ dining room area and a decent sized kitchen, which unfortunately doesn't have a door. It's hard to get this much space in Santa... more

We returned to Cal Mar for a second visit, because previously -- needing a new place to stay in SM after our former hotel closed -- we had found it to be pleasant and peaceful, and we like the apartments which come complete with kitchen and are very spacious. Not so peaceful this time -- we arrived to find a... more