scienm

Please do rent a car.. It's pretty not safe travel with public transportation in LA. Bus is usually fine but NEVER subway..

sfozrhfco

That is not true. Public transportation is fine--if it goes to where you want need to without too many changes. The only draw back is that LA is very large and it can take awhile to get from place to place. The new street car line from Santa Monica to downtown does help to get long distances across town. You can always take Uber/Lyft from the nearest stop.

sfozrhfco

It has been a mixed bag lately. The rooms themselves are nicely decorated. Management is hit or miss. Front desk said they only normally do one category upgrades--which is/should not be/hasn't been true in the past. Check in through the app has been down for many many months so if you check in through the app and indicate your arrival and departure time, it will go nowhere. Lately they also haven't been looking at the list of Platinums arriving for the day and preblocking rooms. Used to always get a Fantastic Suite at this property--now it is up to the whims of the person checking you in--and at least on weekends, that means you'd be lucky to get one. Checked in this past weekend and a half hour after checking in the cleaning staff came by to clean the room. They didn't have the proper list as to which rooms were already ready and which still needed to be cleaned. There is a lot of potential for this place but don't know if it is a weekend staffing issue or management in general but there are little things which have been off my last few visits.

scienm

I can't agree with you. I've been LA for 11 years and I faced some situations myself when I was in public transportation. As I said, bus is usually fine but I'd rather not to take subway.

brokenwindow

Ok... been reading some really mixed things about the W. Dirty rooms, bad service, feels kinda meh going in. Got what I think is a great rate for June at Sheraton San Gabriel at $120/night which I might do instead. Thanks!

sfozrhfco

In LA, location is key. San Gabriel and Westwood are far apart and at peak traffic times, you can spent a lot of your time there trying to get to your destination. Pick a place that you can afford in the area you want to be. Getting a cheaper rate but spending half your time in transit to the area you want to be in is not a great trade off in my book. Sometimes, it even makes sense to move hotels if you are doing things in totally different areas and don't want to keep going back and forth.

365RoadWarrior

I agree on safety. I spend about half of my U.S. time in Los Angeles (plus Pasadena and nearby Orange County.) Thirty-five years, eighteen or twenty weeks a year, twice a day on public transportation. I can't say that I wanted to go out for a beer with everyone who ever sat next to me on the bus - some appeared to have had plenty of beers without me already - but safety has never concerned me. I should probably qualify that a little: Skid Row (Broadway, Spring, Los Angeles, Main, east of DTLA) used to be rough, but it's now pretty benign, unless upwardly mobile millennials scare you. Sure the winos are still there, but the mean toughs, not really. Bus crime is mostly sneaking on through the back door (hey, don't judge me!) Subway undesirables board the Blue Line in downtown or a little south and ride toward Long Beach. Some look pretty menacing, but, if you ride the New York subway, it's no different. Keep your wits about you, don't be diddling with your iPhone and don't stare. You're good.

I should say that I am assuming some meaningful American big-city experience.
Suggested reading on fashion

With respect to the downtown hotels... For about five years, I was spending 100 nights a year in the Bonaventure. Upgrades were a regular thing. I didn't care about breakfast, but, the times I experienced it, it was fine. Cold buffet - fruit/cereal as Platinum amenity. When the Sheraton finished its upgrade, I shifted some business there. The Club was fine until the Marriott merger. Marriott doesn't have many rooms downtown, and the JW can be pricey, so lots of people with MR status arrived. Despite the nice Sheraton gym, Club newspapers and nice renovation, I've retreated.

I found a cheaper hotel, out in Little Tokyo - kind of a long walk to the center of town, but, for my employer, $10 is $10. It's fine, but probably not where you want to be, especially if you're interested in some points program.

The Sheraton Pasadena is improved after recent renovation, with a nice Club (limited food/drink offerings). I can't claim status has really done anything for me there, pre- or post-reno. Nice neighborhood.

365RoadWarrior

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Kacee

Probably because the JW sucks.

Kalboz

How did you book this junior suite with club access at the LA RC?

lcpteck

Any recommended Hotels for first timer to Los Angeles? Will only be there for a couple of days as a stopover.

Currently looking at Sheraton Grand since it's pretty central I guess? Looking at a points stay. I'm not exactly sure what to do there, I guess just see the sights and do what tourists do?

Remcod

Going back for the third time to LA in 2 months for business.
Previous stays I was located in the W Westwood, which was not bad at all and I am considering going back there.
But on the other hand I am thinking I should explore different neighbourhoods.
My business is outside of LA, but since I spend the weekend, I prefer to stay in a nice neighbourhood with easy access to restaurants and nightlife.

I am considering Le Meridien in Santa Monica or perhaps one of the Marriott hotels in Venice, Ritz or Marriott.
Also the SLS is appealing... Basically have been hesitating to book anything for the past week.
Hoping for some advice from you guys here. Any suggestions, or should I stay to what I know and had relatively good experience?
I have a car and perhaps I should mention that not only the quality of the hotel is important, location is perhaps more important to me.

hemz88

Any suggestions at LAX, have stayed at Four Points in the past, not impressed. 2 stays in May, 1 night each. Thanks

C17PSGR

My general preferences in LA are the W Westwood, the SLS, the JW Santa Monica, and the Marriott Beverly Hills. Sometimes I'll stay at the JW LA Live as well but like the other four better.

That being said, I had a somewhat disappointing stay at the SLS. On one hand, I like the renovations, they have a small but fun rooftop pool area, the platinum breakfast is very good, and the location is good. On the other hand, I was taken aback by the fact they had available ordinary suites but wanted a $200 upcharge, even though I'm PPE+A and a repeat guest.

I like the W Westwood but haven't really explored around the neighborhood. Are there any good restaurant/bars in walking distance?

Remcod

There are some restaurants, but for good ones you need to drive anyway. Nearby there are some breakfast places but nothing spectacular. And thats exactly why I would consider staying elsewhere, too have walkable options. I hear Santa Monica is quite nice, but how is the area at night? And what about the SLS, I see it is near Beverly Grove and not really Beverly Hills, could you say it is a nice neighbourhood with good options for dinner and drinks nearby, walkable?