Hotel Erwin

Our take

By Matt Spaulding, Founder and writer

Hotel Erwin's pool is the Pacific. There isn't one on the property, and the hotel's FAQ says as much, sending you out to the Venice Beach Boardwalk and the ocean instead. That's a fine trade on a hot afternoon. It's a poor one on a cold grey morning, or for kids who were promised a pool. What the Erwin has in its place is the roof. Kassi, the rooftop bar, pours cocktails with the water in front of you, and it's the reason to stay here rather than a few blocks inland. Read the room name twice. Four of the twelve room types have City View in the name, and on a beachfront hotel that's the room you'll regret if you didn't notice. Pay for Ocean View or Partial Ocean View if the sea is the point. Book it if you plan to spend the day on the sand and the evening upstairs, and leave the dog at home, because pets aren't allowed (service animals are). Valet is the only parking the FAQ lists: $60 a night, or $80 for an oversized vehicle, with nothing said about tax or in-and-out. The hotel's own pages mention no resort fee, but the booking screen adds a Resort Fee of $34.42 a night plus $5.58 in tax on it, $40 in all. With valet that's $100 a night, so three nights with a car come to $300, or $360 if it's oversized, before any tax on the parking.

Quick facts

Resort fee

$34.42/night Resort Fee plus 16.2% tax on it ($5.58), $40/night in all, on the hotel's booking screen

Parking

Valet only, $60/night per vehicle; tax inclusion not stated; rates subject to change

Oversized vehicles

Valet, $80/night

Self-parking

Not published by the hotel

In-and-out

Not published by the hotel

Check-in

4:00 PM; early check-in on request, subject to availability

Check-out

11:00 AM; late check-out on request, subject to availability

Pets

Not permitted; service animals welcome

Pool

None; the hotel points guests to the beach

Dining

Kassi rooftop bar; Kassi To Go 11 am to 10 pm daily; Barlo Kitchen for breakfast; in-room dining

Wi-Fi

Free

Rooms

Room types named by view, four of them City View; room count not published

Hotel phone

310.452.1111

Where you are

Hotel Erwin is at 1697 Pacific Avenue in Venice, inside the City of Los Angeles, across a narrow street from the Venice Beach Boardwalk. The hotel's FAQ puts the boardwalk and the sand a 30-second walk from the lobby, and that's where it sends you in place of a pool.

Hotel Erwin FAQ