California beach luxury: Hilton just opened its first LXR hotel in the US

The points-hotel battle in the Los Angeles area continues to heat up.

On Tuesday, Hilton shared that the formerly independent Oceana Santa Monica has joined the Hilton family -- effective immediately -- under its new, high-end LXR brand after a $25 million renovation.

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Oceana Santa Monica becomes the sixth open LXR-branded hotel worldwide, joining The Biltmore, Mayfair in London; Habtoor Palace in Dubai; Susona in Bodrum, Turkey; Zemi Beach House in Anguilla and Mango House in the Seychelles. It's also the brand's first property in the United States.

This 70-room hotel is located across from the beach in Santa Monica, California, near Los Angeles. It's designed to evoke a homey-but-luxurious feel, which blends in nicely with its quiet, residential surroundings.

Rooms feature "four-poster beds with Loro Piana bedding and Frette linens," according to a press release. Functions in each room -- from climate to room-service orders -- will be controlled by iPads. Guest bathrooms will feature luxurious Bottega Veneta toiletries.

The hotel's design was developed by Anna Busta of Busta Studio in New York City, and you can expect to find gold accents, geometric patterns, plenty of wood finishes and calming color palettes to reflect the property's serene beach-adjacent setting.

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Oceana has three dining venues, which interestingly are only available to hotel guests, meaning you can't simply book a dinner reservation if you happen to be in the area. The main restaurant, Sandpiper, features a high-end dining experience with the Pacific Ocean as its background. The Veranda is the all-day option and allows guests to have their meals in a poolside lounge chair (complete with James Perse fabrics) or next to the hotel's fire pit. Finally, there's a rooftop area called Sunset Terrace which allows guests to sip cocktails and enjoy a meal with a gorgeous Pacific-Ocean sunset as a backdrop. Sunset Terrace will even feature a Nobu pop-up, per the press release.

The pool is situated at the center of the property and is surrounded by olive trees and the aforementioned James Perse-clad loungers. The gym comes equipped with Peloton and TechnoGym equipment and guests can book personal-training sessions as well as private yoga classes on the beach in the morning.

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There's also a spa with salon services, a house car that can take guests into L.A. to explore and even bicycles to go riding on or along the beach. Of course, this hotel is opening during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, so it will adhere to all the standards of Hilton's CleanStay Program which ensures each Hilton property is complying with the chain's elevated standards of cleaning and sanitization.

Related: How Hilton is cleaning guest rooms between hotel guests

Booking Oceana Santa Monica

The addition of Oceana to the Hilton chain also means it'll participate in Hilton's Honors loyalty program, giving Hilton fans another great option to earn and redeem points. Rooms here can be had starting at 95,000 points per night. If you decide to use points, you'll get your fifth night free and won't have to pay the hotel's $45 daily resort fee.

Oceana is another new luxury option for Hilton Honors members -- especially those with elite status -- to leverage their benefits such as the annual free-weekend-night certificate that comes as a perk of the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card. The information for the Hilton Aspire Amex card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Gold and Diamond Hilton Honors members are also entitled to perks such as complimentary water bottles, free breakfast, room upgrades and more. The best part of all is Hilton elite status is readily accessible since it comes as perks of some of Hilton's cobranded credit cards, several of which are offering elevated welcome bonuses right now.

Bottom line

The opening of Oceana Santa Monica as an LXR hotel is an important milestone for Hilton and its fledgling luxury brand. It establishes the brand in the U.S. for the first time and sets the stage for further growth in the years ahead.

In addition, it gives Hilton Honors fans another luxurious option for earning and redeeming points and leveraging the chain's impressive selection of elite-status perks.