Just completed 4-night stay here. Decided to pay with cash (using double points rate) then applied a SUA. Got into what they call "Platinum suite." Here are my impressions.
In a word, this is the right hotel if you want to party. Two things make this very obvious. The room is full of full-height mirrors (actually, there were no less than four of them), and every room has a steamer by default. (In other hotels, even including Park Hyatts, we had to request it, and many lower-tire hotels don't have them at all.)
But might be not the right hotel if you want a quiet stay for work or just rest. For example, by default the room was lacking a coffee maker. This is something I was taking for granted even in the cheapest HP/HH. (Of course, a PH will have a very different coffee maker from what one would find in a HP, but all of them have it one way or another.) I did ask about that in advance, and the hotel staff was nice enough to bring a Keurig coffee maker to my room prior to check in, and I truly appreciate the effort. But their capsules were mediocre at best, and they didn't have any decaf options at all. I also requested a tea kettle and a few tea bags. When we checked in, the kettle was there, but not the coffee bags. So, I had to request the bags separately, and it took them quite some time to find some, and eventually they brough in the (perhaps) the cheapest tea bags they could find. Again, I appreciate the effort, and have zero complains about the staff. But I would have expected slightly better from a hotel that charges $300+ per night before taxes.
The suite was tidy, but it still left a bit more to desire. Especially after the posh lobby I perhaps expected something fancier. In reality the room was pretty small and basic. For example, the restroom and the shower were of decent size, but there were no shelves in them (and pretty much nowhere in the room), and no tub. Sufficient to say that you'll have difficulties sneaking out from the shower if your partner is there washing their hands, doing makeup or drying their hair.
Our suite was on the 6th floor (out of 10, if you count the rooftop), had very unimpressive views, and the condition deserved better. For example, one of the sinks was clogged, and took forever to drain. Even after I complained to the front desk about it, and they promised to send someone to fix, it did not visually improve much. The bathroom door had difficulties to stay in the open position. And the door handle was a bit off. The furniture in the room is clearly aging. The AC worked fine, but at times made rattling noises. Wi-Fi is reliable but not very fast. There are enough wall outlets but they're located far from the table, where you would normally want to plug a laptop to charging. The table itself is fine for having a bite or writing a quick email, but it's not comfortable for doing any serious work. Not a stupid coffee table you'd find in some other hotels' suites though. So, yay that.
The bed was pretty good. Decent size, not too firm, not too soft for me. (Which probably means it might be a tiny bit too firm for most people.)
Breakfast is from 8 to 11 (remember, you came here to party) every day, which is quite nice. The menu is pretty basic, and the service is very slow. But you can show up at 10:55 and get seated no questions asked. And all charges, including gratitude, will vanish from your bill if you're a Globalist. Unfortunately, you cannot use the free Globalist breakfast benefit for brunch which starts at 11 on weekends—something other hotels tend to be fine with (if brunch is being offered there.)
Hotel location is great, if you came here to party. Plenty of nightlife options around, including clubs and theaters. Hollywood walk of fame is within one block. But the location is not as great if you're looking for shopping or fine dining, or basically anything else than partying. If you're looking for the famous Hollywood sign in the hills, you can only see it from the rooftop terrace, but not from any room as far as I can tell. (It's obstructed by the nearby office building.)
As others mentioned, there's plenty of noise in the evenings from the nearby clubs. And the rooftop pool is not heated, and it's only 3 ft deep. Why? You guessed it, because you came here to party. And I bet that pool looks sick in your TikToks or Instagram stories. Cabanas require reservation with food and beverage credit, but regular chairs are first come first serve.
Besides the rooftop bar, there are two restaurants adjusted to the building which seem to be operated by the same company as the hotel. But nevertheless, you cannot put dinner to the room (and therefore earn Hyatt points). And the food was not impressive, at least in the one we tried out (Beauty & Essex, which is a weird name if you asked me, but hey, no judgement.)
The minbar looked very decent, although we had not tired anything from there. The gym had free energy drinks, until they ran out. We also received a bottle of wine from the hotel as a compliment. There's a farmer market next block on Sundays, with ton of great fresh food.
If you're looking for coffee, there are two semi-decent options. First, they serve drip coffee for free in the lobby until 11. And second, there's a coffee shop named "Intilligentsia" just one and half blocks away from the hotel. They're actually not bad.
Delivery robots is a gimmick of course but they're funny, at least for the first couple times. Although there's nothing special, it's just one of the mechanisms the room service works. And sometimes they're not there, so your stuff is delivered by normal people. And I'm not impressed by their room service either. For instance, one day the housekeeping removed the bathrobes and did not replace them. I ordered them by phone, explicitly asking for two. And after half an hour wait, they only brought one.
Last edited by pronichkin; Jan 15, 2024 at 7:49 pm