What’s New in Santa Monica – July 2021
SANTA MONICA, Calif., (July 15, 2021) – Santa Monica in July is the perfect time to visit one of Los Angeles’ most popular beach cities. Perfectly situated on 3.5 miles of quintessential Southern California coastline, Santa Monica offers unique and luxurious accommodations, an abundance of outdoor dining selections, open-air wellness events and activities, along with indoor attractions to beat the heat or change of pace from the hectic rigors of relaxation in the sun and surf.
HOTELS
Hilton Santa Monica Hotel & Suites (Pier/Ocean Ave.) – Welcome to the recently opened Hilton Santa Monica Hotel & Suites, located in the heart of sunny Santa Monica and ushering in a fresh new aesthetic and chic destination to the California bucket list city known for its perfect balance of seaside charm and coastal sophistication. Situated just a few blocks from the shores of the Pacific, Santa Monica’s newest lifestyle hotel stands out, offering more suites – and some of the most spacious accommodations – than any other hotel in the area all with unique layouts to accommodate an array of guests’ needs and this new era of travel. The hotel draws aesthetics from the Southern California coast and the newly developed breeding ground for tech innovation, Silicon Beach, while seamlessly interweaving elements of the destination’s rich legacy as a source of inspiration for artists, musicians, innovators, and filmmakers. Walking distance from trendy Santa Monica Beach and Pier and minutes from Third Street Promenade, Venice Beach and Malibu Beach, Hilton Santa Monica Hotel & Suites offers spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, friendly service and an unbeatable location with easy access to the Santa Monica Freeway and Southern California’s most popular destinations like Rodeo Drive, The Getty Museum, Universal Studios, Westwood, Century City, UCLA, Hollywood and Pepperdine University. Spearheading the hotel’s culinary program is Los Angeles native, Edy Lucas, known for his work at Manhattan Beach’s The Strand House and Fishing with Dynamite. Monica’s, Hilton Santa Monica Hotel & Suites’ chef driven full-service restaurant and bar, celebrates fresh ingredients, local farmers markets, and the surrounding community. The menu will change seasonally to showcase Southern California’s freshest produce and its opening menu features American classics while flirting with international flavors. Hilton Honors members can earn both points and miles for every qualifying stay through the award-winning Hilton Honors program. For more information, please visit: hilton.com.
Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows (Pier/Ocean Ave.) – Currently celebrating its 100th Anniversary, the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows remains the ideal urban resort and beach retreat, set on five expansive acres atop the bluffs, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Hide away in a private bungalow and enjoy the fresh ocean air, from biking beachfront trails to dining poolside. The elegant guest rooms, suites and bungalows offer a unique experience in premiere Santa Monica luxury accommodations. And there are few things that pair as perfectly as a poolside cinema viewing and a delectable spread, all whilst enjoying the evening at one of the Westside’s most luxurious destination hotels. Guests and locals looking to experience leisure time outdoors this summer season there’s no need to venture too far to enjoy a remarkable summer night poolside with the return of Fairmont Miramar’s “Poolside Cinema Series,” showcasing all of the classics and cult-favorites from Indiana Jones to Frozen. Stop by every Saturday at sunset for dinner provided by the ultra-seasonal farm-to-table FIG Restaurant and sit back and take in a plethora of family-friendly films while lounging poolside al fresco with complimentary popcorn in hand. The “Poolside Cinema Series” schedule includes Saturday, July 17, HOOK; Thursday, July 22, Cool Runnings; Thursday, July 29, Jumanji: Welcome to The Jungle; Saturday, August 7, Happy Feet; Saturday, August 14, Toy Story; Saturday, August 21, Willy Wonk & The Chocolate Factory; and Saturday, August 28, Aladdin, the original. Reservations are available through Tock or Resy with a $25 food & beverage minimum per person. For more information, please visit: fairmont.com.
Oceana (Pier/Ocean Ave.) – Oceana Santa Monica is now a LXR Hotels & Resorts, a Hilton luxury collection brand, idyllically located on Ocean Avenue with unparalleled Pacific Ocean views, the suites-only boutique hotel is just blocks from the boutiques and cafes of Montana Avenue, and a seaside walk to the iconic Promenade and world-famous Santa Monica Pier. Outside, where bluffs give way to miles of bike paths, complimentary beachfront yoga and beach cruisers let you play like a local. And from al fresco, poolside dining in a lush, firepit-cozy courtyard to unscripted 5-star service, Oceana has a refined-yet-relaxed sensibility that makes it your perfect seaside escape with impeccable sophistication at every turn, best-in-class bespoke service and intimate access to the abundance of adventure only SoCal living offers. For more information, visit hoteloceanasantamonica.com.
FOOD & BEVERAGE
Santa Monica’s New Restaurants in 2021 (Santa Monica) – Santa Monica is excited to report that during the past year, resolute businesspeople have continued to open restaurants in our beatific beachside community. Now that businesses can open up and folks are feeling more comfortable dining out, the restaurant world is ready to once again welcome new and returning customers. Ten of Santa Monica’s most compelling food and coffee newcomers are particularly well positioned to thrive. Visit Santa Monica’s New Restaurants in 2021 blog post.
Santa Monica Picnic Company (Santa Monica) – Sunbathers, sand and sea are a great combination for an exclusive beachside experience when catered by Santa Monica Picnic Co. With their expert help, clients enjoy the beautiful beaches in Santa Monica to the fullest, by providing elegant picnic experiences that include everything needed for a delicious picnic, seaside escape and much more. They give each picnic an exclusive, comfortable experience that features locally based, professionally designed furnishings, chef-curated cheese and charcuterie boards, and refreshments. Additionally, each picnic experience includes special furnishings, mood-lighting, unique tableware, and a variety of extra items such as wireless speaker, customizable chalk board, Polaroid camera and incense. Specialty items can be added ranging from premium foods like assorted chocolate and baked goods; fun activities such as Pilates, yoga and surf lessons; beach games including volleyball, corn hole and bocci ball; different floral arrangements; premium photography; and select musical choices. For more information, visit santamonicapicnicco.com.
Santa Monica Outdoors (Santa Monica) – The City of Santa Monica’s new, one year “Santa Monica Outdoors” pilot has been launched that will allow continued use of parklets, streets, sidewalks, and public spaces as well as private property for outdoor dining, retail, and fitness, in order to encourage community engagement and patronage. The Santa Monica community overwhelmingly supported continuing parklets, outdoor dining, and other outdoor commercial uses in surveys of residents and businesses conducted this spring. There are approximately 90 parklets and 86 businesses leveraging private property for outdoor commercial spaces in addition to over 100 sidewalk dining areas citywide. For more information, click here.
Open Main St. (Main Street) – Join the community one weekend a month this summer when two blocks of Main St. will be transformed into an open pedestrian plaza. Residents are encouraged to reconnect with friends and neighbors, revisit favorite restaurants and shops, or explore new ones, and enjoy family-friendly activities and art displays. Open Main St., will take place between Hill & Ashland and Ashland & Kinney and will be open to pedestrians with space reserved for extra outdoor seating and activities. The monthly summertime fun takes place on July 24-25, August 21-22, September 18-19, and October 16-17. Restaurants and businesses will operate with normal weekend hours. For more information, visit mainstreetsm.com.
ATTRACTIONS
3DAR Trick Art Museum (Downtown Santa Monica) – A must-visit is to Santa Monica’s 3DAR Trick Art Museum that is a place where 3D art and Augmented Reality blend together for a one-of-a-kind entertainment experience. Join in as 3D art creates 3D optical illusions from two-dimensional paintings. Paintings pop out of the walls, floors, and ceilings. With the interactive 3D x AR exhibits, #3DAR Trick Art Museum is the perfect Instagram site where guests can explore their imagination while sharing with the world.
Cardboard City Pop Up Art Center (Downtown Santa Monica) – Cardboard City by reDiscover, a 10,000-square-feet pop-up art center, offers free museum-style exhibitions of large-scale cardboard sculptures and architectural models that highlight unique, family-friendly cardboard crafting techniques. The free public art gallery will present inspirational cardboard sculptures by local artists and sponsoring architecture and design firms. reDiscover will sponsor 8-25 artists’ residencies, supporting local and nationally prominent artists working in cardboard. Cardboard City’s fee-based art and maker classes, teaching youth advanced cardboard forming skills, has the capacity to serve 1,500 students ages 8+. Cardboard City is also available for private daytime and evening events of up to 200 people. In keeping with their triple-educational mission of promoting community, creativity, and sustainability, reDiscover is partnering with P.S. Arts, one of LA’s leading art education non-profits, to create a 10-week curriculum for 4th-5th graders on cardboard art and engineering, to distribute to LA County schools, based in part on the art created for Cardboard City and featuring reDiscover’s Tinkering Toolkit. reDiscover is also partnering with Makedo, an educational products company, to provide Makedo’s system of creative cardboard tools for free to Cardboard City participants and to partner schools throughout LA County. reDiscover Center’s mission is to develop children’s creativity through hands-on making with sustainable materials. This community non-profit works to move LA towards a culture where all waste materials can be “rediscovered” for educational and creative projects. For more information, please visit rediscovercenter.org.
Cayton Children’s Museum (Downtown Santa Monica) – Go indoors again, beginning August 4 as Cayton Children’s Museum opens to the public and the space welcomes all children, youth and families to gather, share and learn. Museum-goers will have the opportunity to visit the museum through the Cayton’s timed entry system, as well as the museum’s new pay-as-you-wish admission model for Los
Angeles County residents. The new admission model will help the Cayton fulfill its mission of making play accessible for all. The museum will reopen with its popular exhibits designed to inspire young visitors to explore creativity, imagination, community, and self-discovery. The Cayton is an initiative of ShareWell, a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring creativity, social responsibility and empathy through arts education and discovery-based learning. For more than 30 years, ShareWell has strived to improve access and bring arts education with themes of social responsibility to all communities through museum programming and youth outreach. For more information, please visit caytonmuseum.org.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Santa Monica Beach, Cycling and Tennis (Santa Monica) – Located steps from trendy beachfront hotels, join the wellness revolution in Santa Monica with 3.5 miles of pristine beaches. Sitting, playing and sunbathing are popular activities at the beach. A wide expanse of soft sand offers room for large summer crowds of residents and tourists. Santa Monica beach is home to Original Muscle Beach featuring gymnastic equipment including parallel bars, rings, swings and ropes are available for kids and adults. Beach volleyball is also a popular activity at the beach in Santa Monica. Numerous volleyball courts are first-come, first-served courts that are situated at various locations north and south of the Pier. For cycling, the Marvin Braude Beach Trail (known to locals as “The Strand” or South Bay Bicycle Trail) is a 22-mile long, paved trail and biking path that starts in Santa Monica and finishes at the Torrance County Beach. Rent a bicycle and enjoy one of the many biking paths near Santa Monica State Beach. Out of the water, enjoy the competitive spirit of Beach Tennis, which is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. It is being played in over 70 countries and is a combination of beach volleyball, badminton and tennis. For more information, click here.
Surya Spa at Proper Hotel (Pier/Ocean Ave.) – Experience the newly opened 3,000-square-foot flagship Proper x Surya Spa, a collaboration with internationally acclaimed Ayurvedic doctor, chef, and herbalist Martha Soffer. Centered around age-old Indian wellness principles from the leaders of modern Ayurveda, Surya’s offerings include therapeutic massage, steam and oil treatments, cooking, yoga, meditation, and Panchakarma programs designed to cleanse and restore balance to the body and mind. Be nurtured, healed, and supported in the serene setting, with six treatment rooms, patios, and lounges. Surya’s customized culinary offerings are available both in the on-site restaurants and in-room dining. For more information, please visit properhotel.com.
Self-Care Saturdays (Downtown Santa Monica) – “Take Some Time To Take Care Of You” is the motto for Self-Care Saturdays. Join Downtown Santa Monica and Fit Girl Club LA for a morning of self-care featuring free workouts on Third Street Promenade at Arizona Avenue. Mingle with like-minded fitness fanatics or make a trip to the celebrated Downtown Santa Monica Farmers’ Market. Bring a yoga mat, towel and water for maximum enjoyment. RSVP for workouts are required in advance, please visit Eventbrite.
Class sold out? Can’t make it Downtown? No need to experience FOMO (fear of missing out). Fit Girl Club LA offers all classes virtually at fitgirlclub.com.
EVENTS
Save These Dates (Montana Ave.) – It’s All Happening Here on Montana Avenue, so be sure and Save The Date for these following events: End of Summer Sidewalk Sale on Saturday, August 14; Art Walk on Saturday, September 25; Small Business Saturday over Thanksgiving Weekend Sale on Friday-Sunday, November 26-28; and Holiday Walk on Saturday, December 4. Montana Avenue, which sits at the city’s northern edge, is home to a stretch of more than 150 restaurants and retailers. Though it’s just a short walk from Downtown Santa Monica, it feels removed from the hustle and bustle of the Promenade and Pier. Late-night options may be limited, but from sunrise to sunset, a steady stream of shoppers browse the surrounding storefronts amid a relaxed crowd of A-list celebrities, out-of-towners and parents pushing strollers, none of whom seem in a hurry to leave the wealth of juice bars, latte vendors and outdoor cafés. For more information, please email montana.santamonica@gmail.com.
About Santa Monica Travel & Tourism
Santa Monica Travel & Tourism (SMTT) works to strengthen our local economy by enhancing and promoting our communities as a distinctive, compelling and welcoming travel destination. For more information visit santamonica.com, email media@santamonica.com, or follow SMTT on Instagram (@SeeSantaMonica), Twitter (@GoSantaMonica) or Facebook (@VisitSantaMonica).
Contact: Kim Sidoriak
Santa Monica Travel & Tourism
310-319-6263
ksidoriak@santamonica.com
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