The Santa Monica Correct opened its doors in 2019 and quickly became the best hotel in the city. The Kelly Wearstler designed house combines the things we love most about living right here: the informal focus on well-being, and the way the city bumps up against the coast. We are always looking for reasons to enter its doors (and lounge on its beautiful sofas). Holidays, staycations and nights out, even a recent daylong beauty retreat for 90 guests.
Book a stay and you will find Parachute robes and travertine showers. You’ll also discover space to spread out and a bed you can use all day. You don’t come here to sit in your chicly-appointed room. You can walk to some local favorites from the Right: Esters, for an eclectic mix of pure wines and inventive cocktails, Huckleberry, for the best coffee and pastries and Father’s Workplace, for insanely great burgers and a comprehensive beer list. You can also hit the beach. I like to keep away from the pier and climb down the paths that are set into the bluffs of Arizona or Montana Avenue. Then, take a walk north towards Will Rogers Beach. You’re also a quick rideshare from Venice and Brentwood — subject journey to the Nation Mart anyone?
Then there are all the treasures that the Correct has to offer: two amazing restaurants, a rooftop oasis, weekend activities, and an Ayurvedic Ayurvedic Spa.
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Palma is a popular restaurant in the Correct’s lobby. It is a great place to spend a Saturday night. Here’s how it works: You sit in a carved-in alcove and order truffley arancini, tacky bucatini and a few good wine suggestions from the sommelier. Spend your meal watching the room. The room is lively, cosy, well-lit, and spacious. It has everything you need for a fun, but not too wild night out.
Palma has a completely different breakfast vibe in the morning: it’s calm and perfect for working your way through a flight Ayurvedic Lattes and the best bagel on the 405:
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CALABRA (AND THE POOL).
The rooftop of Correct is home to Calabra, the second restaurant and one of the best patios in the Westside. You should order the sushi and seafood if you’re here for dinner. If you are just here for cocktails, do not skip the snacks. I had a paprika dusted hummus that came with a pile of grilled spiced lafa.
You can spend a relaxing day in the sun by booking one of the poolside cabanas. Some days are languid, restful and call for bottle service. Book a reservation in the morning for the day before, and an afternoon one for the following.
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PANCHAKARMA AT SURYA SURYA Spa
You can book a massage or scrub at the Surya Spa located downstairs. Panchakarma is a comprehensive Ayurvedic cleanse that can take up to 28 days, and includes a prescribed diet. Martha Soffer is the founder of Surya and is a master Panchakarma expert, a chef, an herbalist, as well as a resident.
Abhyanga is a treatment that involves two practitioners massaging your body with long, gentle strokes. They are perfectly coordinated and symmetrical. It’s ethereal. Soffer then determines the second and third treatments based on your pulse. Soffer, for example, prescribed me nasya, which is a head and neck massage followed by a natural sauna, to treat ethereal, cold, and dry energy. He also recommended shirodhara in which natural oil was poured over my third eye.
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WEEKEND WORKSOUTS
On Saturdays and Sundays you can do vinyasa or HIIT on the back terrace if you want something more intense. You’ll sweat a lot in vinyasa. The teacher, Rebecca Buringrud, will guide you to your next level based on where you have the strength or flexibility.
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SURYA TO GO
Do not try without picking up some Surya goodies. You can choose from teas that you can steep whenever, botanical bath soaks for your bathtub upstairs (or recreate the spa experience at home), and skincare created with your elemental balance in mind. Its rich and nourishing texture has made it a cult favorite. The cream is tridoshic, which means that it works well for all people from an Ayurvedic standpoint. The face oil smells really good and is very gentle. The lip balm is silky. You see the tool with the rounded end? This is a kansa tool, the same one Soffer used for my facial and neck massage during my nasya treatment at Surya. It works wonders for face massages, and also helps to work lotions and oil into your skin.
