Annenberg Community Beach House

Love this place Clean and easy parking close to the beach and if you wish there is restaurants nearby.

This was a wonderful experience. We had a group of 14. The house isn't decorated inside, but there are lots of photos. The highlight of the experience was the docent led tour. We had Maureen, but our other group was very pleased with their docent as well. The information was very engaging and well presented. The outside is beautiful. FYI If you want to make an afternoon out of it, Back on the Beach is walking distance.

Very good beach. Lifeguards very attentive. ( specially #4 ) Beach clean. Waves are very nice for swim and have a fun. I recommended.

This place is amazing. It was donated to the public and is a super cool and fun beach house/club to visit. During the summer they have adult only pool parties where you can swim and they give out popcorn and s’more’s. Parking is limited but the is another public lot just south of the Beach House parking lot (towards the SM pier).

It's Santa Monica, what's not to like? Watch out for them parking enforcement guys! They'll get ya! Lol Great place.

Original guest house from 100 years ago absolutely astonishing. Thank you for saving it

It was a cold California day (60’s)! But this is a nice place with plenty of activities. My husband & I went for a nice walk along the path. If we had more time l, we probably would have walked to the Santa Monica Pier. I’d love to return!

On the Santa Monica beach. Great patios and decks for outdoor events and networking events. Thanks to ISSA LA for hosting the CISO Forum and Summit here. Very cool!

My school held a service learning experience with a beach clean up. We all met here. The parking lot still had plenty of parking spaces at 10:00am on a Saturday. I didn't know how to pay for parking, but there was a lovely lady attendant who helped me out. The kiosk was efficient to self-serve parking payments. The facility is welcoming and beautiful. It has great access to the beach. I'm going to be a regular here!

First time, it was a pleasant day. The pool isn't for small children- not toddler friendly at all. Unless you are comfortable to have them in a safety jacket ... they can't touch the bottom; The shallow area is 4ft. There are no stairs to go in only ladders or jumping. It basically an old lap pool refurbished. Water was clean and warm. Seats around the pool are comfortable and clean. Staff is friendly. Love the fact you can bring your own food. Bring your towels!

I can never get over the peace of mind been here with other moms sharing, the same experience a safe time with kids and not worrying about a place to clean kids after beach and keep enjoying in the pool while you relax and snack . Amazing time with friends and kids.

Annenberg Beach House is an amazing place for our community to safely access the beach, parking, showers, pool, water sports. wonderful cafe.

**Fantastic Experience at Annenberg Community Beach House** We had an absolutely wonderful time at Annenberg Community Beach House! The atmosphere was delightful, and our experience was fantastic. The only thing we wish they had was healthy avocado toast appetizers that could feed a few people. The mimosas were excellent, and the kids had a fantastic day with our family and friends. We highly recommend it for a day out by the beach!

Super fun and beautiful place. Parking is a little crazy but the place was clean, everyone was friendly. But like some of the other reviews mentioned this pool is not very small kid or toddler friendly since the shallowest part of the pool is 4 feet. But my six-year-old wears a life vest so it was perfectly fine. It was an amazing experience. I thought they had food inside, but apparently the food is from a café outside. Which is extremely overpriced. So I recommend you bring food or eat somewhere else before or after.

One of my favorite beaches by far! The parking is a bit jammed and it's pretty hard to find a spot if you come late. I arrived around 2 pm which is a bit late, but the weather was perfect for the beach and the waves were absolutely huge! It took around 15 minutes to secure a parking spot, but once you get one, the payment is super easy and quite cheap for the beach. The sand can get really hot though, so be careful if you're going barefoot. My younger daughter wanted to go boogie boarding. The sand is super soft and won't scrape your knees, with few rocks. The waves are perfect for beginners and intermediates. Not many people go out super far, and the water is the perfect temperature when you come around noon. We also set up a tent and the ocean wind makes it cooler. Perfect for all activities and the bathrooms are super clean. The showers scattered around are very convenient as well. We also wanted to rent bikes and there were some Lyft bikes for rental. It was a bit hard to sort out the separate Lyft accounts, and one of the scooters we wanted to rent needed repair. Eventually, we were only able to rent one bike, but you can see the Santa Monica Pier and the Ferris wheel from Annenberg beach. Great experience overall, I highly recommend it!

One thing I like about this place is that it makes it relatively easy for handicapped individuals like myself to get close to the beach using my wheelchair. I also love that they keep it clean and another thing, parking is by the hour, not a flat rate like at Dockwieler. We have not tried the restaurant yet, but as a place to go chill at the beach, I highly recommend Annenberg beach house!

So gorgeous! Lovely view of the beach here. Parking is easy. Lots of historical significance here with the Davies Beach House present. The cafe here is also a nice touch and so convenient.

Well we have finally made it to Cali 5 weeks ago and loving it! We will be around here for another 5 weeks. If you are ever in Santa Monica, check out this place! It's absolutely gorgeous - lots of umbrellas, lounges, shaded areas. - pool from 4' to 8' deep, nice and warm, 2 lifeguards - locker room with showers - cafe right here with grass fed meats, plant based meals and organic items (to go & indoor/outdoor seating) -big playground -toddler playground -splash grounds -rentals for paddle boards etc Such a great time! $10/adult + $4/child Can bring your own picnic too ... FREE AMENITIES - Courtyard - Splash Pad - View Deck - Playground - Beach Wheelchairs - First-come, first-served Beach Volleyball & Soccer Courts - Beach Access - City of Santa Monica Wi-Fi PAID AMENTIIES - Parking - Pool - Classes - Reservable Canopies in the Sand - Standup Paddleboard Rentals - Reservable Beach Volleyball Courts

i can't believe this place is free to the public! the free tour the Guest House is a must, especially if you already visited Hearst Castle. the place is very clean and well-kept. there are fee to go into the pool area. not sure how much but we were stopped by the guest service when we mistakenly thought it was the way to go to the Guest House.

I just recently attended a Bat Mitzvah here and it was fantastic. The view from the outside was beautiful (for cocktails) and then everyone moved inside for the party. If you are thinking about having an event here you should do it. Easy parking and enough room for a nice party for about 100-130 guests.

Great staff! Rented the cabana for a party and we had a great time. Looking forward to coming back for swims and more parties! Lol. Family friendly environment. Parking is challenging but that's to be expected in this area. Just be patient! ‍

You don't have to have a membership to visit this beach house! One of our favorite spots for our toddler! We went on a weekday with plans to check out the pool. We arrived before 10 am to buy our wristbands since ticket sales open up 1 hour before. Everyone must be present so you can't buy in advance. It's first-come first-serve and you'll be placed on a wait list if you don't make it in. It was $24 for two adults and one 2-year old for use of the pool. One of my favorite parts is that you can bring your own cooler stocked with snacks and drinks. No alcoholic beverages are allowed, though. Bring your own towels! The pool is also heated between 84 - 86 degrees! It was glorious. A line had already formed to enter the pool area so as soon as 10 am struck, there was a frenzy of people coming in to claim their chairs. Some chairs are more shaded than others so claim your spot right away. Parking in the beach house lot is on a first-come basis and can be paid at the Park & Pay machines. It's $12 for the day. There's also designated spaces for fuel efficient vehicles. Once in the pool, you can leave your belongings and/or use their lockers to store your valuables. Bring a lock if you want to use their lockers. We left our stuff and checked out the splash pad (it's more like a couple water sprinklers but, hey, our toddler loved it!) and the playground. No reservations are needed to visit the other areas. Child floaties are allowed but they must be coast-guard approved. You can't bring those cheapo arm ones from the dollar store. They'll make you remove them. I saw this happen several times while there. There's a restaurant (Back on the Beach Cafe) that you can purchase food. But, we didn't since we brought our own cooler full of food.

It's was great! You just need to get there as soon as they open! The restaurant was pretty amazing!

Beautiful house right on the beach. Great tour. Very informative. The staff and our tour guide was really friendly and nice. Go visit.

I went here with family a couple weeks ago. First time going. I would go again. Easy access to parking. Paid parking. The beach is very clean. There's a near by cafe, I didn't get a chance to try it. Maybe next time. A little play area for the kids located next to the cafe. The bathrooms are clean. Not like your normal public each bathroom. There was more than enough space for people to set up. Near by trashcans. It was a good time.

Today's forecast is sunny with a chance of beer. So without further ado, let's do this short review. Annenberg Community is a public beach community that is open to all. Beach house with historic home, swimming pool, beach volleyball courts, fitness, cafe, bathrooms, playground, and beach equipment rentals. It is located by PCH at Santa Monica. It's parking lot is huge and has a fee of $12/day or $3/hr. The staff keeps the facilities clean, organized and no homeless folks at the beach. Overall, this is a great beach house to relax and spend time with friends or family.

Such a delightful find! They have two free beach wheelchairs for rent, first-come, first-served. Without one, I would not have been able to join my family in making sandcastles by the water. Thank you for providing that service to the community!

Great and quite place to go with your family , always can find place for parking. Clean restrooms and playground for kids.

Great spot to start your Saturday morning! Conveniently located in Santa Monica. With all day parking you can walk and eat at the cafe after. I love the African Shashuka for brunch. Place is clean and practices social distancing and everyone that serves wear masks.

It is located at santa monica pass the pier. There is paid parking but gets full early during the weekend. There are other paid parking location nearby as well. This location has a pool area, you just has to pay extra. It has a play area for kids. A paved walkway going to the beach (which is nice) They also host small parties that you could reserve in advance near the splash pad. They have tons of restroom options as well. But I only saw one shower area near the play ground. Beach in general is clean. Life guard present. There is also a cafe near the parking lot. All in all this is a one stop beach! You have parking, sand, ocean water, pool, play ground, splash pad, tons of restrooms, open shower, cafe.

Great facility. Tour of the guest beach house fascinating and informative. It's right on the beach. Free to the community. Parking about $3 an hour. We found easy parking in July on a weekday.

Wonderful beach club, very clean, easy beach acccess, nice pool, modern pool furniture, nice staff.

This place is great! Value unmatched, clean, great parking, cafe and clean showers. So why 1 star? Lots of kids in the pool Lots of toddlers with parents Lots of non swimmers in shallow end Still not a problem. However, the lifeguards are wearing long sleeves, sweat pants, lace up tennis shoes and swim parkas over their clothing. God forbid a child needs help in the pool. Whoever manages this place should be fired for allowing their first response team of lifeguards to grossly violate safety standards and risk drownings. Shame on these lifeguards for not putting the safety of the visitors first, above their outfits. See what the American Red Cross says about life saving standards before you visit with kids. Do not turn a blind eye on your little ones.

This place is a great place for the community. I specifically came for the Marion Davies Beach Guesthouse tour. I enjoy learning about old Hollywood and the originators. They put on free tours and I happened to be driving by just before 1 pm and there was no wait. Everything is restored and it is definitely worth a visit when your at Santa Monica Beach. By the way the pool was restored from the original estate which is next door. I personally feel the Marion Davies Guest house should have a separate Yelp listing so it will bring in more visitors.

Amazing spot hidden in plain sight. Free beach house + paid parking. Includes a restaurant, kiddy pool, big pool, old historic home, and an amazing paved pathway to the beach. Seriously, the beach is 1/4-1/2 mile from the road, and trudging through sand makes it even harder... the path is tremendous! Went again the day after Thanksgiving 2017 and it was super warm outside. Unfortunately, the pool is closed during the winter months.

I came here for my first time last week. While I didn't use the pool (it was closed), playground or take a tour through the 'museum'/guest house...I mainly came for the beach. I parked in the Annenberg Beach House Parking Lot for $12 and was pleasantly surprised by the fairly clean beach bathrooms, the nearby picnic tables and my favorite part- the cement path leading to the ocean's water. Makes things so much easier with bags and strollers! Had a great time on the beach! Would love to tour the house next time!

I enjoy this pool - the facilities and value make for a perfect pool day on the beach. The issue I am having is that a young girl (maybe 6 years old or so) has been playing in the outdoor showers for almost 30 minutes. She's turned on all 4 showers so all the water has been running nonstop where she's made her own little "pool." It's driving me crazy, especially as we are in a drought and there are water restrictions all over the city. I wished the shower area was regulated more and perhaps a sign asking guests to keep their showering time limited. I also wished her parents were more attentive to their child. She's also been lifting the drain and pulling out all the hair and gunk .

Love this beach front pool setting. It has everything: a heated pool with lounge chairs and umbrellas, lifeguards, clean bathrooms with showers, a large parking lot, water features for little kids to play in, a walkway to the ocean, an outdoor restaurant and very nice and helpful staff!

Truly an amazing place thanks to an Annenberg family member. Walter Annenberg lived in my hometown and many local buildings bear his name. I found about about the Beach House through an entry in the Triple A TourBook. I stopped by there to see the beach and partake of the exceptionally clean restrooms. I also got a soda at the little restaurant. For a few dollars parking fee you have access to one of the best beaches and walking/bike paths in Santa Monica and can see the Santa Monica Pier to the south. Now that I know the history of "415 PCH" I am amazed at all the details associated with the long-gone 100 room mansion and pleased they were able to salvage and restore the pool although it is closed for the season. If you want to take your family to the beach, this is the place. Cheaper than other beach parking lots, clean restrooms and free showers, and food is available..they even have picnic tables and chairs.

What a gem! We found out about Annenberg a few years back when we asked around for a community pool. A few friends of ours recommended Annenberg. Our first visit was magical and it was all that we asked for. They have seating areas all around the pool. The pool is located only a few steps away from the beach so we go to the beach then we jump into the pool. You get a wrest band at the entrance with the admission that allows you access all day. The place is very fancy for a public pool but it does come with a price tag. Adults are $10, youth is $6. They do offer a family pack and they take reservations online. This makes life so much easier as it seems to always be sold out. They have a setting area next to the pool with tables and umbrellas. We attended a birthday party there this past weekend and our kids had a blast. There is also swings and slides close to the water, a cafe where you can order food and take it into the pool area :) Parking is close and is only $8 the whole day. This is alot cheaper than the pier parking for sure. You may also choose to pay per hour at $2/hr. Overall a great spot to spend time with the family. RECOMMENDED :)

This is a lovely little park right by the beach. Meter parking is easy. There is a cafe with outside sitting next to it. They have swings for elementary age kids as well as babies. It's clean, it's close to the water. It's just perfect!

LA's best kept secret. Perfect way for visitors to get the LA beach experience. Shhhh!

Love this spot. Definitely a hidden gem. You have to pay $10 per person to get in. I think the entrance fee turns some people off, so the beach ends up being much less crowded than if you went to the public side. They also rent chairs and umbrellas, and have a convenience shop with anything else that you might need. The parking lot fills up quick. I got there by 10 AM and the Lot was already full. Somehow I still managed to persuade the parking dude to let me park in there, but that was mostly just luck. I would plan on arriving at 9 AM next time. With your $10 admission price you also get access to the pool (which honestly, is nothing too special), and also a game room upstairs (also nothing extraordinary). The roomy beach experience is more than worth the admission price though. And they have a cute cafe for lunch right at the entrance too.

I wanted so badly to just love this place. It seemed like a dream come true. A resort-like atmosphere, but just for the day, right on the beach... I wish it was as good as I wanted it to be. Some parts were: PROS: - The pool was clean and really nice. Just the right temperature. - The changing rooms were clean. - During the hottest week of the year, we found plenty of chairs by the pool quite easily. The chairs are nice. - There were plenty of umbrellas and shade. CONS: - The cafe... it really disappointed me. Separate review later, but my advice basically is BRING FOOD. - They have a ridiculous policy about children under the age of 8 needing to be within arms reach at all times. Even if they are good swimmers. My daughter is 5. And she can swim. Most places have a policy about kids under 4. Not under the age of 8. - The lifeguards enforce the policy to an obnoxious extent. Sitting on the edge of the pool in your bathing suit within arm's reach is not acceptable. You have to get in the pool. The shallowest part of the pool is four and a half feet deep, and it isn't that wide. So I of course got splashed in the face by obnoxious little kids constantly. - The stretch of sand between the pool and the ocean is quite a bit further than I expected. It's really not a convenient walk at all. I will probably go back after my daughter turns 8 years old, but likely not until then. Staying in the pool with her constantly is silly. And the lifeguards spend more time policing the parents watchfulness than they do actually watching the pool. It's like the policy is "We aren't responsible for your kids, you are." The sad thing is... many drownings are older kids who do know how to swim that do something like hit their head or try to stay under water too long. I was a lifeguard in college, I know it's a tough job. But treating parents like you don't trust them... not cool.

Came here for a work event. Nice venue with glass walls and doors so that you can take in the view of the beach and sunset, while inside. The room can fit about 80 adults comfortably. Our food and wine were catered by Back on the Beach and it was quite delicious! Self parking is available and is located to the right from the entrance.

I only went inside the Annenberg Community Beach House to use the bathroom, but I spent a Sunday afternoon on its stretch of the beach, for a post-wedding brunch for my friends Bret H. and FeiFei J. Apparently, the house has a first come first serve area with umbrellas, where anyone can set up camp and enjoy the beach, a short walk up from the water. We took over a couple of these shaded areas with a fairly large party, and set up a little picnic with brunch food and drink. It was a nice, relaxing way to spend the day after a late night of wedding festivities. My only complaint is that parking was a horrific nightmare, the lot jam packed and poorly managed. It took us something like half an hour to park, and because of the way the lot was laid out, we got spots swooped out from under us by people who cut the line without even really knowing it. There was an attendant on duty, and I wondered why he didn't do anything to direct the flow of traffic into a lot that was clearly full, with people camped out waiting for spots. I guess parking at the beach is always kind of terrible, but this was an extraordinarily painful parking experience. I was pretty ragey by the time we finally got a spot, but a couple hours with friends on the beach was an ideal way to get back my chill. The weather was mild, the view of the water lovely. We saw a bride and groom walking along the path leading to the ocean--I guess people get married on this part of the beach. It's certainly scenic, and parking aside, the Beach House offers an easy way to enjoy all that sun and sand and sea.

Annenberg Beach House is a great place to go on the weekends. It can be really crowded, but the actual beach is pretty good. A great option if you like boogie boarding, also, they have two playgrounds, a pool, splash pad, bathrooms, a cafe, game room/rec center, and close by the Santa Monica Pier. We had a great weekend here!

This place is FANTASTIC! If you plan your day right, you could have the PERFECT SoCal summer day here. Really... perfect! If you reserve your parking ahead of time (which I strongly recommend), it's $12 and you can get in starting at 8:30am instead of the 10am general admission. It was SUPER convenient and easy. The window to buy tickets for the pool opens at 9am and the pool opens at 10am. We got there right at 8:30am and only steps away from our parking place was the breakfast cafe. It was fantastic! A bit pricey... like almost everything is $17... but there are tables ON the beach. So we could eat, watch the ocean while our kids played in the sand. It was glorious. You do need have everyone with you when you get your tickets, but since we were there right at 9, there was no line and we came with a friend, so they watched our table and we took turns getting tickets. Mondays are HALF PRICED!!! So $12 for adults and $2 for children. After breakfast we played on the PLAYGROUND which is (you guessed it) RIGHT THERE!!! People line up to go in at 10am (I'd have someone in your party get in line a bit early, but really everyone was fine). Go in and pick out your spots! There are tons of lawn cots and umbrellas to shade from the sun. When I first saw the pool I was like, "okay... it's fine". But then you are in it, it's HUGE and the ornament and detail... it's the closest thing to being able to swim in the pools at Hearst Castle! Really. There's a small "splashed", but it's not great. Like 4 holes squirting a fountain. Not exciting. But everything else is awesome. You can bring food in. So you can picnic here! There is a restaurant if you need it. The beach is right there... so you could hop back and forth from the pool to the beach to the playground and back again. I saw a sign for a game room, but I didn't see it. Also, there is a museum just next door that gives FREE tours! It's just a magical summer place! Do it!

I have been looking for a place on the beach to have a "Desk Day" when I'm in LA. I hate LA and have been exploring it for the sake of being able to visit my sister and college friend. They live in the foothills, but I need to be by the beach. Annenberg Community Beach House is far better than the food stall about 1.5mi south on the beach. There was a private event at the pool and viewing deck, but I made do with a picnic table and then in the cafe. This will now be my go-to place for having to work on my day off while visiting my sister in LA.

Awesome beach in Santa Monica. Perfect parking /$3/h, $12max, and not too crowded during the week - and BY FAR not as busy as any beach near the Santa Monica pier. Good to park, great beach access, reasonable prices for food and beverage. Very clean bathrooms. Downside: Many kids though, due to the Annenberg scholarships and workshop classes there. Sadly, I wish the food was as good as the ambiance. Was OK, the fries could have had more time in the oil instead of waiting (= slightly under/ slightly cold ;-) - but unless you come with small kids who enjoy the zillion other kids around, this sure is not a place you would go "because of the food". I still give it four stars - as again, if you have kids and want to have a nice beach with a nice ambiance and nice service, this is the place to go. Other than that, I would have instantly 10 points to raise how this place you dramatically enhance their customers experience and double their gross at no cost. So if some one from restaurant management reads this, we should definitely talk.

We have been coming here every summer since they opened the pool a few years ago. We usually stay an hour or two--just to swim and go. It's not our scene to hang out. It's filled with mommies. We are usually the only folks here without children, unless it's an adult swim day. We either come on Dollar Mondays or Adult Swim Tuesdays. I usually meet some nice folks here at the Adult Swim, and you can actually do laps in safety. On Dollar Mondays the place looks like a children's camp. I have never seen so many children in a pool anywhere. If you come on Monday, you will have a difficult time doing laps because the children swim like Amoeba and go wherever they want, whenever they want, and many are unsupervised. Swimming here becomes an unintentional contact sport. A few daddies show up at the end of the day after work to relieve the mommies. Just a word of caution if you are intending on doing any swimming in this pool: Swim as close to the center of the pool as possible. The pool is very small and the children will jump into the pool from anywhere onto you like a cannon ball without thinking twice if you are too close to the shore. Lifeguards yell at the children constantly to stop running, but lifeguards permit jumping into the pool and twice children have landed on top of me and many times just near me. It happens every time I am in the pool. Bring goggles! if you intend to swim. The pool is small and you need to see underwater or else you risk crashing into someone or to avoid someone not looking crashing into you. It's a real eclectic crowd of mommies here--A mix of former models/actresses from SM and Malibu showing off their gorgeous offspring and ripped abdominals after childbirth, and expensive bikinis all the way to rent-controlled mommies just scraping by looking for a new daddy, and a few European tourists that will stare at you provincial Americans in amazement that you have clothing on in a chlorine pool--how unhealthy! Hand's down, one of the best features of this pool is the bathing suit dryer. See my photo. I love using this device. You put a wet suit in and it's dry in a few minutes. It should be the law that every pool have one! Parking in the lot next to the pool is expensive--we usually walk it or bike ride to the pool. There are lockers available that are always dirty inside, and bring your own lock. There is a changing room and shower that by the end of the day is dirty and because this pool is next to the beach there is sand all over. There is a soap dispenser on the wall for your shower. Give it a shot--especially if you love children, have children, or are just looking to meet a single mom.

Fantastic place to chill and swim if you don't mind plenty of kids running around doing kid things. Clean pool, clean locker room, plenty of cots, pleasant staff, reasonable entry fee. Pool depths from end to end: Shallow end (for kids), 5 feet, 6'3", 8 feet, 7'3". Protips: Reserve your parking spot ($12) and pool entry ticket ($10) well ahead of your visit (see their website for details). Then get your wristband at the booth. If you want dibs on cots, stand in line near the booth before the pool opens at 11 a.m. If you don't reserve your parking, there's plenty of parking at 9 a.m., at 10 a.m. there's still a few. If you get there later, also check the north parking lot. Visit the Marion Davies guest house before it closes at 2 p.m., it's the only structure (along with the community pool) left from the original estate. You can also hang out and read a book on the balcony at the guest house. Bring a padlock for the locker, it's outside the shower/restroom. You can leave the pool (and your stuff in the lockers) to check out the beach (rent a bike, walk, etc.) and come back later for another dip, but keep your wristband on.

I came to the beach house to attend OWASP AppSec California 2017 conference. The review is for the beach house in a private event perspective. The entire beach house had been divided into a couple of rooms for different talks. Since there were talks going on in parallel, there was good support in terms of logistics for all of them. In an attendees and speaker's perspective, there were no hiccups. The place was kept clean even though there were hundreds of people attending the event. I saw the trash cans being constantly emptied and the restrooms being cleaned multiple number of times. The sponsor stalls and the buffet were all placed next to the pool. Now, I am not sure if the catering were done by the beach house itself, but it too was organized in a very efficient way inspite of the large attendance. Overall I didn't see any huge problems. The location itself is in a beautiful setting. The parking is limited though and is priced at $8 for the entire day. Overall I believe the location added a charm to the conference.

Although I've been to the Santa Monica beach in the past, this was my first time visiting the Annenberg Community Beach House (for my cousin's wedding). I'm thankful that it wasn't busy around the time we went, since I didn't want random people trying to interrupt my cousin's wedding on the beach and their reception at the Marion Davies Guest House afterwards. Majority of the people visiting the beach were respectful of the event and some even sat on the sides to watch the ceremony. But anyway, the beach and the facilities are very well maintained. All of the staff that we encountered were very friendly and helpful, especially the security. Parking can be an issue, since the lot is fairly small. I do believe that you have to pay for parking here, unless you have disabled parking.

If you want to layout by a pool on a beach, this is the spot to do it in Santa Monica. Open to public, its facilities are extremely well maintained and clean for the most part. It has its own parking lot ($12/all day with hourly rates available). It also has a cafe/restaurant with a solid selection, making it perfect for breakfast, lunch and brunch. Entrance into the pool is $10 per person with $1 Mondays. My recent visit was on Monday and we arrived just before 11AM and got wait listed. Even with more than 150 people on the wait list, we received a text message alert a little after 1PM to check in at the pool entrance. You are given a wristband, so you can play at the pool, on the beach and go in-and-out as you please. I just love it here because it has all that you need for a lazy beach day in Los Angeles.

The pool is closed for the season, so we didn't really end up enjoying any of the offerings here. The cafe food if just ok. I was happy with my autumn salad, but my friends didn't like their burgers or fish and chips. Too bland. The hostess stand seems slightly disorganized, and you'd think there's got to be a better way. $12 parking for the day. We did not have issues finding a spot on a warm October Sunday at noon. Bathrooms were out of tp and a mess by 430pm.

I really liked this place, of course on a HOT weekend parking and traffic is a little tricky but once you get here its a pleasant surprise. The pool was clean and warm, the sitting/lounging areas were clean, I did have to wait list for entry but was able to catch some waves right across the way at the beach which is about a 5 minute walk and my wait wasn't long at all. Not sure if this is everywhere but I really liked the sunscreen stations. My only wish is for cleaner bathrooms and even as I type this they truly weren't that bad. I do get that it is hard to keep them clean because of the water everywhere but a good mop every few hours in each stall should help with the smell and excess water.