edscholl

back in the day (2000, 2001) my friends and i were regularly upgraded to mega and wow suites at this property, even as golds... those were the days...

masskrug

Thanks for the advice, and I will, probably this summer.

Take no offense of my first impression of it as a Gold, first-time-stay perspective. It's a different viewpoint that I wished to share, and not everyone who's going to stay here is going to be Plat.

upgrade.me

A recent stay to the W Lakeshore (Chicago) has had me thinking..

I booked a Spectacular "Lake View" room which I absolutly love, being that I've stayed here plenty of times before. This particular trip was on for 1 night on Christmas. I checked in fairly late around 9pm. Now me being at the bottom of the food chain, Starwood Pref. only the front desk offered a suite for an extra $150. I turned down that offer because I thought it wasn't worth it, but what ticked me a bit was finding out that they were only at 20% occupancy later on in the evening. Oh well, 'nuff said and done. This W is my fav' out of the 5 I've visited.

At 20%, they can't throw me a bone? Gees louise! Where was the Christmas spirit?

After a follow up email with a manager (GM was on vacation) I once again said my stay was Wonderful but I asked him about the upgrade. His response was that in the event of low occupancy they close off floors to reduce cost and energy. My thought is "but for $150 you'll open up a so called closed floor?".

I think his excuse was BS. I understand I'm not entitled to any upgrade what so ever but it was almost 10pm and there couldn't of been many if any Gold or Plats arriving! I didn't want to start a new thread for this, but I was curious if any there are any other loney Pref. members out there that have encountered something similiar, or possibly did get an upgrade?

I guess I'll just keep plugging away and hopefully get enough points for a free night. Hopefully that'll happen within the next 5 years. *HAHA

beta1607

RANKINGS
Check-in/Check-out [3 out of 5]

Checked in at 1PM and the room was not ready. Front desk attendant took my cell # and said she would call me when the room was available. Asked about an upgrade as an SPG Gold but was told that I booked too high of a category [Fabulous Suite] to get upgraded past that, oh well doesn’t hurt to ask and as I learned from Cheap Elite, book the category of room you want. I asked the front desk if they could at least give me my room number so I could bill food and drinks to the room while I waited for my suite to be prepared but they couldn’t accommodate that even though they said they already knew which room I would be placed in. Complimentary late checkout offered without prompting. Checkout was quick and removed an erroneous parking charge with no issues.

Common Areas [4]

Overall all the common areas were pretty nice and clean.

Guest Rooms [5]

I stayed in room 407 which overlooked the pool area.
Overall First Impression: LOVE IT!
Bed: Big, comfortable and awesome.
Furniture & Decor: Loved the décor of the room and the furniture, the wall paper was a bit blah but nothing terrible. I thought the rooms could have used more lighting and a dressing mirror in the bedroom would have been appreciated.
TV: Flat panel in each room but didn’t really watch any TV during the stay.
Workspace: Nice desk in both the living room and the office room. Also, the office room has a couch that folds out into a bed and the staff made when they brought our bags up.
View: view of the pool
Radio/Audio: We were able to get the Ipod dock working with no problems.


Guest Room Bathroom [3]

Shower with a combined tub, no separate door for the toilet but there was a little “wall” blocking it off. I felt the bathroom was a little bit cramped. Bliss toiletries but sadly no Bliss men’s shaving cream despite a request for it. I don’t know if I should expect the Bliss Shaving Cream but I know the room came stocked with it when I stayed at the Sheraton Pasadena.

Pool[4]

We were fortunate enough to have perfect weather this weekend. Unfortunately the pool was crowded with kids and parents who would not control their kids due to the Kids Choice Awards being filmed near by. A few drinks were ruined when kids would cannonball into the pool and water would splash into our glasses. Talking to the security they said the pool is normal much more mellow and mature, looking forward to trying it out again on my next stay. Lounge chairs and day beds are on a first come first serve basis and tend to fill up pretty early. Cabanas could be rented for $100/day I was told.

Concierge [4]
The concierge sent complimentary chocolate covered strawberries and a small bottle of Champaign up to our room in honor of my friend’s birthday. The price I was quoted to have balloons and flowers set up in the room seemed exceedingly high so I just brought my own.

Parking/Valet [3]
$32 a night for cars $35 a night for SUVs. We had 3 parking charges on our folio despite only having two cars in our group. Additionally at checkout they couldn’t find my car keys and I was made to wait about 30 minutes. The valet manager said he would comp my parking without my asking which I appreciate and if it does actually come off my bill (I had already checked out) I’ll be very pleased with his proactive customer service.

Dining [food 4 Service 2]
Food and drinks by the pool were expensive but that was to be expected. All the food we ordered was great but the drinks were weak. I was supposed to get 20% off my bill as an SPG member and was told it would be taken off at check out. When I reviewed the preliminary folio slipped under my door Sunday morning I saw this had not been done. Went back to the pool to have breakfast and resolve the situation of the missing discount with the manager. Asked to speak with him several times over several hours while enjoying the sun and pool and he never came out, finally after about 3 hours he came. He said he couldn’t fix the bill from the day before but did apply the discount I should have gotten to Sunday’s ticket so it all ended okay. Ultimately I should have never had to ask more then once to speak with the manager and been made to wait. It was a very frustrating situation and put a cloud over the last couple hours of our stay, apparently whatever/whenever doesn’t apply to trying to resolve issues their service staff created. Drink and food service by the pool was also incredibly slow and both days we had to ask 2 people 3 times to get ranch dressing and BBQ sauce for our meals.



FINAL IMPRESSION
Overall a few basic service errors put a damper on what was otherwise a wonderful stay and a nice property. I have another stay booked for my birthday in a couple of weeks so hopefully we wont have the same service issues this time as it is a nice property in a great area.

schley

Depending on their rate, and if there are any FFN by that time, this summer I might give this property a go. Thanks for the reviews.

shar161

HI ..I did a search for the W Westwood and found reviews from 2006, the place sounded lousy. I was thinking of staying there for one night this summer when we tour UCLA and LMU, but the 2006 reports are putting me off. Anyone stay there recently? Thanks

sfozrhfco

The W Westwood and the SLS are definitely the best two Starwood hotels in LA. The rooms/suites at the W are very large. The neighborhood is quiet with lots of restaurants, a few grocery stores, and UCLA within walking distance. It is your best option for visiting UCLA by far.

shar161

That sounds great, thanks!

california09

I stayed there 2 years ago and had a fantastic time. They renovated the rooms and decor - the place is relatively much lighter and brighter (more California) than it was before and compared to most Ws.

I'm actually staying there this weekend, so will let you know how it goes!

Quasiconvexity

I love this hotel - they treat Platinums very well. Our most recent stay was in April and we were upgraded to a really nice suite. Completely agree with what sfozrhfco said - best option for visiting UCLA by far, and the best Starwood option on the Westside. About a 15-20 min drive from Santa Monica so reasonably convenient to the beach as well.

shar161

I'll look foward to your report. I just booked a suite with points for one night for a couple of weeks from now.

mh3265a

I stayed there at the end of March 2010. One of the best W's, in fact any hotel, that I've ever been too. Rates are high but somewhat reasonable given its location and clientele. I am a gold member and was upgraded to a Spectacular Suite from a Wonderful Studio. All the staff from the front desk to concierge to the front door folks were friendly and helpful. I didn't go to the restaurant or bar but it's certainly a hot spot but doesn't detract from the hotel ambiance overall. Rooms were spacious and it's close to UCLA with the nice little college downtown and the bus that goes straight to LAX. I plan on staying here again. One of the best hotels I've ever been too.

muffalo

Stayed there in January 2010 using my 2009 Platinum Free Night Gift and loved it! As a Platinum I was upgraded to the next level of suite and was given 20% all food/drinks at restaurant (which was very good btw). My only complaint was the high valet parking fee and the temperature of my room was very cold (I had maintenance quickly address that issue). I would recommend it for sure. Nice area and great hotel.

shar161

I've booked with starpoints and needed 2 beds, they only had the spectacular suite avail for 13,500 starpoints. We're only gold, but just staying one night, maybe there will be an upgrade, not counting on it though.

KENNECTED

2006??
Its always best to look in this thread first: The SPG Forum FAQ & Hotel Master Thread List

You can then scan by city to see master threads of properties.

This thread should be of help and it includes pictures.
W Hotel Los Angeles 2007 on [Master Thread]