TRAVEL

Haven of Peace and Serenity

Bed and breakfast inn maintains decades of tradition on the wetlands

By Bridgette M. Redman

Amid all the bustle of the Westside, the Inn at Playa del Rey is a warm haven of peace and serenity. It opened in 1995 because Ed and Susan Zolla wanted to build a small inn abutting the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, a place that they supported and were committed to seeing preserved. They partnered with Architect Gerald Li to create a place that centered nature and gave their guests an opportunity to experience it from courtyards, in the common areas and from balconies in their rooms. In 2018, the Inn at Playa del Rey joined the Four Sisters Inn collection, a small management company that had been managing another Zolla property since 2008—the Channel Road Inn in Santa Monica. “We started working with Susan way back with the Channel Road Inn,” said Tamara Mims, president and CEO of Four Sisters Inn. “She is still very involved at Playa del Rey and really didn’t want to fully retire. She’s a very busy, active woman.” Because they had had a successful relationship with the Channel Road Inn, Mims said Zolla was ready to pass over the reins of the day-to-day management of Playa del Rey, even while continuing to take an active interest in the property. “They are an amazing family,” Mims said. “They are really incredible people that are very generous and very giving. They actively support the Ballona wetlands. It’s a big piece of the hotel. She’s a great, great person that supports the community.” Mims said that Zolla stays in touch with the employees, throwing amazing Christmas parties for them each year. For guests, the Inn at Playa del Rey provides an opportunity to experience the wetlands in an intimate fashion. There are comfortable sitting areas that invite guests to linger and take in the wetlands and the wildlife. There are telescopes and binoculars along with books explaining what might be found outside the large windows. The Inn at Playa del Rey is a hidden gem on the Westside that overlooks the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve and Marina del Rey.

“There’s no other hotel in Los Angeles that sits on over 600 acres of a nature preserve,” Mims said. “We have guests when they leave or come saying over and over, ‘I cannot believe I’m in Los Angeles.’ You’ll go out the front of the hotel and you’re on a fairly busy street—I mean, you’re in LA at the end of the day. But when you walk into the hotel, the viewpoint is looking out to the preserve and it’s just incredible.” The décor summons images of the nearby marina with sailing pictures and ornamentation and blue and white color schemes throughout. The walls are decked with nautical maps and photographed images of the beach and historical events. The owners were seeking a New England beach style. Many rooms have private balconies with a table and chairs looking out on the stretch of undeveloped land where birds, small animals and even—since the pandemic—a family of coyotes live. “It’s just a breath of fresh air,” Mims said. "It’s really amazing. The location is one of the most unique aspects of it. You’re in the heart of Los Angeles, you can walk to the beach and you’re looking out to no buildings or high rises.” Guest amenities offered at the Inn at Playa del Rey fit in with the Four Sisters Inn properties, meaning very little had to be added when management changed hands. “Everything that (Zolla) did and how she ran this hotel is still in place,” Mims said. “She is a very warm person who really believes in the guest experience as well as the employee experience so nothing major really changed, which is why it was such a natural fit for us. They were already doing an amazing breakfast, they were doing the cookies—when you check in you get two cookies in your guestroom. They have the wine and cheese hour.” All those amenities are included in the price of the room, as are bottled waters, soda, coffee and tea—they don’t believe in nickeling and diming their guests. The property has a cupboard from which guests can borrow beach gear including towels, sand pails and shovels and beach mats or umbrellas. While the guest experience hasn’t changed, Four Sisters Inn was able to help better support back-of-the-house efforts such as marketing, accounting and bookkeeping and human resources, as well as add a few technological innovations. “We brought peace of mind for her,” Mims said. “She saw how we ran Channel Road, that we were very fiscally sound and took care of the hotel just like she would have done in terms of maintenance, guest services, maintaining food offerings, training the staff and all of that. So really for us and for her it was a very natural fit. We just kept with her tradition, which was very similar to our own.” Many of the staff have been with the Inn for a long time and are committed to maintaining the special character of the property. Mims said that two of their housekeepers have been with them for more than 25 years and were recently recognized by the California Hotel & Lodging Association for being outstanding in their field. The staff makes an effort to cater to all types of guests, whether they are business travelers, families or couples looking for a getaway. They are minutes away from LAX and have all the technology that someone needs for a working trip, but there are also rooms for families. Other rooms are designed for romance with a two-sided fireplace that can be enjoyed from the bedroom and the bathroom both—and the bathroom contains a romantic, large jetted tub and separate shower. “People will just go relax, have a glass of wine, maybe do a little work or just catch up with a friend,” Mims said. “It has a very comforting feeling to it.” Much of their business relies on word-of-mouth because they are such a small property. Mims said guests consider their property a best-kept secret, a gem among LA hotels. In turn, they try to make sure their guests feel safe, taken care of, relaxed and wanting to come back. One of their more recent

The inn opened in 1995 because Ed and Susan Zolla wanted to build a small inn abutting the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, a place that they supported and were committed to seeing preserved.

updates to improve guest communication took place during the pandemic. They partnered with a company called Whistle who helped them set up a texting system that is integrated with the property’s software system. It provided them a way to have social distancing but still provide superior customer service and contact. “It is by far one of the best things we’ve ever done as an organization,” Mims said. “It just was a game changer for us. Our team loves it because they were able to really have that quick communication and know exactly what is going on. If someone texts us, we have a full record of everything. The guest truly loves it because they don’t have to stop what they’re doing during the day, pick up the phone, maybe stay on hold if someone’s on the other line just to refill towels. Nine times out of ten, it’s a very quick question that someone might have and our guests love it. We get such positive feedback.” She said it has helped their staff feel more connected and better able to support guests and is one of the best technology features they’ve implemented. It lets them do things like tell guests their room is ready and they can check in early. They can answer questions about the property and follow up with warm goodbyes. It is an innovation that underlines what the Inn at Playa del Rey is all about— creating a warm, unique experience for every guest that stays at this creative, warm property.

Inn at Playa del Rey

435 Culver Boulevard, Playa del Rey 877-590-2366 innatplayadelrey.com

ACROSS

1 Pesters online, in a way 6 Dorothy Gale’s dog 10 Wore 15 Three-time

WNBA MVP

Leslie 19 Divvy up 20 Husband of

Psyche 21 “Just tell me” 22 Iraq neighbor 23 Lizzo “remake” of the Beatles’ “I

Feel Fine”? 25 Dua Lipa

“remake” of

Katrina and the Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine”? 27 Snookums 28 Defiant admission of dishonesty 30 Thirsts (for) 31 Least refined 33 Early console letters 34 Accessory for Mr.

Monopoly 35 Taylor Swift

“remake” of the Eagles’ “Take It

Easy”? 41 “__ have to do” 42 “Creed” director

Coogler 43 Wimbledon surface 48 Petting zoo horse 49 LAX regulator 51 Find repugnant 54 Folder’s loss 55 Doo-wop syllable 56 To no avail 58 Get-up-and-go 59 Descendant 60 “Will you let me?” 61 Marvin Gaye

“remake” of Glenn Miller’s “In the Mood”? 64 Direct means of access 67 Slow-cooked courses 69 Anthem played at

Blue Jays games 70 Steve Miller

Band “remake” of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a

Spell on You”? 72 Conditional release 74 “Rumble in the

Jungle” locale 75 Trifling amount 76 Cowhand’s seat 77 Media-regulating gp. 80 One-named supermodel 81 Most efficient 84 __ socket 85 Corn holder 86 Final request 88 Pet food brand 90 Allowing a draft 91 Jay-Z/Alicia Keys

“remake” of Frank Sinatra’s “New

York, New York”? 97 Dicey 101 Connections 102 Paste-up pieces 103 Cola originally named Brad’s

Drink 104 Dips for Easter 107 Keeps adding to, as mashed potatoes 111 Ed Sheeran

“remake” of the Rays’

“Silhouettes”? 113 Lady Gaga

“remake” of the J. Geils Band’s

“Love Stinks”? 115 Actor Stonestreet 116 Yankee manager before Girardi 117 Big name in footwear 118 Resolves a tense problem, say 119 Ahi, for one 120 Irritable 121 Knitter’s ball 122 Station

DOWN

1 Hangs loosely 2 Snowbank creator 3 Banana Boat

After Sun Gel ingredient 4 Using contemporary styles 5 Work in a park, perhaps 6 Snickered 7 Vein contents 8 “Anna Karenina” novelist 9 Scandinavian capital 10 Jewish campus group 11 AARP concern 12 Plunge 13 “Metamorphoses” poet 14 __ worth 15 Brightened 16 Like Oscar Wilde 17 With 45-Down,

West Coast racing venue 18 Teen sensation, perhaps 24 Fries, e.g. 26 As a companion 29 Harebrained 32 Maroon 34 Affectedly dainty 35 Litter cries 36 Brief “Then again ... ” 37 Wing support 38 Suffragist

Elizabeth __

Stanton 39 Faucet problems 40 Cries of dismay 44 Wisconsin city between

Milwaukee and

Chicago 45 See 17-Down 46 Tolerated 47 Medicinal shrub 49 Flora partner 50 Had a bug 52 Gush forth 53 Place for a pawdicure 56 Word with mail or box 57 Iberian capital 59 No longer novel 60 Dry red wine 61 Actress

Thompson 62 Motown Records founder Berry 63 Maître’s milieu 64 Brownish green 65 First president with a Twitter account 66 Pares 68 Accurate 71 Tokyo-based brewery 73 “__ Fideles” 76 ESPN datum 77 Vanuatu neighbor 78 Family circle 79 Twine 81 Guacamole ingredient 82 Predict-ability? 83 Spacek of

“Bloodline” 85 1941 Bogart role 87 Group pic 89 Italian dessert wine 92 Struggles 93 Provides (with) 94 “Julie & Julia” writer/director 95 Froyo topping 96 Made bubbles 97 In a huff 98 1960s jacket style 99 Nadal’s birthplace 100 Pet adoption org. 104 __ effort 105 Sandwich with tzatziki sauce 106 Site for a bidding war 108 Salon sound 109 Bi- quadrupled 110 Place for a clutch 112 Non-Rx 114 Musical arcade game, for short