Had finished up a work event and went to crash around 2am. A few hours later, I'm jolted up by a mass gathering convening beneath my window. I draw back the curtains to reveal that it was Unite. World's worst wake-up call ever since I only had 4 hours of sleep at that point. People were leaving the graveyard shift and joining, and it became a bit of a ruckus. Unremarkably, you could hear them all the way from the 12th floor. Guess I should've chosen the kennel side of this property.

I want to sincerely apologize for the rude awakening after what must have been less than five hours of sleep. This is definitely one of those things I wish I had more control over. When they do come, it is on random days and normally two union staff members (not hotel associates) with a bullhorn. The demonstrations do tend to be mostly on Saturdays but still impossible to predict. This Saturday they managed to gather a bigger group with I'm sure a couple of my associates. The reasoning behind the strategy and tactics is a mystery to me. It goes without saying that we are doing all we can to get this to stop. I'm happy to go into more detail via PM or email, if you already have my email. Best! Phil

As far as I can tell, L.A. noise ordinances have special restrictions within 500 feet of residential areas, which I would guess includes your property given the apartments across Century Blvd.

Maybe that would help get rid of these pests, or at least their bullhorns.

Westin LAX - "Starwood Preferred Guest Floor"
 

What's the difference between the "Starwood Preferred Guest Floor" and a regular floor?

Not a Westin regular, but I do have points from other Starwood properties. Am at the Westin for a conference and booked my room via the Starwood loyalty desk, not the web (because the website was down).

Today at check-in it turns out my reservation had gotten royally screwed up and they didn't have a room ready at (7:30 pm!) in the Deluxe category I'd reserved, so front desk put me on this floor. Have to say that if this is "Deluxe" I'm not impressed.

Anyhow, wondering what if any extra benefit there is to being on this floor.

It's usually just a higher floor in the hotel that they "upgrade" preferred members to. Usually the exact same layout as other floors

In some Starwood brands, the hotel will provide free bottles of water every day. There could also be a small green plant, a bathrobe, or additional toiletries in the room. Other than these minor differences, it's the same room on a special higher floor and should not cost more unless the hotel charges more for higher floor rooms.

OP should look at room categories and prices. There's some chance that the Deluxe room that was booked (assuming that Deluxe isn't a euphemism for standard/base level) should cost more than the room the OP received, which sounds like it was an ordinary room on the SPG floor. If so, this was an involuntary downgrade and should result in a refund and an apology for the "inconvenience" and a bit more for not admitting at check in that the customer was giving a room in a lower category than what was booked. Even at the same price, if the OP booked a Deluxe room category (whether it's defined by the size of the room, location/view, furnishings, amenities, etc.) and was not given a Deluxe room, something should be done for the OP to make up for this.

Does the OP have any status with SPG? I'm confused by the comments about points, previous SPG stays, and making the reservation through a loyalty desk. Also, was the room paid with points or money?

This was not the dump that I was expecting! The lobby was clean, modern, and bright, which mimicked my room. I was given a standard room that wasn’t facing the kennel, and it was everything that I would expect from a Westin. WiFi was on the slow side though. Room service menu consisted of the menu from the Daily Grill restaurant, which is nice as usually room service menus are “dumbed” down a bit. The gym has plenty of cardio machines, not so much on weights. One nitpick is that the elevator lights are too dim to see if you’ve pushed them or not. There is a lounge, but I wasn’t around to check it out in the mornings or evenings.

Overall, this hotel is a solid step above the Sheraton Gateway LAX. One major downside is that as the Westin is located further down Century Blvd, the hotel is right where planes land and take off. The noise is pretty constant and was sufficiently loud enough to wake me up several times a night. That alone may send me back to the Sheraton next time.

Thankfully it is easy to exceed expectations when you expected a dump. :)

Seriously, thank you for sharing your experience. Feel free to PM me before your next stay and we'll try to find you a quieter room.

Be Well!

Phil

big price difference compared to Sheraton?
 

I noticed a big price difference between the Westin ($136) and the Sheraton Gateway (>$200) for some upcoming dates (Nov 11-12). Is there some construction at the Westin, or some other reason that would justify the big cost difference? I am wondering which would be best to stay at.

I am there those 2 weeks as well due to the low cost. I will find out.

I would go with Westin LAX even if the price is the same. I used to stay with Sheraton Gateway and always get upgraded to a suite, so no complaints. But I switched to Westin since Phil took over as GM.


I also like to Executive Lounge at Westin better after they started offering real food.

Thank you!!!

BTW we are moving the time for evening snacks back a half hour to 5 pm to 7:30 pm to better accommodate arrival times.

Sheraton vs. Westin
 

Thanks everybody for the advice.

Right now, I am still on the fence. I am only a Preferred member now, but I used to be Platinum and Gold in the past. What are the odds of upgrade at the Westin? I could have sworn that I was once upgraded to a massive suite at the Westin. I know that I often get upgraded at the Sheraton. My corporate rate includes continental breakfast, but I am not sure that is better or worse than having lounge access (which I assume I would not).

We had an SPG Hot Escapes sale going for those two dates due to Veteran's Day and some softness in our group base. As of this morning we are selling $179 and the Sheraton is selling $199.

Thanks! By the way, responsiveness like yours on Flyertalk is a major factor in my travel decisions!