stimpy

I was there the weekend before on a Starpicks rate and I also had a great stay. Now I'm at the W Lakeshore Chicago and it's nowhere near as nice as LA.

onetake

Used one of my Free Weekend Nights to stay here this past Friday. I wasn't able to get the SLS due to short notice -- I only figured out how many I had been awarded last week. Leah at the front desk made me feel very welcome as she upgraded me (SPG Gold) to the Spectacular Corner Suite.

Briefly wondered, after reading about them earlier in this thread, if Stan's Donuts could be delivered to the room by Whatever/Whenever. Decided to brave the 100-degree heat and walk there instead. Tried the Huell Howser. It's all right, but I prefer the chocolate cheese.

I was bummed that I wouldn't be around for the sneak-peek at the first episode of the new season of Dexter on Sunday. Sounds like another cool event at this hotel.

thepointsguy

Had a 3 night stay here this past weekend. Got upgraded to a 2 bedroom Mega Suite which was fantastic. On the 14th floor- lots of sunshine.
Staff at the hotel were great- valet were nice, even when I lost my ticket (twice). Front desk granted the late checkout- no problem. Hosted friends at the Backyard two days with no issue. Bliss spa was fantastic (as to be expected) and breakfast in the lobby restaurant was great- I highly recommend the lobster hash. The Acura service dropped us off at the Getty which saved us some $$ since cabs in LA are so expensive. Overall, just a really fantastic stay- I like the area since I have friends in West Hollywood and Santa Monica and this is a nice medium.
The only negative is the pool area- very small pool with uncomfortable/ broken wicker lounge chairs that have bars that stick out. They definitely need to mirror the W South Beach which has amazingly comfortable lounge chairs and attendants who use 3 towels and "make" your chair for you. If you are an SPG member you get 20% off at the restaurants- which is a pretty good deal since the menu isn't that outrageous (as hotel menus go). Would definitely stay here again- though I have to say I am excited for the W West Hollywood to open.
Master Bedroom

Sitting room of master bedroom

Master bathroom

Living room

Busted pool chair

Hotel view from the pool

NDDomer86

Thanks for the pictures ^. Just to keep people from getting confused, the new W is in Hollywood (part of the city of Los Angeles) and NOT West Hollywood (independent municipality) so do not think that it is nearby the famous clubs/bars of the Sunset Strip as the SLS is.

thepointsguy

Interesting.. I'm not a fan of the Holly Blvd area... will have to try out the SLS next time, even though its been getting mixed reviews and seems overpriced. Thanks for the correction BDG!

Braindrain

Mind you, the new W Hollywood is at the edge of old Hollywood (Hollywood & Vine). It's a bit of a hike to get to the Kodak Center.

Braindrain

Hint: If you're facing the rear of the hotel, you can sometimes pickup their "Backyard" wifi signal. ^

KENNECTED

I haven't had a stay at this property in a long time and since I was going to maximize miles in LA I thought I would stop here. I knew the pool would be closed, which meant there would be very few kids on sight.

So far this stay has been at 180 degree change from my last stay.

I arrived about 10AM and my room was ready. The hotel was eerily quiet. After a long night I wanted to veggie out


RANKINGS
Check-in/Check-out [5 out of 5]

Early check in at 10AM and upgraded to a a HUGE suite. Sweet. Property can send a folio electronically.

Common Areas [4]

The property seems cleaner and brighter than I remember. This is the brightest W I've every stayed in. Love the elevator photo both.

Guest Rooms [4]


I've stayed in a smaller suite before, but this room is definitely an upgrade. I felt a small dining area could have been incorporated into the room.






Overall First Impression: Great. Room fits me to a T!
Bed: Inviting, very firm & nice linens
Furniture & Decor: The room is Hollywood casual and in good condition. Décor is sparse, but light and appropriate for its location. The room has great light
Closet Space: I found it odd, that there is only one closet in the bedroom for a room this large. It was
TV: Flat panel in each "room". HD channel are operational, but I found the overall channel selection poor.
Lighting: Ample lighting
Workspace: Nice work desk plenty of sockets yet the work area seemed small for a room of this side.
View: view of westwood village and UCLA
Radio/Audio: The clock was weird, for some reason I couldn't connect my ipod.


Guest Room Bathrooms [3]


Nice size bathroom. Two can fit in, but again, for a suite so large, it felt as though "something" was lacking.

Sink: One large sink with counter space to the side. Enough space for two people but it would be a tight fit at the sink area.
Shower: Nice sized shower with rain showerhead. Good pressure and water temperature.
Tub: No tub in this room
Toiletries: Typical W toiletries.

Housekeeping [N/A]
No issues as I only spent one night in the property.

Club Level/Lounge [N/A]
No. W hotels do not have a lounge.

Fitness Center [4]

Small fitness center with two areas for free weights. Not much space to move around, but in my experience at the property, I never seen more than one or two people in the room.

Pool[0]



In spring and summer the pool is lovely, however, the pool is closed for the winter. This was appropriately noted on the properties website.

Business Center (Wired) [N/A]

Didn't use but, there is a wired station just behind the reception desk. It's $7.95 for 15 minutes.

Concierge [N/A]
Didn't use, but there is a concierge on staff located in the lobby across from reception.

High Speed Wired/Wireless Internet Access [4]
Free wireless in the living room. There is a $14.95 fee in rooms. Rooms are also wired. The signal was very strong and quite fast & I was never dropped.

Parking/Valet [5]
$32 a night. Very fast and overly helpful.

Dining [N/A]
Didn’t use but there is a restaurant on site.



FINAL IMPRESSION
Overall hotel cleanliness:
tight, light and clean

Staff attitude, conduct & support:
Staff was much improved. Very helpful.

Location:
Decent location in residential area. Simple restaurants and retail with everyday essentials is close by.

Would I return?
Not sure. Had two issues after check out. 1) Platinum amenity was not posted. 2) was charged for using the munchie box. This is my first time having to follow up on a Platinum amenity posting. I emailed the hotel and it was taken care of withing 24 hours. They apologized profusely, then when the munchie charged showed, they took care of that with one email. I don't like having to followup up on the basic operations as it annoys me.

Would I recommend this as family friendly?
Yes.

Good for business travelers?
Depends based on where you need to be in LA.

Good for a romantic get away?
Yes, nice rooms and property

Would I recommend for someone looking for Dining/Nightlife?
Depends as things in LA are spread out.

Would I recommend restaurant?
NA

Value for price paid?
Good

Overall property rating on a scale from 1 to 10 = 7

beta1607

I'm not sure if it is because of the competition from the new W in Hollywood but there are some incredible deals on suites at this hotel right now. I booked a Fabulous Suite for my birthday in April for $287 using the AAA rate.

NDDomer86

That sounds to be about the going rate. This is an all-suite property.

masskrug

I stayed here in early December en route to the LA Auto Show. I booked a Fabulous Suite as SPG Gold and got...

a Fabulous Suite.

However, it was not as nice as the one in the above pictures. It did not have a fancy raised sink basin, and did not have a separate shower.

Hotel was not very busy, so I suppose they 'enhanced' me to a low floor room overlooking the ventilation fans between the buildings.

However, the Acura service is great. Not only will they give you rides, but you can 'rent' a MDX for the day as long as you have a copy of your car insurance.^

KENNECTED

As a Gold member you aren't entitled to anything else in an all suite hotel. You do know what Gold members are entilted to, correct?

I'm a platinum and a returning guest. As a gold member you shouldn't expect that. I'm sure the suite I got was not a select standard suite and the hotel went over and beyond SPG benefits for my stay and I certainly wont expect that for my next stay.

Since you know for sure the hotel was not very busy (which is never a true indication of occupancy) did you ask to be moved to another room? If you didn't communicate your displeasure with your room assignment, then you got what you paid for.

myperks

I am fairly sure that a FABULOUS Suite is the highest standard suite available for upgrades. Even as a platinum that is all you can upgrade to, based on policy, let alone a gold...sorry... (ok, I've been upgraded to mega but that was a "one time exception", haha..but it happened twice.) This property, IME, has been very good to plats and returning guests. ^^^

masskrug

When I was Gold, I expected nothing and thusly was not disappointed, and nothing in my text states that I was expecting any more or less. However, I am still able to judge how I felt I was treated, and thus am giving that the 'thumbs down'.

All I wished to point out is the property's default level of hospitality given the circumstances.

I booked and paid for Fabulous Suite on the W site and was given, IMHO, one of the poorest ones. I didn't complain at the time since, again, as Gold, I expected nothing more at the time, let alone 'enhancing' my room. Asking to change rooms means one has expectations, which some *wood properties seem to be adept at squashing.

If we, as guests, have to scrabble so frequently just to enjoy the purported 'benefits' of Gold and Plat status, it certainly makes stays that much less enjoyable.

masskrug

I was never expecting an upgrade from the room category I booked. I am just assuming that there had to have been more than ONE Fabulous Suite in the whole hotel.

Low floor, just above the ventilation stacks in between the buildings...this lucky Gold snagged that baby.