I love exploring Los Angeles and SoCal and I’m always amazed at the endless places there are to discover so close to my home. When Chris and I were looking at places to have a “staycation” for our anniversary we landed on Jamaica Bay Inn in Marina Del Rey. It’s the perfect place for a weekend getaway and it’s right on the beach.
Even though we live in LA, we don’t get to places like Marina Del Rey very often so for us, this felt like a new city to explore. So we loaded up our car and headed to the hotel. And yes, we took Channing with us. Not very romantic, I know. But when you’ve been married 17 years and have a 5-year-old, you learn to make some changes in the way you vacation.
When we pulled up we were immediately drawn in by how beautiful this hotel is and touches of classic Jamaican style are everywhere. The lobby is warm and inviting and the hotel staff was so welcoming.
I love the details they’ve included to make you feel like you’re at a resort instead of in the LA area.
We headed to our room which was very spacious and had lots of fun amenities like bathrobes and Keurig coffee machine. The view couldn’t be beat because our room overlooked Mother’s Beach and the boats at the dock. We went outside just to watch the sunset over the water and knew we were officially on “staycation!”
First thing in the morning we did a little exploring of the area. There’s an adorable place nearby called Fisherman’s Village and my Instagram friends would love it. It looks like a New England fishing village right out of Mystic Pizza. We took some pictures and then headed back to Jamaica Bay Inn to hit the pool.
I was worried that we’d have to fight for seats at the pool because the hotel is big and there was a wedding going on. But we didn’t have any trouble getting seats and diving in.
Channing would stay in the pool forever if I let her but I had the benefit of the beach nearby to lure her out of the pool. We had poolside lunch from Beachside Restaurant and Bar and it was so good we knew we wanted to go back for dinner.
My girl wants to explore everything she can so we headed to the beach and walked over the bridge that leads to the dock in the middle of Mother’s Beach.
It’s kind of like an inlet and not the full beach experience which explains why it’s so popular for mothers. There aren’t any big crashing waves coming at you so you can truly relax by the water with your kids.
We even caught a glimpse of some serious yoga lovers. They were doing full on yoga on the middle of their paddle boards. Some even brought their dog along for some morning stretches. I was beyond impressed! I would be face down in the water in a heartbeat but I support their choice of exercise. You go ladies!
At this point we were hoping to squeeze in a nap but no such luck. So we dressed for dinner and had no idea we were about to have one of the most fabulous meals of our lives. Who knew this restaurant tucked way inside this hotel was so amazing? We found out it just opened in September and they are on their game.
We had some wine to celebrate our big day and ordered some charcuterie and the most amazing brussel sprouts I’ve ever had. My favorite way to start any meal: booze, meat and cheese!
Then I dove into a plate of lobster pasta and topped it off with a giant slice of flourless dark chocolate cake. (This is definitely a sharing desert so bring someone you love for this one.) After dinner we sipped hot cocoa by the fit pit as we watched the sun go down over the beach. I’m not exaggerating when I say it was the perfect ending to a wonderful anniversary weekend.
It’s amazing what you find when you get outside your routine and explore your city. We made some sweet memories during our stay at Jamaica Bay Inn and we are already thinking about where we’d like to go next. I’m thinking it should be somewhere in the Caribbean now that we’ve had a little taste of Jamaica!
*Disclaimer: I was compensated or given free product in exchange for my honest review of this business and/or products. For more information, please visit my disclaimers page.
