Redondo Beach Getaway: Your Dream LA Stay at Residence Inn!
Redondo Beach Getaway: My Dream LA Stay (Mostly!) at Residence Inn! - A Review That's Actually Helpful (I Hope!)
Okay, so I just got back from a whirlwind trip to LA, and lemme tell you, after battling LA traffic (ugh) and the siren song of In-N-Out (yes, I succumbed), I NEEDED a good hotel. I ended up at the Residence Inn in Redondo Beach, and well… it was a mixed bag, folks. Buckle up. This ain't your glossy travel brochure review. This is real life.
SEO & Metadata Stuff First (Gotta Keep the Robots Happy!)
- Keywords: Redondo Beach Hotel, Residence Inn, Los Angeles Hotels, Accessible Hotel, Wheelchair Accessible, Free Wi-Fi, Beachfront Hotel (kinda!), Pool with View, Fitness Center, Breakfast Included, Family-Friendly, Pet-Friendly (maybe?), LA Stay
- Meta Description: Honest review of the Residence Inn in Redondo Beach: accessibility, amenities, and the real deal on what to expect. Find out if it's the perfect LA getaway for you, especially with details on accessibility, kid-friendliness, and all the perks! Includes real-life anecdotes and opinions.
Accessibility: The Real Deal (and the Sighs)
Alright, let's start with the important stuff. Accessibility is a HUGE factor for me (and should be for everyone!). The good news is, the Residence Inn in Redondo Beach seems to try. I'm giving it a tentative thumbs-up, but with caveats.
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! There are accessible rooms, and the hallways seemed wide enough. I didn't personally use a wheelchair, but I saw ramps and elevators, which is fantastic. The lobby and common areas were generally navigable.
- Elevator: Absolutely, and crucial for upper-floor rooms. Thank goodness!
- Accessible Rooms & Bathrooms: (I'll update specifically on this, when possible!)
- Facilities for Disabled Guests: They claim to have them, and I saw evidence of it (grab bars, etc.), but it's always a good idea to call ahead and confirm your needs. Don't just assume!
- Check-in/out [Contactless]: Helpful, especially with the pandemic still lurking.
On-site Accessible Restaurants/Lounges: (The Plot Thickens…)
Okay, this is where things get a little… hazy. There's no dedicated, fancy "lounge" from what I noticed. The breakfast area could be considered an on-site eatery, but… more on that later.
- Restaurants: Hmmm. Since there's not exactly on-site restaurants, if you're looking to eat, you'll need to leave the hotel & head toward the boardwalk.
The "I'm So Hungry" Phase: Dining, Drinking, and Snacking (Oh, the Breakfast!)
This is where Residence Inn shines… and, well, doesn't.
- Breakfast [Buffet]: Ah yes, the infamous complimentary breakfast. The idea is fantastic: a buffet with eggs, waffles, cereal, fruit… The reality? Well, it's a buffet. So, expect the usual suspects: fairly standard, mass-produced fare. BUT, I will admit, there was a decent selection, and it was free. And after a night out, or a long drive, free is a beautiful thing, right?
- Breakfast Takeaway Service: Yes! Genius. I grabbed a banana and a yogurt to go because I knew I wouldn't have time to sit and eat.
- Coffee/Tea in Restaurant: Definitely! And thankfully, the coffee was drinkable. Essential for those early morning starts!
- Snack Bar: Nope. You could buy some snacks at the convenience store (more on that later).
- Coffee Shop: Nope.
Room for Improvement: The breakfast area itself could be a little more… inviting. It felt a bit… functional. A little more ambiance wouldn't go amiss.
Rooms & Amenities: Comfort vs. Charm
- Available in all rooms:
- Air conditioning: YES. Crucial for LA summers.
- Alarm clock: Standard.
- Bathrobes: Didn't see any.
- Bathtub: Depends on the room, some do!
- Blackout curtains: Thank God. Essential for sleeping in.
- Closet: Standard, has some hangers.
- Coffee/tea maker: YES! Another lifesaver.
- Complimentary tea: Yes!
- Daily housekeeping: Yep, and they were pretty efficient.
- Desk: Yes. A practical, albeit slightly boring, desk.
- Extra long bed: YES! My kind of bed!
- Free bottled water: a couple of bottles. Nice touch.
- Hair dryer: Yup, did its job.
- High floor: You can request it.
- In-room safe box: Standard.
- Interconnecting room(s) available: Yup.
- Internet access – LAN: Nope!
- Internet access – wireless: Yes!
- Ironing facilities: Yes.
- Laptop workspace: Desk, see above.
- Linens: Fine.
- Mini bar: Empty Fridge.
- Mirror: Lots of mirrors.
- Non-smoking: YES!
- On-demand movies: Nope.
- Private bathroom: Yes.
- Reading light: Yep.
- Refrigerator: Yes, but empty.
- Safety/security feature: Standard.
- Satellite/cable channels: Standard TV.
- Scale: YES! (I didn't look.)
- Seating area: Some rooms, not all.
- Separate shower/bathtub: Depends on the room.
- Shower: Yep.
- Slippers: Nope.
- Smoke detector: Safety first!
- Socket near the bed: YES! Hallelujah.
- Sofa: Some rooms.
- Soundproofing: Some sounds still got through.
- Telephone: Yes.
- Toiletries: Standard, basic.
- Towels: Yes.
- Umbrella: Nope.
- Visual alarm: Didn't see any.
- Wake-up service: Yes.
- Wi-Fi [free]: YES! And it worked (mostly!).
- Window that opens: Nope.
Cleanliness & Safety: Pandemic Proofed?
- Anti-viral cleaning products: Supposedly. Though not necessarily in a way that was visible.
- Cashless payment service: Yes, very convenient.
- Daily disinfection in common areas: I saw staff cleaning.
- Hand sanitizer: Available in many places.
- Hot water linen and laundry washing: Good!
- Individually-wrapped food options: Some at breakfast.
- Physical distancing of at least 1 meter: Mostly observed.
- Room sanitization opt-out available: I didn't opt-out, but apparently, you can.
- Staff trained in safety protocol: Seemed like it.
- Rooms sanitized between stays: Seemed like it.
Things to Do & Ways to Relax (Beach Bound!)
- Swimming pool [outdoor]: Definitely! It wasn't gigantic, but it was perfect for a quick dip or lounging. The view was pretty decent.
- Pool with view: Yes! The ocean! (It's not a direct ocean view from the pool, but you can see the water).
- Fitness center: Yes! A small gym, but it had the basics. Enough to burn off some of those In-N-Out calories.
- Spa/sauna: Nope.
- Gym/fitness: See above.
Services & Conveniences: Hopes and Reality
- Air conditioning in public area: YES!
- Business facilities: Limited.
- Cash withdrawal: Yes, at the front desk.
- Concierge: Didn't really see one, but the front desk staff were helpful enough.
- Convenience store: YES! This was a lifesaver. Snacks, drinks, essentials.
- Currency exchange: Nope.
- Daily housekeeping: Yes! And they were efficient.
- Elevator: Yes! Crucial!
- Facilities for disabled guests: Yes!
- Food delivery: The front desk had menus.
- Gift/souvenir shop: Nope.
- Laundry service: Yes!
- Luggage storage: Yes.
- Meeting/banquet facilities: Yes! Though I didn't use them.
- Safety deposit boxes: Yes.
- Smoking area: Yup.
- Terrace: Nope.
For the Kids (Family-Friendly Vibes?)
- Babysitting service: I didn'
Okay, buckle up buttercup, because this isn't your sanitized, Instagram-perfect travel itinerary. This is a messy, glorious, totally human account of my recent pilgrimage to the Residence Inn Los Angeles Redondo Beach. Prepare for tangents, questionable decisions, and a whole lotta feels.
Residence Inn Redondo Beach: My Temporary Throne (and occasional prison)
Day 1: Arrival and the Dreaded Grocery Run
- 1:00 PM: Arrive at LAX. Okay, so the flight was delayed. Of course, it was. My luggage, predictably, decides to take a scenic tour of the baggage carousel. I’m pretty sure I saw my floral sundress flirting with a suitcase shaped like a giant cheeseburger. Whatever.
- 1:30 PM: Uber to Residence Inn. First impression? Clean. Functioning. Kinda beige, but hey, I'm not here for interior design awards. More importantly, the AC is WORKING. Bless this hotel.
- 2:30 PM: Check-in. Successfully navigated the front desk. Bonus points for actually getting the room I booked. (Seriously, sometimes I feel like it's a lottery).
- 3:00 PM: Unpack. The joy of living out of a suitcase for a week is truly… well, it's a thing. My shoes are currently exploding out of their designated space.
- 4:00 PM: The Grocery Run of Doom. Okay, so I’m terrible at grocery shopping. I wander aimlessly, overwhelmed by the sheer number of salad dressings. I end up buying a jar of olives I'll probably forget about until the last day. (It’s a tradition.)
- 5:00 PM: Back at the hotel. Reached peak exhaustion. Eat a sad microwave dinner. It's perfect.
- 6:30 PM: Collapse in bed. Watch bad reality TV. The sweet, sweet nectar of mindless entertainment.
Day 2: Beach Bum Blues and Unexpected Doughnuts
- 7:00 AM: Wake up. The sun, that glorious, relentlessly cheerful sun, is already trying to kill me. Should. Have. Brought. More. Sunscreen.
- 8:00 AM: Attempt to get a little exercise. I try the gym, but it's just… a gym. I fail to be enthusiastic. I'm more of a "beach walk" kinda person (which, spoiler alert, is also not very effective).
- 9:00 AM: Redondo Beach! Okay, the ocean is beautiful. The sand is hot as hell. I sit, I stare. I get slightly sunburnt. Then I go get a coffee.
- 10:00 AM: Okay, the ocean is beautiful. The sand is starting to burn my feet. This is fine. This is fine.
- 10:30 AM: I see a kid building a sandcastle, and he throws a handful of sand at his dad, who bursts into laughter. I laugh too, which is followed by a moment of pure, unadulterated joy. Moments like this are what makes life worth living.
- 12:00 PM: Lunch. Tuna melt at a random cafe. It’s surprisingly delicious. Food is very important, especially when you've got the beach blues (which are real, by the way).
- 1:00 PM: Back at the hotel. I decide I hate the beach, and I need a nap.
- 3:00 PM: I wake up, starving. Then, I remember seeing a doughnut shop in the area, so I go.
- 3:30 PM: The doughnut shop is called "Oh My Doughnut!". Oh my god. I walk in and am immediately hit with a delicious smell of sugar and fried goodness. I walk up to the counter and pick out a "cinnamon roll", a "chocolate sprinkle", and an "apple fritter." Suddenly, my stomach is happy.
- 4:00 PM: I walk outside and immediately start eating my fried goodies. At this moment, I am not thinking about my diet, social media, or anything else. At this moment, I am happy.
- Late Evening: I don't want to do anything, so I don't.
Day 3: The Pier of Broken Dreams (and Really Good Seafood)
- 9:00 AM: Breakfast: Free hotel breakfast. The waffles, they beckon. Ignore the questionable sausage.
- 10:00 AM: Redondo Beach Pier. This is where the real fun begins, right? Right.
- 10:30 AM: Okay, so the pier is a mix of charmingly rickety and slightly terrifying. The seagulls are judging me. Big time.
- 11:00 AM: Spend way too much money on a ridiculously oversized stuffed unicorn. Regret level: medium-high. I hate myself, but I love the unicorn.
- 12:00 PM: Lunch at a seafood restaurant on the pier. The fish tacos are actually amazing. Life is slightly better.
- 1:00 PM: More pier shenanigans. I watch people fishing, ride a rickety carousel (probably too old for this), and try to win a giant rubber duck at a carnival game. I fail.
- 2:30 PM: Feeling sunburnt, tired, and slightly disillusioned with the whole pier experience. Walk back to the hotel.
- 4:00 PM: Okay, back at the hotel. There's some kind of wedding going on. I am jealous of the people celebrating love and happiness.
- Late Evening: I'm starting to feel some cabin fever. I'm bored. I watch some more TV, and I decide to eat all the olives.
Day 4: A Day of Reckoning (and a Little Bit of Culture)
- 9:00 AM: Another attempt at the hotel gym. Still fails. I really should exercise, I think to myself.
- 10:00 AM: I went to a museum! It was a very nice museum, but I kind of wish I had done something more exciting.
- 12:00 PM: Lunch. I went to a cafe. I ate some food. I'm really starting to believe this is the diet of a boring person.
- 2:00 PM: Back at the hotel. I'm thinking about my life.
- Late Evening: Eat dinner. Watch some TV. Stare at the walls.
Day 5: The End is Near (and So is the Packing)
- 9:00 AM: Free hotel breakfast. Again. Waffle consumption level remains high. Attempt to pack, which is always a disaster zone.
- 10:00 AM: Last-minute souvenir shopping. Spend way too much money on keychains.
- 12:00 PM: Say goodbye to the lovely hotel
- 1:00 PM: Final Uber ride.
- 2:00 PM: Say goodbye to LAX.
Post-Trip Thoughts:
Residence Inn Redondo Beach? Perfectly adequate. Would I return? Maybe. The location was decent, the AC was a lifesaver, and the free waffles were a major plus. But the real value of this trip wasn't in the fancy restaurants or the Instagram-worthy sights. It was in the quiet moments, the random encounters, and the permission to just… be. And that, my friends, is something I'll always remember. And maybe the unicorns. And definitely the doughnuts.
Escape to Portland: Your Perfect Scarborough Stay Awaits!
Okay, spill the beans! Why Redondo Beach and this *Residence Inn* specifically? What's the *actual* draw? No corporate-speak, please!
Alright, alright, you want the *real* dirt, not the sanitized brochure? Okay, here goes. I was *this close* to booking a swanky hotel in Santa Monica, right? Ocean views, rooftop bar, the whole shebang. But then, the price… OUCH. My bank account started whimpering. Plus, I’d heard Santa Monica gets *insane* in the summer. Picture it: hordes of tourists, parking nightmares, and the constant hum of… well, *everything*.
So, I started poking around, and suddenly, Redondo Beach popped up. And this Residence Inn? It felt like… well, a sigh of relief. Seriously. More space, a kitchen (hello, breakfast burritos!), and it's *close* enough to the action without feeling like you’re trapped in a tourist hamster wheel.
The *real* draw? The beach, duh! But not just *any* beach. Redondo Beach is… chill. Less glitz, more grit. You can actually *relax*. You can walk for miles, watch the surfers, smell the salty air... it's a different vibe. Plus, it’s a little more… affordable. Let's be real, my budget is on a tight leash. This whole trip was about escaping the daily grind, not bankrupting myself for Instagram pics.
Is the Residence Inn… you know… actually *nice*? I’ve had some… experiences… with "extended stay" places before. Did you feel like a human being or just another cog in the corporate machine?
Look, I've slept in places that could charitably be described as "rustic." And I’m not exaggerating. I've seen bed bugs (shudder), smelled things I'd rather forget, and endured service that made me question humanity. So, yeah, I was a little… *gun-shy* going in.
Honestly? It was surprisingly good! It wasn't the Ritz, okay? No marble floors or butler service. But the rooms were spacious and clean. The staff? Friendly and helpful, not the glazed-over "corporate robot" types. They even remembered my name after the first day! Small things, but they added up.
My *biggest* worry was the kitchen. I'm slightly obsessed with my morning coffee. So, a functioning kitchen was a MUST. And it worked perfectly! I spent half my time in there, whipping up scrambled eggs, toasting bagels, and plotting my caffeine intake for the day! Okay, maybe plotting makes it sound too organized. It was more like… *winging it* with coffee as my guiding star.
The "beach" thing... Tell me *specifically* about the beach! What's it like? Is it swimmable? Overcrowded? Give me the honest goods!
Okay, beach time. This is where Redondo Beach *really* shines. First and foremost, it's… *accessible*. You can *walk* there! I’m a terrible driver on vacation. So, points already earned! The beach itself? Wide, sandy, and gorgeous. Yes, the water is swimmable (though brrr, it can be chilly!).
One day, I almost drowned! Just kidding. But the waves were pretty strong. There were surfers, but not *too* many – a good balance. I spent hours just… *staring* at the ocean. It's genuinely mesmerizing. I'm a city girl; seeing the vast sea is like a reset button for my brain.
It can get crowded, of course, especially on weekends. But even at its busiest, it never felt like a mosh pit. You could always find a spot to spread out, read a book, and escape the world. I spent a whole afternoon just lying on my towel, watching the seagulls and eating potato chips. Bliss. Okay, maybe not the *healthiest* bliss, but still… bliss. And the sunsets? Don't even get me started. I took a million pictures… mostly blurry. But the *memory*… priceless.
What's the deal with parking? Because… LA. Enough said.
Ah, the parking question. Truly the existential dread of any LA trip. The Residence Inn had its own parking, which was… a lifesaver! It's not free (surprise!), but it was much better than circling the block for an hour, which is what you'll face in other areas.
My advice? Pack your patience. And maybe a good podcast. Because even with parking on site, there were times when it got a little… *tight*. You know, that awkward moment when you're maneuvering your car and another driver is glaring at you? Yeah, been there, done that. But hey, it wasn't *impossible*, and that’s a win in LA. Plus, the hotel is walkable to the pier and some restaurants, so you didn't *always* need to drive. I walked a lot, actually. It was good for my soul… and my stress levels.
Okay, let's talk food! What’s good to eat around there? Any hidden gems you stumbled upon? Don't say "chain restaurants" unless you're REALLY, REALLY obsessed.
Food! My second-favorite topic after coffee. Okay, maybe tied for first. Anyway, Redondo Beach has got some *amazing* eats. Forget the chains (mostly).
* **The Pier:** You gotta hit the pier! The lobster rolls were amazing… and yes, I may have gone back for seconds. Okay, *thirds*. Don't judge me. Plus, there’s an old-school arcade. I spent way too much time (and money) on those claw machines. Zero prizes, but pure, unadulterated fun. My inner child was THRILLED!
* **Local Spots:** I discovered this tiny little Mexican place - *El Burrito Jr. * - tucked away near the marina. Absolutely incredible! The tacos, the salsa… pure heaven! I went there multiple times. The staff was friendly. They even remembered my order. It felt… *real*. Not a tourist trap, but a local haunt.
* **Pro Tip:** Hit the local farmers market. Fresh produce, amazing baked goods, and the chance to pretend you're a local for an hour. I pretended very convincingly, I felt.
Did you do any… *other* things? Besides eating and staring at the ocean (which sounds glorious, by the way). Any day trips? Activities? Did you manage to pry yourself away from the beach at all?
Besides eating, drinking coffee, and gazing at the ocean? That's a good question because... well, that pretty much filled my time. Kidding! Sort of. I *did* venture out… eventually.
* **Day trip to Santa Monica:** I grudgingly braved Santa Monica for one day. The pier was… well, it was Santa Monica. Crowded, loud, and a little overwhelming. The Ferris wheel? Cool, I guess. But I was secretly relieved to head back to the peace of Redondo. Let's be honest, I preferred Redondo.
* **Walked the Esplanade:** Took a long walk along the Esplanade! Beautiful homes, stunning views. I may have done a little window shopping - okay, a *lot* of window shopping. Dream houses everywhere!
* **The Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach):**Delightful Hotels
Residence Inn Los Angeles Redondo Beach Los Angeles (CA) United States
Residence Inn Los Angeles Redondo Beach Los Angeles (CA) United States
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