The long work week/weekend had finally come to an end! I was elated. A last minute major deal tossed into an already slammed early morning and late night schedule was not what the doctor ordered. The moment I finished work, I hauled arse to check out, into an Uber and was off to the stunning Viceroy Santa Monica.

I was to meet the bestie there for a posh, pampered afternoon and evening of girl talk and relaxing by the chic pool. Then, I was to take her out for a birthday dinner. I learned a few days prior that the desired restaurant, Tar & Roses, had actually burned down over the summer. I should have accepted this as a precursorary omen because I was now also missing the bestie. She got held up with work and had to stay in Chicago a few days longer than anticipated. Sacre bleu!

Not one to pass up a beautiful hotel room, I took advantage of this place I’d always wanted to stay and merely moved to luxurious king bed, away from the double bestie-dom. This served as the perfect respite to kick my feet up and read magazines for awhile or at least until my complimentary champagne evaporated.

While I’ve stayed in the Viceroy Miami a few times now, the Santa Monica outpost far exceeded any previous ideas about the chain. The check-in was lovely. All champagne and last names. Dinner recs for one and a friendly porter to manage my excessive luggage. I was happy to find the Viceroy is publishing a magazine of all of their properities now. My wanderlust constnatly overpowers my budget, and I was happy to find that there’s an outpost in Colorado. Now I have to stalk that one for deals too. Damnit. (But, can’t wait to find one!)

Just look at this gorgeous room! A little girly, but it was so beautiful after five days in some convention nightmare. I bounced around and explored every last bit of the room.

Viceroy bathrooms are treacherous! The all marble makes you wonder why you don’t have this at home and the minute you step out of the shower, you realize it is totally impractical. The jugs of Neil George products smell of unisex cologne and seem like something, again, that you should have at home, but at $45 a bottle, Target brand is fine too. Up and up.

The view from my room was all pool cabanas and tables. Table for one, please!

I walked around for a closer look. I’d just seem this place in a movie and felt the need for a cocktail and lounge on an outdoor couch, but the sixty degrees and overcast weather had me making other plans.

I meandered around beautiful Santa Monica, enjoying views of the ocean and views of gardens. This succulent wall had me day dreaming about my own porch back home.

For a moment, I thought this was THE Hotel California – such a lovely place. I don’t think it was, but it did have some secretive views of the ocean that I marginally trespassed to enjoy.

 The evening brought shopping and a couple cocktails from a friendly bar man. I had a few oysters at a new, and overrated seafood joint, but opted for a comedy and room service in my romantic room for one. What’s more luxurious than pasta in bed after the last few harried-to-say-the-least weeks of work. Turns out, not much, at least not until my next Viceroy find.