Plan a relaxing Marina del Rey getaway with waterfront hotels, spa treatments, restaurants, creative activities and plenty of ways to unwind by the water.

Whenever I am stuck in L.A. traffic, I find myself daydreaming about living in whatever cool spot I happen to be inching my way through. When I’m crawling along the Pacific Coast Highway, I think: Hmmm, a beach house would be so dreamy — morning walks on the sand, brewing coffee with the sound of the waves… ” Recently, my daughter and I turned one of those daydreams into reality.

My daughter is an elementary school teacher in the Marina del Rey neighborhood, and we often meet in the marina for a walk and an early dinner overlooking the boats — a favorite way to catch up and decompress after our hectic workdays. We’ve often walked past the Marina Del Rey Hotel with its striped loungers, cabanas and fire pits and wondered about living the yacht-club life for a few days.

Our waterfront staycation was all about connection and relaxation, and our two-day itinerary was very intentional. We stayed within the two-mile Marina del Rey community, walking to most places and keeping our drives to less than seven minutes. We then mixed neighborhood restaurants with fun and sensory-rich activities: massages and a farm-to-table salad, handmade pasta and pottery class, sunset dinner and live music, creamy matcha and a boat ride, breakfast burritos and poolside reading.

This much-needed reset revealed what a hidden gem our L.A. marina is. What makes it ideal for a staycation is the fact that there is a lot of fun packed into this compact waterfront community, making it an easy escape for a mom’s getaway, a couple’s retreat or a solo mom sabbatical. You’re not far from home, responsibilities and kids, but thanks to the sailboats, the way the sun makes the water shimmer just so and buzzy neighborhood restaurants waiting to be discovered, you’ll feel far away from work deadlines, lunch prep and homework battles.

Key Takeaways

• Marina del Rey offers a relaxing getaway right here in Los Angeles. A two-day staycation puts spa treatments, creative activities, waterfront strolls and restaurants close at hand.
• Stay at the Marina del Rey Hotel. The 164-room boutique property combines contemporary coastal design with vintage SoCal charm.
• Make dining part of the adventure. Options range from breakfast on waterfront patios to moody sunset dinners, with stops including SALT, Cast & Plow, Dear Jane’s, UOVO, STOA Wine Bar and Market, Café Cache and Brizo Bar & Restaurant.
• Build in time to relax and recharge. Treat yourself to a massage at the Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey, make pottery at Bitter Root Aqueous or read poolside from a cabana at the Marina del Rey Hotel.

Start Your Marina del Rey Staycation With a Spa Day

My daughter and I didn’t waste any time getting into our vacation state of mind. Our day began with massages at the Ritz Carlton, Marina del Rey. The Sisley Paris Spa is a relaxing sanctuary nestled near the hotel’s pool. We arrived a little early to get cozy in our robes and sat poolside sipping our tea.

A restorative massage with essential oils is the best way to begin your staycation. We loved that the spa’s signature massage is 60 minutes and not the typical 50 minutes, which always feels too short. And the spa offers California residents discounted rates during certain days of the week to enjoy an hour-long massage or facial.

Beyond the signature treatments, the spa features a wide selection of facials and massages, including deep tissue and prenatal. You can also elevate your rejuvenation with enhancements like the phyto-aromatic exfoliating hand-and-foot treatment. The eucalyptus steam room is another great spot to unwind and recharge.

After our massages, we enjoyed a leisurely farm-to-table lunch on the hotel’s Marina-front patio of Cast & Plow. The restaurant has a laid-back vibe with the perfect amount of elegance and sophistication mixed in. You feel completely pampered and catered to, but in that relaxed, hair-in-a-ponytail kind of way.

The menu features all locally sourced seasonal produce and ingredients gathered from nearby farms, which feels wonderfully nourishing after our massages. The views and fire-pit tables are the showstoppers here, and we’re already daydreaming about coming back at sunset one night in the winter to get cozy by the fire and sip a glass of wine.

Stay at the Marina del Rey Hotel

From the Ritz Carlton, we headed to the Marina del Rey Hotel, just a mile away on the other side of the harbor. This historic gem was our home for the next 48 hours. Follow the photos on the walls, and you’ll discover the rich history of the first waterfront hotel to open in the marina in 1964. While it has gone through major renovations and features a contemporary coastal design, the 164-room boutique property hasn’t lost its vintage SoCal charm.

As soon as we walked into our one-bedroom suite, it was the wraparound balcony with views from every angle that took our breath away. During the day, we watched boats sail by, the resident sea lions hop on and off the docks and families stroll along the waterfront path. At night, the backdrop transforms with the dock lights and the illuminated high-rise condos and office buildings on the horizon. There is live music playing by the pool and firepits to gather around.

Try a Pottery Class With Harbor Views

One of our favorite activities was spending a couple of hours together on a spinning potter’s wheel. We’re both beginners and couldn’t wait to get our hands in the clay and learn all about wheel throwing. Bitter Root Pottery Aqueous is a short walk from the Marina del Rey Hotel, and the second-floor penthouse-type space is something to experience. This is not your typical studio. It will transport you into a creative realm the minute you walk in. Natural light pours in from the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the marina, chandeliers hang from the industrial ceiling, tree branches and birch logs frame the blue-and-white pottery stations. 

Pressing, shaping and smoothing the clay with our wet hands felt incredibly soothing. There is so much sensory satisfaction in centering the clay and guiding it into something unique. I especially loved “the pulling,” with one hand inside the bowl and the other outside gently drawing the clay upward and watching the walls become taller and thinner. It was thrilling to see what my own hands were capable of creating.

The studio offers adult beginner classes, and you can choose indoor oceanfront or outdoor wheel throwing. It offers evening classes with candlelight and wine, as well as classes that parents can take with their kids ages 6-12.

Where to Eat in Marina del Rey

From leisurely sunny breakfasts to moody sunset dinners, we discovered several wonderful local spots to savor. My daughter has already been back with friends to a couple of these finds.

Our first night’s dinner was at Dear Jane’s, featuring glamorous booths, seafood classics and some fun surprises such as the tableside caramel pour-over for our decadent dessert. We devoured the Röckenwagner sourdough bread with butter. Then came the beet salad with goat cheese and potato-crusted sea bass with roasted fennel and chicken parm.

The restaurant is owned by renowned chef Josiah Citrin and husband-and-wife team Hans and Patti Röckenwagner, founders of the Röckenwagner Bakery Group. They also operate another beloved L.A. steakhouse, Dear John’s, in Culver City. The restaurant, with its moody, back-room speakeasy-like bar, is an ode to surf n’ turf and the legendary classics of the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s.

The next morning, we woke up to sunshine and glistening water and walked down to Marina del Rey Hotel’s restaurant, SALT, for breakfast on the patio. The selection is centered around seasonal SoCal favorites — golden overnight oats with turmeric, honey, oat milk and goji, Santa Barbara smoked salmon with pickled red onion and capers, lemon ricotta pancakes with whipped citrus mascarpone and the Del Rey Burrito with green tomatillo salsa.

We then grabbed our books and relaxed in one of the cabanas poolside for the next couple of hours. There is something so tranquil about an oversized plush lounger, shade and a cool harbor breeze. We could have easily spent the whole day here, but we had a very special bowl of pasta to try.

For lunch, we walked to UOVO, where they bring in their fresh pasta daily from Bologna, Italy. The traditional handmade pastas focus on simple ingredients — flour, eggs and sometimes salt. We’re told the eggs in Italy give the pasta that rich flavor and deep yellow color. The old-world method of creating something extraordinary by kneading and rolling dough that has been passed down from one generation to another is infused in every dish at UOVO.

First, we tried the tonnarelli in the signature pomodoro sauce made with exclusively imported tomatoes from Basilicata and 24-month aged Parmigiano-Reggiano. And because one bowl of pasta is never enough, we then lingered over handmade tagliolini with yellow tomatoes, basil, organic Sicilian olive oil and a touch of garlic.

Since pasta is the star here, there are lots of options, including the original bolognese, lasagna, cacio e pepe, carbonara, ravioli di ricotta and many more. Don’t miss the creamy tiramisu al cucchiaio for something sweet with a touch of hazelnut.

We stayed with the Italian theme and had dinner at STOA Wine Bar & Market, a charming café with a cozy market/book nook/bar inside an outdoor patio with string lights and a buzzy vibe. The restaurant is inspired by the principles of stoicism: “simplicity, intentionality and the joy of savoring the present.”

There is a neighborhood energy here — friends sharing a pizza, families walking to dinner, neighbors around the communal table built around an olive tree. Even the menu is designed for sharing, tasting, chatting and savoring.

Charcuterie boards are created daily from the evolving selection of artisanal cheeses and seasonal accompaniments. The pizza is a must with inventive toppings such as lemon ricotta and pistachio, asparagus, snap peas and burrata, black summer truffle and garlic-roasted Yukon potatoes. Add a couple of salads like the Tomato Goddess or Sicilian with citrus dressing, and you have a perfect dinner to share.  

Wines are available by the glass or bottle, and you can choose from a well-curated selection of reds, whites, rose/orange and sparkling. 

Our second day began with a marina walk and breakfast at Café Cache, a hidden French bistro with great coffee and matchas, buttery croissants and sweet and savory crepes. It’s almost a 2-mile walk from the hotel or a five-minute drive. Beyond the all-day breakfast, the Paris-meets-SoCal-inspired menu also includes a daily quiche, salads and sandwiches, making this an ideal spot for lunch or an afternoon snack.  

You’ll find cute dogs lounging on the patio here and young professionals sipping coffee and working on their laptops. This quaint spot is inside the walking promenade of the AMLI mixed-use apartment complex overlooking the boats. You can’t drive up to the restaurant, so park and walk. Two large public parking lots are nearby, one on 14101 Panay Way and another at 4160 Admiralty Way, near Mother’s Beach.

Our final lunch was at Brizo Bar & Restaurant, where the outdoor patio directly overlooks the marina and the selection of seafood is extensive. Think Pacific rockfish tacos served on blue corn tortilla with coriander slaw, spicy tuna on crispy rice and poke bowls. In addition, you’ll find a refreshing caprese sandwich, burger and fattoush salad with parsley, dill, strawberries and feta cheese.

Brizo is the perfect place to grab lunch and then hop on the WaterBus, which docks right in front of the restaurant. This is a fun way to see the marina from the water and was a great way for us to finish our mother-daughter adventure. Tickets are $1 per person, and the boat makes eight stops: Fisherman’s Village, Burt Chase Park, Waterfront Walk, Mother’s Beach, Dolphin Marina, Esprit, Wetland Park and Del Rey Landing. The WaterBus operates Fridays-Sundays from June 19–Sept. 7. It will also run during the annual Dance MdR weekends in September and the Marina Spooktacular community event weekend in October.

It’s been a few weeks since our staycation, but I’m still scrolling through my photos and savoring our time together. We didn’t need to travel far to have fun and make great memories. We just needed to find the right spot that felt a world away.

Elena Epstein is Editorial Director of L.A. Parent.