ecgz88

Find calendar view keeps showing 95K is available, but when click it's not.

Eujeanie

Did you scroll down past several lines of rooms? Unlike most hotels, they don't list the cheapest points rooms first, you have to dig for them. And also check to see if they are available in accessible only.

Traveler Dave

Click the handi-cap/room accessible box. They use those rooms for the standard/free night awards. Should switch room when you check-in

TD

ecgz88

so when I check in just told front desk P2 is visiting guest, then will get guest overnight parking $25? Thanks!

kthpence

Have 1 night booked here before transition to Oceana Santa Monica for Sat/Sunday night, and I was only able to book a room w/ 2 queens on points. As it's close to check in, I was able to use the chat feature to request a king bed, and they responded back w/ saying that it may be possible, but not until check in. Currently the website is showing about 9 different categories of rooms available w/ King beds (including suites). From reading this thread, I'm not expecting much as a diamond member unfortunately, but I would hope that they'd be able to accommodate me in a king bed, preferably in advance of my arrival, and particularly on a one night stay?

Just trying to keep my expectations somewhat low, but have always wanted to stay here, so figured I could give it a shot before heading to Santa Monica.

abaheti

My experience is that they hold it close to the vest until you arrive or the day before even which can be frustrating/stressful, but then staff do try to accommodate requests like this on award stays but that we get lower priority than someone paying full freight. Hope you have a great time I love this hotel, especially the rooftop bar/restaurant and pool area.

777 global mile hound

The good news is that all the rooms are good here as the hotel has a high quality hard product
What changes besides bed type is location and size of rooms
I enjoyed my stay more in a room with balcony facing Wilshire than a suite
facing Santa Monica Blvd which was far more costly
The suite I was in had noise and exhaust fumes as if you were in the middle of a freeway
once you open the sliding doors
When I have booked on points and called the hotel to request bed types
they blew me off and wouldn’t return my call YMMV

Dont miss seeing the rooftop out door Restaurant during the day awesome views
great for overpriced drinks and a mediocre burger for 40 to 50 dollars
At least it’s presented beautifully and comes with complimentary fries
want fries with that ?😜

Eujeanie

Are you back from your trip? I'd be interested to hear your take on the 2 hotels, we had a poor experience at the Oceana.

kthpence

Yes, was just about to give a brief overview of my trip.

Checked into WA around 1PM on a Friday, room was ready and was upgraded to a Deluxe King Room w/ a Terrace on the 11th floor facing BH (I was able to select this room via the app after I was upgraded from the base room to the Deluxe King). The room was honestly stunning, the bathroom was very large with double sinks, and the closet was massive for a base room. Honestly, while I'm sure their suites are gorgeous, this is one of the nicest base rooms I've stayed at in awhile, and it was quite large.

Enjoyed some time up at the pool (no one was there, unfortunately the pool wasn't heated) and had great beverage service by the pool. Was able to get a 1PM check out, and we also took advantage of the Rolls Royce Phantom to drive us to dinner in West Hollywood which was truly a highlight. Didn't eat at the restaurants (I have many times in the past, and didn't want to stay on property the whole time).

Location is great if you're sightseeing in LA (I was not, I was visiting friends) and I'd definitely burn another 95k points or a FNA here in the future (the other option for me being WA Pedregral).

Oceana:

The Oceana was a cool hotel overlooking Santa Monica beach. I was upgrade to an Oceanfront Suite on the ground floor, which had a beautiful view, but the room really wasn't to my taste (and I'm millenial & I feel like this hotel skews towards my demographic). If you like Santa Monica (I don't mind it, I don't necessarily love it), this would be a great place to stay location wise. Closet was tiny, bathroom was tiny (no tub), pool was heated (which was nice) but there was no hot tub. Minimal seating around the pool, and when I arrived Saturday, there were a lot of families, but by Sunday afternoon, I was able to have a quiet 2-3 hours at the pool with mostly adult couples.

The 3rd floor terrace bar was closed due to short staffing while we were there, so we had drinks and ate poolside which had a nice ambiance, but the food was not good and the drinks were expensive ($22).

I don't think this hotel is anything worth what it charges per night, but again could be a good use of 95k points/FNA if you're going to LA and want to stay in Santa Monica. I'm also dealing with some billing issues with them at the moment that has been a hassle.

Bottom Line:

In the future, if I had to decide between the two, I'd go w/ WA 9/10, but that's because when I'm in LA, I usually want to visit restaurants / bars on the east side/downtown/WeHo. It's really up to what the purpose of your trip is, and what you're looking for in LA. WA is a much better hotel overall IMO, but I don't think you should count out Oceana for a trip to LA as it's a decent to solid option.

Eujeanie

See, there you go, two people, two different experiences with OF suites (was yours a real, 1 br, suite with door separating br and lr? Sounds like you were not bothered by noise at all. Must be the age difference (we're Boomers ). WA sounds like a nicer room, if we ever venture back to LA might give it a try.

kthpence

Mine was not a real 1br suite - it was large, but it was separated by this very ugly massive blue headboard that I suppose differentiated the living area from the bedroom area.

I wasn't bothered by either property with noise - I would've liked an outdoor area at the Oceana property, as being able to look at the ocean through a window isn't all that interesting to me. At the Waldorf, while the terrace was loud from the noise below, it honestly wasn't bothersome. Frankly, the WA really has a wow factor, particularly rooms on the higher floors facing towards the hills.

Eujeanie

We had the massive blue headboard, too - and miniscule night tables. You weren't in 124 by any chance?

kthpence

I was, yes. Also, just a bizarre layout to get to that room / no one escorted us to the room so we had to figure out where it was.

I much prefer at a property like the WA wherein they at the very least walk you to the elevator, key you in and send you to your floor. I don't need someone to hold my hand, but it is nice to be somewhat looked after.

Eujeanie

Bizarre is right - hope we left it clean enough for you! And they did take us there, but they had stored our bags while we waited and we didn't know where it was, either, so didn't really mind.

So you weren't bothered by the valets outside the window? Only thing I can think of is that you stayed in the living area late, my husband was sick so we went to bed early and had to listen to them until 10 or so, then of course we had the screamer at midnight.

Since we were both staying on points, I think this is their room choice to make you think you're getting an upgrade when you're not - but I can't fault that really, you give the best rooms to those paying $800 a night. But what a waste of 95K ( (used a FNC but could have used it someplace else).

Did you almost walk into that tv every time you came in? And no storage, not one single drawer in the whole place, we thought that cabinet in the alcove was an armoire but it was just another mini bar. Very strange room. I think they should have had the bed area when you first came in (since it was a very quiet hallway), the headboard could have been on the right wall, and the tv on the left wall where that big mini bar was, then have the living area in front of the windows, that way you can sit and enjoy the view without worrying that someone could see you in bed (which they could, btw, we looked over from across the street when we were in the park and could clearly see the beds in the rooms with their curtains open).

We should be having this conversation on the Oceana thread, don't mean to hijack the WABH.

DiverDave

And it looks like standard rooms are now 120K points.



edit: my apologies if this has already been posted.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/hilton-price-rise/

David