Hotel Shangri-La

Now that the weather is a bit nicer, my friends and I thought it would be fun to do happy hour poolside. We thought we'd give Hotel Shangri-La a try.

Shangri-La has happy hour 5-7pm Monday through Friday at three different bars in the hotel. One is poolside, one is on the roof, and the other is in the lobby. And every Friday, they have "Ditch Day Friday" where you can get happy hour prices by the pool from 1-7pm.

Having our choice of three different bars, we chose to sit by the pool. We actually got a cabana, which was awesome. Not only did it have nice seating, but we had our own TV. Definitely sweet if there is a game on.


Shangri-La's happy hour specials include beer, wine, well drinks, and snacks for $5. Being that we had our own cabana, I thought champagne would be a nice choice for my drink. The champagne for happy hour was Mumm brut, normally priced at $10. My friends went with beer and well drinks. The well drinks were strong!

As the night went on, I met Chandra, our fabulous bartender. Come to find out... she's a fan of my blog and she made us her signature drink, The Chandra. It's a simple drink (champagne and muddled berries), but I loved it!! It became my drink of the night. It's not on the menu, but definitely order one. Cheers to Chandra!!! (Update 7/23/10 My girl, Chandra, no longer works there. But be sure to say hi to bartender Ricky. He is a reader of my blog and an absolute doll!)

The Chandra

If you're hungry, Shangri-La also has some tasty little snacks for $5. We tried the Garlic French Fries, The Grilled Artichoke, and the Stuffed Dates. The artichoke was okay, but we loved the Stuffed Dates and the fries. If you are really hungry, there is also a Pool Menu that has some tasty selections for $10-17. On my next visit, I'm trying the Lobster Sliders!

Once we had some drinks and snacks down by the pool, we made our way up to the rooftop bar, Suite 700. The inside was nice, but the outside area and the view of the beach were the highlights. First of all, it's right across the street from the beach and the view is amazing... day or night. Once the sun went down, we cozied up by the fire. Now I'd like to thank my girlfriends that went with me, but I would have much preferred a man to cozy up with.
*Note to self* Find a man to cozy up with and head to Shangri La.

We definitely enjoyed our visit to Shangri-La. The cabana was cool and I loved the rooftop. My only suggestion would be that they have a bit better selection of food offered on the happy hour menu. But I'll definitely be back this summer.

Happy Hour: 5-7pm M-F
Ditch Day Friday: 1-7pm
Beer, wine, well drinks, and snacks $5

Hotel Shangri-La

1301 Ocean Ave.
(cross street: Arizona)
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310.394.2791

shangrila-hotel.com