Le Merigot Debuts in Santa Monica

The 175-room Le Merigot hotel has opened in Santa Monica--the city’s first beachfront hotel to be built in six years. It is also expected to be the last hotel to open along a coveted sand strip where voters have restricted development.

The $50-million building, at 1740 Ocean Ave., is next to Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel and a few blocks from Hotel Casa Del Mar, which opened in October in a refurbished 1926 landmark, the former Club Casa Del Mar. Le Merigot’s introductory room rates, through Dec. 29, start at $239.

Although the rooms opened several days ago, along with the casual Cafe Promenade, the hotel’s upscale Cezanne restaurant and a 5,500-square-foot spa are still being finished. Cezanne will serve “French cuisine with Pacific Rim touches,” the hotel says. It is expected to open by New Year’s Eve. The spa, expected to open in January, includes a Cybex-equipped health club and treatments ranging from aromatherapy to shiatsu massage. There is also an outdoor pool. The hotel is owned by Columbia Sussex Corp. in Fort Mitchell, Ky. Telephone (800) 926-9524.