A letter to City Attorney Marsha Moutrie, City Manager Rod Gould and Others....

Mr. Martin, Mr. Gould, Ms. Mourtrie, and Mr. Barnes,

It's clear there is NO PARKING in our neighborhood. Residents deal with this all the time. I pay $1,500 dollars a year for a "private space" in my building. 

Palihouse owners knew the Embassy Apartments/Hotel had one parking space when they bought the building. Therefore, Palihouse owners bought the building with full knowledge of the difficulties of parking in the area for their guests. And, because they knew that parking was an issue there is no valid reason or need to grant special privileges to the Palihouse. The Embassy was never granted valet or every space around the property for their exclusive use.

I would like to know and would appreciate an honest response to the questions below.

Was Palihouse assured special parking privileges from the City when they bought the Embassy? 
Did the City Sell our public parking spaces to the Palihouse for their exclusive use? 
Did staff sell our public parking for the opening of a commercial business in our already over crowded neighborhood? How much money did they pay for that privilege? 
And, is that why they now have noisy and disruptive valet instead?

In late May, NO PARKNG signs were completely surrounding the Palihouse saying no parking until July 11th. At the June WILMONT meeting members and residents came out in full force and asked Mr. Martin why Palihouse was given every space on the street surrounding Palihouse.

It was suggested it was for construction purposes and residents were later told Palihouse "Gave-up" the spaces as a courtesy to the neighbors. 

I would really appreciate some clarity on why the No parking signs were up and was Palihouse given the Valet in exchange for "Giving-up" our public parking? 

Please read the review below....

Thank you,
Laura Wilson
949.689.5432

Most Recent Traveller Reviews:
“Fantastic Old Hollywood Retreat in Santa Monica”
17 Jun 2013 tinybubbles1841, Turlock, California | Trip type: Family
My mom and I drove down to Santa Monica from the central valley to spend the weekend, and after looking up so many hotels in the area, we decided on the Palihouse Santa Monica- Previously called the Embassy. The pictures online were just stunning and the Spanish revival style of the building evokes old Hollywood. We knew that it had opened the weekend before after being renovated slightly. 
The hotel was absolutely beautiful when we finally arrived, the courtyard is magical and the hotel is truly stunning in it's architecture, the type of architecture that doesn't exist anymore. The only slight issue we had was that when we arrived, it was very late, and there was absolutely no parking in sight. The hotel bellman Seth was very kind and welcoming, but regretfully told us that the parking spots the hotel had purchased for the re-opening of the hotel, had been taken back by the city once they received complaints from the neighboring residents. So in short it took us an hour of circling the the streets around the hotel looking for a parking spot, and eventually to give up and end up paying for parking in a lot about 2 blocks away from the hotel. We were tired, so this was a little annoying, but we understood that this wasn't exactly the hotel's fault. 
Other than that little annoyance, we had a fantastic stay. The beds are super comfy, the shower is great, the room is very charming and nicely decorated. Plus we had a huge walk-in closet! It was surprising since it was almost half the size of the room. The best part of the stay was the staff. Everyone was just so nice and helpful, and since it's such a small hotel they are very attentive and you can really get to know everyone that works there. Seth the night manager was amazing, he helped us out a lot and would always go and get my mom some ice for her knee (since she just had surgery) and was just generally a fantastic person to talk to. The morning staff were great too, we got to know Sophie and Mark from downstairs in the coffee bar in the restaurant, which is really just apart of the main lobby. Dan at the front desk was so helpful, he recommended some awesome Italian restaurants which were both delicious. All in all we ended up loving this hotel, all the beautiful details inside the hotel don't hurt either, they have hand painted ceilings, a beautiful carved fireplace, comfy couches and gorgeous arched windows. The spirit of the 1920's is still very alive in this hotel, even down to the old fashioned elevator. I would recommend this to anyone looking for someone that appreciates history and a hotel in a great location, it's only a 5 min walk away from third street promenade;)