Santa Monica, Calif. (December 19, 2005) - On Dec. 27, Santa Monica's premier oceanfront property, Shutters on the Beach, offers its guests the opportunity to tour Gregory Colbert's nomadic museum, housing the "Ashes and Snow" exhibit, before it officially opens to the public in mid-January. As part of Shutters' "Ashes and Snow" Hard Hat Tour Experience, guests can enjoy the exclusive preview, luxury ocean view accommodation, and complimentary valet parking for $420 per night.

At 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 27, Shutters guests will be the first to view the famed "Ashes and Snow" exhibit, which makes its way to Santa Monica from New York, where it gained critical acclaim earlier this year. Colbert specifically chose Santa Monica as the museum's second destination in the U.S. for the city's refreshing seascape and dedication to preservation and environmentally sound programs.

Those visiting sister properties Shutters on the Beach and Hotel Casa Del Mar in the New Year also have the opportunity to tour the museum with complimentary tickets available through Shutters' and Casa's "Ashes and Snow" Packages. At Shutters, the "Ashes and Snow" package can be enjoyed for $450 per night in the hotel's famed ocean view rooms, and $350 per night in a more secluded, non ocean view.

For an ocean view room at Hotel Casa Del Mar, the "Ashes and Snow" package can be experienced for $425 per night, and $315 per night for a non ocean view. For visitors unable to experience a stay with Shutters on the Beach and Hotel Casa Del Mar but looking for a bite to eat before touring the nearby museum, the luxury beachfront hotels also offer a special $70 luncheon for two, including a two-course lunch and glass of wine, which can be enjoyed at Shutters' One Pico or Casa's Oceanfront.

Open to the public Jan. 14, to May 14, 2006, "Ashes and Snow" is an ongoing project that breaks the natural and artificial barriers between humans and other species by weaving them together through photographic works, art installations, film, and a novel in letters. Placing humans in animals' natural habitats and showing them as members of the animal family, Colbert has spent 13 years thus far working with animals in India, Burma, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Namibia, Egypt, the island of Dominica, Tonga and Antarctica.

As the only hotel to offer the sneak peak of the museum, guests of Shutters' Ashes and Snow Hard Hat Tour Experience can truly escape into Colbert's magnificent world of lush living with nature. Shutters' freshly re-invented interiors evoke the feel of a luxurious, well-appointed beach house, with its fine textiles and furnishings, added just this year by renowned interior designer Michael S. Smith.

Its cozy, new, in-room reading libraries, and quaint lobby conversation areas offer space to relax and enjoy Santa Monica's beach surroundings. And ONE, the Spa at Shutters on the Beach, envelops guests in tranquil design, as they enjoy Ole Henriksen's famed, all-natural, signature facials and body treatments. Guests of Hotel Casa Del Mar are able to enjoy Murad's restorative beauty and health treatments in the Spa at Casa Del Mar, or simply relax by enjoying a cocktail in Hotel Casa DelMar's well-known Lobby Lounge, as they bask in the hotel's lovingly restored 1920s décor.

Visitors can also turn Shutters' and Casa's "Ashes and Snow" Experiences into complete art-filled getaways by visiting the Santa Monica Art Museum and the area's unique galleries. Both hotels offer its guests convenient Segway human transport systems to travel to these and additional area sites.

Shutters' "Ashes and Snow" Hard Hat Tour Experience is valid Dec. 26-27, 2005, while Shutters' and Casa's "Ashes and Snow" Packages and Luncheons are valid Jan. 14, to May 14, 2006. All packages are subject to availability, based on double occupancy and do not include tax. Guests can call 800.334.9000 to make a reservation for the exclusive offers, and for more information on Shutters, visit www.shuttersonthebeach.com or www.hotelcasadelmar.com for Hotel Casa Del Mar.

For more information, call (310) 458-0030; toll-free at (800) 334-9000, or go to http://www.shuttersonthebeach.com/

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