Staying in Venice

June 10, 2009 · Filed under getaway, Uncategorized · Tagged family, los angeles, travel

Hey everyone! I hope you had a fantastic week. We are back from our sun-and- fun-filled week in Los Angeles. First of all, I want to say how thankful I am to my husband Simon for making our little getaway possible. It’s only because he works so hard that we get to enjoy the fruits of his labor, both here at home and when traveling. Thanks, honey!

Simon found us these really cute little vacation apartment rentals, the Venice Paloma Suites. Having not been terribly familiar with Venice from my Pepperdine days, I thought ok, let’s do something totally different than our norm. We had also considered staying at the Venice Beach Eco-Cottages, so we made sure to do a drive-by when we were there. For the record, they are just as precious in real life as they are in the photos. More on that later.

our "street"

Like the eco-cottages, the Paloma was also just as perfect in real life as it was in the photos. No bad surprises here. Remarkably well-designed for a small space, we were pleased as punch with the entire arrangement. It was perfectly decorated and very spacious. I really have no complaint at all with the experience and I would stay there again. The beds were pretty comfy (memory foam mattresses!), the kitchen was well-appointed, and there were TVs in each room. The location was close to the beach, (one block!) and it was very quiet. Oh, no washer & dryer, but apparently there was one in the building? Never explored that option.

The only downside is that there is no on-site parking. You take a five-minute walk to an enclosed garage in a new-construction apartment building. Kind of a pain.

To be honest, the neighborhood was on the fringe of sketchiness. In other words, I wouldn’t have felt super comfortable walking around the ‘hood by myself at ten o’clock at night. Did we feel unsafe in our apartment? Never. It was totally private, and we had to have a key to even get in the gate. However, just walking a few blocks to the north, we were in an adorable part of town with lots of shops and cafes to choose from. In fact, one morning, Jude and I walked from our house all the way up to Santa Monica’s 3rd Street promenade, a distance of about 2 miles. More on that later, too.Isn’t this fun? In the hallway, there was a long row of hooks to hang your stuff on. Surprisingly practical and extremely useful, especially since there was minimal closet space. Hmm… good idea!

All in all, we were totally pleased with our Venice experience. The Paloma was the perfect spot for our family, with lots of room for Jude to run around, and with bedrooms for him and for us. The entire time, I kept thinking, “We would have been miserable in a tiny hotel room.”  Alternately, if we had stayed in the eco-cottages, it would’ve been a totally different experience and would not have had enough room for all 3 of us. (side note: It was in a neighborhood, much further from the beach, but very well-designed and close to Abbott-Kinney, the hipster street (also with lots of fun shops and cafes). This neighborhood did not feel iffy at all, and had lots of beautiful landscaping, cute houses, etc. So. Something to keep in mind for your next getaway, no?)

All in all, I’m almost sad to be home! It was such a perfect little vacation for us, and I wish I was back on Paloma Court, laying out on the chaises longues and enjoying the (non-humid) sunshine. ::sigh::  Oh well, we’ll be back.

Lots more LA stuff to come!