Off the beaten Venice path
I'm a local and this is my favorite Venice destination. If you live here, the zoo that is the Venice Beach boardwalk looses some of its novelty. Still, if you want to groove to the one place L.A. lets it's hair down (among other things) and get that Hollywood vibe at the same time ... Hotel Erwin! It's funky chic but the frosting on the cake is the rooftop lounge pumping music and pouring cocktails as you lay back on wide sofas in your rooftop 'cabana' ... the sights and sounds of the boardwalk a refreshing 7 story distance away. You are walking distance - or bike rental distance - to great restaurants and bars. You may want to pack binoculars for the 360% rooftop vistas overlooking downtown L.A, Hollywood and Beverly Hills, Malibu, Santa Monica Pier and Catalina Island. I was fortunate enough to see the final flight of the space shuttle as it roared majestically overhead upon it's landing at LAX.