Jamaica Bay Inn

Jamaica Bay Inn offers a nice place to stay at a good value for money. Its beachfront location is a plus.

The Jamaica Bay Inn is located along Marina Del Rey's marina area, with a sandy beach right behind it. Views from the upstairs rooms that face the marina are excellent, day and night. Although they say it's a renovation, you'd swear it was new construction with no hint of its former self.

Bucking the trend among newer Los Angeles hotels, which are often so trendy that they can be intimidating, Jamaica Bay is modern and at the same time warm inviting, decorated in warm colors. The rooms are extraordinarily clean and the beds among the most comfortable we've experienced. We applaud the free Internet access and lack of annoying add-on fees. And the place looks just the same in person as it does in its website photos.

One of the nicest surprises at Jamaica Bay Inn is its restaurant, Vu - pronounced "view" and named for what you can see through its windows (or from the patio outside on a warm day). The menu features some innovative "progressive comfort food" - pork belly with grits and root beer jello, calamari with pink lemonade mayo, fresh mozzarella wrapped around a balsamic-vinegar-injected cherry tomato. Online reviews suggest that the chef's boldness creates some misses along with a lot of hits - we'd recommend taking your server's help to get the best experience.

Jamaica Bay is best described as a boutique hotel, a refreshing change from run-of-the-mill chains - and while not in the cheap lodging category, it's a good value for money.

The Jamaica Bay Inn gets some of the highest online ratings we've seen, and for the most part we agree. However, don't let all this praise set wrong expectations. You'll find some typical amenities missing, including in-room checkout, movies and HBO - and you won't find electronic gizmos like iPod docks or game consoles, either.

If you want to go for a swim, the outdoor swimming pool is on the small side, with mundane pool furniture that doesn't measure up to the rest of hotel's standards, in our opinion. The nice beach with calm water makes up for that in some respects, but not everyone wants to go into salt water - and even in sunny Marina Del Rey, winter days can be too cold to swim outdoors.

The location is good for anything you want to do in the area and it's an easy walk to other area restaurants. It's not obvious from its address, but the Jamaica Bay Inn is a 10-minute walk away from the Venice Beach Pier and canals and if you're energetic, the Venice Beach Boardwalk is also within reach. You can also rent bicycles just across the street and pedal all the way to Santa Monica along the beachfront path.

And how's this for a guarantee? If you reserve through their website and find a lower rate somewhere else within 24 hours, they'll honor the lower rate and take another 20% off. The claim form is right on their website.

As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with complimentary services for review of Jamaica Bay Inn. While it has not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our Ethics Policy.