The Pool at Hotel Casa Del Mar

"The small lounge pool dates back to the 1920s when swimming laps definitely wasn’t a thing"

"A hopping Hollywood bar scene, a fine restaurant, and a pool with beach views are other highlights"

"On the fourth floor is the Murad Spa—although massages can also be had in poolside cabanas—and the 75-seat, first-floor restaurant, Oceanfront, has spectacular sunset views"

"An afternoon at the spa is a vacation in itself; salon services can be enjoyed in one of five Mediterranean-style treatment rooms or, better yet, under a cabana on the fifth-floor pool deck"

"Recreation and relaxation may be pursued in the fitness center or by the pool and garden terrace"

""Swanky but friendly", this "see-and-be-seen" beachfront landmark built in 1926 "blows your socks off" from the moment you enter thanks to a "fantastic" lobby lounge featuring ocean views and live music nightly as well as a full-service spa and pool; "courteous" service and "beautiful" guestrooms with jetted tubs, flat-screen TVs and Frette bathrobes that loyalists claim are "so inviting you don't want to leave them" also garner accolades"

"Ocean-themed luxuries include fresh seafood at Catch, ocean-view massages in the poolside cabanas, and even yoga on the beach"

"For the best view of the pool scene and the Boardwalk—and the Santa Monica Pier, with its iconic Ferris wheel—shoot for the sixth floor or higher"

"All rooms stock iPod docks, and the excellent baths showcase white marble surfaces, frosted-glass windows, robes, slippers, stall showers and elaborate hydrotherapy whirlpool tubs with 17 jets and 10 settings"

"'Casa' is most definitely not a thumping pool-party scene, but there is a beach concierge for bikes, blades and umbrellas"