My review (with some pics) of the W Los Angeles has been posted here.

Cheers. :)

Has anyone recently stayed in a Mega (2-bedroom) suite? I'm considering this option for myself/girlfriend and two friends coming in from London, versus getting two Wonderful or Spectacular rooms. The price difference between one Mega suite and two Wonderfuls or Spectaculars is minimal.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

I stayed in a two bedroom suite here in March: I think it was called a Mega Suite, but I am not sure. It was on the penthouse and was very nice, but the problem you have relative to your concept is that this suite has a definite master and secondary bedroom. The master is great: king bed, nice bathroom, etc. The second bedroom is small, and if my recollection is correct, only has a double/queen bed. The living room in between the bedrooms is long with a desk and seating area, and a nice flat screen TV (all the rooms may have flat screen TV's, but I remember the one in the living room). Depending on you relationship with the people from London, and their interests, you may be better off in two other rooms...? I'd check talk with the hotel about the room dimensions and layouts, etc.

Any parking suggestions?
 

Staying at the W for 4 nights in September - does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations for overnight parking near the hotel? From what I've read, the hotel charges $40 per night, which seems ridiculous to me.

There is plenty of street parking that is FREE overnight. During the day it is metered. Also there are some lots in Westwood like a block away that you can park for like $7 bucks over night if you do not want to park on the street.

I plan on booking a room here using points. What can I expect as SPG plat?

Upgrade, free amenities?

Would parking be free and is there a lounge of some sort?

Yes upgrade. No club lounge. Very expensive parking ($45 or so, I think), but overnight street parking is readily available and the lot one block down towards Wilshire is something lile $15-20 a day (I think). Good hotel, great pool/cabanas, etc.

Just back from 5 nights using points and being a Plat. Was upgraded from a Spectacular Suite to a Fabulous Suite.

Parking was (I'm pretty sure) $30 a night.

No lounge, but free coffee in the lobby every morning. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in the Ralph's supermarket a couple of minutes walk.

Lots of breakfast/lunch/dinner options in Westwood, also within walking distance.

We were on the 14th floor and were able to pick up the free Wi-Fi from the pool area, which came in very handy.

What

W Los Angeles-Westwood

Where

Situated in Westwood Village, this W is in a rather quiet residential area. It is quite a hike to get to the heart of the action in WeHo or Beverly Hills, or 45 mins to Santa Monica and Venice in the East. However the W now offers a free one way limo transfer on an Acura - a nifty joint marketing effort between the W and Acura. Unfortunately I didn't find out about this until the last day or 2 of my stay - have to pay more attention at check in next time.

WoW

The staff of this W are truly gems, and is probably the reason that makes this property worth coming back to.

Priscila the concierge remembered me from my last stay even though that was nearly 18 months ago, though I didn't get to put her skills and resources to the test this time as I was well looked after by friends in LA.

On the 2nd morning of my stay, Jenna from the Welcome Desk sent up a nice card welcoming me to LA, and a complimentary drinks card as they'd "heard" that I liked mojitos. Redeemed it for a ginger mojito at Whiskey Blue - tasty!

The Welcome Desk, Jenna in particular was also pretty good with recomendations and reservations if the concierge wasn't around, as the concierge seems to sign off at 6pm on Sundays. SPG upgrade readily honoured - I got a Fabulous Suite which had a study (which comes with a fold out bed for party guests to crash) in addition to living room and bedroom.

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Fabulous Suite - the morning after

The Whatever/Whenever service was prompt and efficient. Phone calls answered promptly, and requests fulfilled without much fuss - ranging from helping to break my lock apart (as it'd gone wonky and refused to open after my last flight) to simple things like champagne glasses. Though they were probably a bit overzealous when they sent security to my room to check if I was still alive and well when I forgot to cancel my wake up call (and was in the shower while they rang up). Still, the concern was appreciated lol.

Hotel had a lively crowd - LA has a v unfortunate 2am closing time, but simply stick around the Living Room and you'd soon be invited to a party or 3 up in one of the suites!

Woe

As previously stated, I don't think this W has done the best job with its refurb. The decor felt rather incomplete (plain ceilings for instance), and mellow - as if they're trying to appeal to everyone. The hallways were too bright which made them feel rather harsh and unwelcoming - it's like in a club when they turn on the lights and play Semisonic to kick you out during closing time. On the whole, I felt that the decor lacked that special 'zing', quirkiness and in-your-face quality that makes Ws W. They probably should've realised that Thom Felicia can't even dress a person properly, let alone design a hotel.

I attended a party at Whiskey and felt it totally overrated. They were totally short staffed, and so the bartenders were all stressed out - refusing to make the more complicated drinks. The acoustics were bad, DJing rather predictable and oh-so-2007. Plus a rather underdressed crowd - felt like a UCLA frat party on the whole.

Also a trivial point - but they could be a bit more creative about the music played in the hotel. It seemed like they played Wonderlust in the lifts over and over again.

so... on the Whole...

The truly amazing staff continue to fly the flag, but this W is let down by a generally uninspired decor and mundane ambience. But with the edgy SLS property and the new W Hollywood coming up - there's no shortage of new things to try in LA!

Thanks, QF009, for that superb write up. It's been quite awhile since we've had a report on this hotel, and it's very helpful to have your experienced W Hotel eye giving us feedback.

Just spent two nights here from 7/25-7/27. We too were checked in by the very personable and courteous Jenna who told us we'd been upgraded to a suite bigger than her apartment. Great and prompt service from all hotel staff we encountered.

My wife had a slight issue with what she thought were the obviously new bed linens "poking" her. I discovered it was actually quills sticking through the feather bed - they must have turned the featherbed recently and insufficiently "fluffed" it (I only know this because we have a W bed and featherbed at home and have learned my lessons). Immediately upon notification, housekeeping worked to address the issue.

My wife had never been on campus at UCLA or had seen Westwood so we spent two days just walking around the community without ever using the car. I made sure I introduced her to Stan's Doughnuts (had to go there just to see the one named for Huell Howser), overpriced pastrami sandiwches at Jerry's Deli, and my favorite Persian restaurant, Shaherzad.

Our suite overlooked the pool which was quite active during the hotel's Sunday pool party. Overall a great stay at an unbelievable price (<$200/night + $32 for parking)

That was Jenna's recommendation when I had a sudden craving for doughnuts! But for some reason (can't remember under all that alcoholic haze) I ended up going over to West Hollywood for some hideously overpriced burgers. :o Will keep it in mind for next time. :)

I will be staying here in the beginning of September and will probably be using the Acura Wherever/Whenever service. Do we need to tip the driver for this service? What would be an appropriate amount to tip?

Since its only a small radius where they can drive you, I usually give the driver a $5. If its more convoluted or they bend the rules (like picking me up) I'll give them $10.

Great Saturday Stay
 

Quick report on a trip taken this past weekend:

Used a free weekend night for a Saturday stay. What I loved most about the property was the check-in. It always brings a smile to my face when the person at the desk recognizes your platinum status, says "do you want the points?", tells you about the upgrade you've been given (to a corner suite on a high floor over-looking the pool - I also got the "bigger than my apartment" spiel), and offers a late check-out on Sunday. The late checkout was key as we had flights which left at 6:30pm, and it's always nice when you don't have to beg for it!

The room was huge, as advertised. I dug the decor actually, and it was newly refurbed. It was very comfortable (couch, bed, chairs, bathroom were all just "comfortable" and spacious). I really like the cut-out little hole in the glass shower wall so you can turn the shower on and test temp before getting in.

The pool was a great experience, helped by absolutely perfect weather in LA over the weekend. Staff at the pool did *not* share the typical (at other W's) attitude and really went out of there way to refresh towels, offer glasses of water, bring around frozen grapes, and (which I really appreciated) keep "non-guests" out of the already crowded area. I'm sure they weren't perfect in keeping these folks out, but I noticed at least six or seven instances of asking folks to show their room key or leave.

Valet and bell staff were great as well, very friendly. I must say that the staff at this W is absolutely my favorite W staff I've encountered (covers maybe 15 different hotels). If they could set this standard of service, image, and comfort/decor at all W's they might yet save the brand!