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The destination was Su Casa, a boutique hotel right on the board walk in Venice Beach.
After winding down a few side streets and backing out of the wrong parking lot, I decided to call my connection at the hotel. “Hello can I speak with
Rafi?” “He’s not in right now. Can I help you?” came the reply. “Yes, this is The New York Optimist. I am here to review your hotel but I can’t seem to
find it.”
“Not a problem”, he assured us, “in a few minutes just look toward the end of the parking lot and I will be standing on the corner”. I got out of the car
to meet Sammy, a very cool and laid back artsy-looking Latin man in horn rimmed glasses. With a squint he said,  “I am sorry but I was not informed of
your arrival.” A mild pang of anxiety overcame me which Sammy noticed and said,  “not to worry we will straighten everything out and take care of
you”. We walked over to the next tiny street and down the narrow sidewalk to Su Casa. The smell of the ocean lingered in the air and a few people
passed by on the boardwalk.

Feeling awkward, I stood in the lobby as Sammy tried to rectify the situation. (As it turned out, our secretary had forgotten to make a final confirmation
and had also forgotten to write down the confirmation code for our room, which is why Sammy was a little confused). He came from behind the desk
and said he had a room available but needed twenty minutes to prepare it. I asked if there was a place to have a cocktail and wind down from the six
hour flight and he directed us to a bar a block down the boardwalk from the hotel which was famous for up-and-coming music talent. We soon found
out that the The Doors played some of their first gigs here. This picked me up a bit as I am a huge Doors Fan.
The bar looked like something out of a go-go surf movie that Frankie Valli and Annette Funicello  might have  starred in except it wasn’t as clean and
commercial like the surf shack bars that were mainly created on sets. We sat in the outside seating area surrounded by motley mix of hippies, drag
queens and what seemed to be a few male models or actors while we sipped our vodka sodas.  Before I knew it Sammy was waving to us to come
back ,alerting us that our room was ready for occupancy.
I started to climb the stairs to the second floor of Su Casa as a beautiful French lady was coming down at the same time. She told Sammy that
she wanted to order something in a heavy accent then disappeared. The room was small but well-designed. The queen size bed was dressed in
white with a number of big overstuffed pillows; a black and white photo of a surfboard hung above the bed. A smile came over my face as I
inspected the rest of the room. There was a custom style kitchenette with stainless steel accents and the bathroom had an enclosed shower. The
water pressure was strong. (This one of the first things I like to check for when staying any place abroad). In the morning, we came downstairs to
find Rafi at the desk. He apologized for the confusion with the room and then went on to tell us about Su Casa and the long list of things to do
and see. After checking out a few of the other rooms which were all cleverly designed and arranged with beautiful views of the beach, lunch time
approached
Su Casa
Venice Beach
431 Ocean Front Walk.
Venice Beach, CA 90291
Phone:
310-452-9700