Famed Route 66 will be marking its centennial

A coastal California destination that likes to boast that it’s a great part of the world for those who like to hoof it is preparing to celebrate the milestone anniversary of a road synonymous with free-roaming exploration by automobile.

Los Angeles-area Santa Monica marks the end of Route 66, which begins in distant Chicago and will turn 100 in 2026.

The highway has long been a focal point of American culture, with a TV show having revolved around it and its having been mentioned in such literary classics as John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath.

Santa Monica actually has a sign declaring End of the (Route 66) Trail.

“Route 66 is iconic,” Ozzie Otero of Santa Monica Travel & Tourism said during a recent Toronto event.

Santa Monica is planning lengthy celebrations that will coincide with the actual centennial, as are other jurisdictions the highway passes through.

Santa Monica’s tourism office will provide those who travel the entire highway with a certificate of completion if they ask for one.

Otero used the Toronto  event  to label his Pacific Ocean-fronting destination “Los Angeles’ beach city,” adding that it is the home of beach volleyball and hopes to host the beach volleyball competitions during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Beach yoga is available as well, as is hotel  beach butler service.

But Otero said that Santa Monica — flanked by Los Angeles and  ocean — is “so much more than a beach. It is so much more than a pier,” adding there are many scenarios that make staying in Santa Monica attractive,  including using it as a base to explore larger Los Angeles or choosing one of its hotels after disembarking from a cruise.

But tourism officials note that Santa Monica itself has much for visitors,  including around 65 museums and art galleries, and over 400 restaurants.

There are also 40 hotels,  with lodging options ranging from hostels to 5-star properties. “Santa Monica welcomes everybody, ” Otero said.

Otero also praised his destination as a “sustainable and walkable” part of the world in which tourists can easily skip rental cars. The destination has some 45 kms of protected bike lanes. Also found is a shuttle service that uses golf cart-like vehicles powered by electricity.

Among participating hotels in the Toronto event were:

• The Sandbourne, which has 175 guest units and is “brand new,” the hotel’s Jacqueline Nguyen said. Among activities for guests are poolside pottery classes. “Guests will be able to experience it (pottery) hands-on,” Nguyen reported. Hotel features include thousands of feet of meeting space. Cabanas are found by the swimming pool.
• The Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalow’s Danielle Gambardella labelled her property  a “celebration hotel,” happy to host the likes of birthdays and weddings. “It’s a great vibe.” Gambardella said her hotel’s structure amounts to “3 hotels in one,” with 31 bungalows that are like “a little boutique hotel within the gardens ” being one lodging option. The hotel stands on land that once was an estate belonging to Santa Monica’s’ founder, Gambardella reported.
• Affiliated Shutters on the Beach and Casa del Mar represent “an acre of luxury in Santa Monica,” said Meghan Kelley, adding the latter opened in 1926. Guests at one of the hotels are welcome to visit the other, she continued.
• The Regent is slated to open later this summer, with Liz Burkhardt saying it will provide “Beverly Hills luxury with the laid-back vibe of Santa Monica.” She added that guests can have an enjoyable time simply staying on the seaside hotel grounds. “Santa Monica is beautiful but if they don’t want to leave the property they don’t have to.” Regent is redoing the acquired hotel, with Burkhardt reporting that the number of rooms is falling from 350 to 167, underscoring the now owners want to provide spacious rooms.