deniald

stayed this weekend. a very high level of service, interesting and whimsical design, amazing (and empty) gym, turndown, mercedes drop-off service. a few things bugged me; will comment if people are interested. i think they're doing grand opening discount promos.

Benjh

I'm looking for a nice hotel for a gf gateway thanksgiving week-end. If there are coupons, I would looooooooooove to hear about it!!! (you can be romantic AND cheap, right?) ))

deniald

re: rates. I booked about a month ago with the amex 50% off coupon @ 279.50 for the standard king. First time I've actually been quoted a lower rate than I could find online. Valet $35.

The staff was clearly trying very hard in the hotel's first week, and never said no to anything we requested. We were escorted from our car to check in, our bags carried to our room, concierge helped us figure out dinner and arranged the luxury ride (gratis) out to a bar. Even the driver was eager to know how we were enjoying the hotel. In the hour and a half we were gone for dinner they came for turndown service. The downside of such constant attention is dropping tips everywhere, and the slight aggravation of having to tell strangers where youre headed and how you're enjoying things. But, I'm a New Yorker, so feeling aggravated is second nature. I did find the concierge more pleasant to interact with than the front desk or the (admittedly hot) bellboys.

The hotel interior is strange and stunning. They have a thing for monkeys and odd, mismatched chairs throughout, and the rooms are all mirrors. Downsides: our room had only a shower, no chest of drawers or luggage rack (would be problematic for more than a few days stay), no view, some amenities in the bathroom actually _for sale_ (priced on the list inside the mini-bar). The gym had some great high-end machines I'd never even seen before; I went back twice. The pool was on the roof with a decent view, but tiny and only 3ft deep...clearly more for lounging and socializing.
It was definitely a luxury but fun place to stay, with attentive service, that, like cheaper starwood properties, often puts fashion before comfort.

tfung

just checked into the SLS.. got "upgraded" to a signature suite... Although it's actually a downgrade since I booked a premier suite about 2 months ago.. apparently that category of suite doesn't exist now... got put in a signature suite on the 4th floor, and they said its basically the same room, but the premier suite was on the top floor before.. now they just merged it into the same category..

Anyways, hotel in general is very nice... it's basically a W Hotel that is more refined and more designer... I guess its where W guests will eventually move on to when they get older... Had dinner at the restaurant downstairs, and found the prices to be quite reasonable considering the area and the food quality... Had a soup, burget and a drink and came to under $40... Service has been top notch so far, as it is a new hotel and everyone is trying to please...

I usually stay at the W when I'm in town, but I think will be staying here in the future...

Kagehitokiri

thanks for the reports. ^

tfung, was the "signature suite" a junior suite or one bedroom suite? seems like its considered a junior suite on the room fact sheet. also seems like there are 2 categories above "signature suite." >
- $2500 - luxury suite
- $5000 - presidential suite

hmm, i wonder how high SPG50 goes.
edit - every category ^

more info @ http://slshotels.com/

features
* guest-only lobby/restaurant (restaurant = tres)
* "preferred access/reservations" and "VIP treatment" @ SBE restaurants/clubs (details?)
* jetvans (bookable?) >
http://www.sbe.com/releases/SLS-Beck...37;20Final.pdf

tfung

The signature suite was a junior suite...

bigguyinpasadena

Just heard from an insider on this project that they are not doing so well.
Last week some nights as low as 10%occupancy
Minna is lookig to pull out of the place as soon as possible
And yet rates are still through the roof

holtju2

It is not unusual for hotels to have very low occupancy rates after opening. I do agree, however, that they rates seem rather high and unsure whether they can fill up the hotel at such rates.

sfozrhfco

The rates have been running nearly twice as much as the former Le Meridien Beverly Hills was charging and the economic climate now is far worse than it was 1-2 years ago. They should have offered some low intro rates to get people to try it out and tell other people about it. Why pay $200 more/night to stay there over the W Westwood? I can't imagine it is worth paying double the former Le Meridien prices. The location is exactly the same, which was and still is a bit out of the way. It is not in the heart of Beverly Hills. It is a hike to get to Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. It is really only convenient to the Beverly Center and why stay there to go to a mall with stores that exist in every major city in the world outside of Tehran, Pyong Yang, and Yangon.

Non-NonRev

S. Irene Virbila, the L.A. Times' restaurant critic, liked the food and decor at The Bazaar, the tapas-with-a-touch-of-El Bulli restaurant at SLS BH:

http://www.latimes.com/theguide/rest...,3577062.story

gameswolverine

I'm in the hotel now , checked in yesterday.

As noted before, the staff are great and very friendly. The bazaar seemed lively but the hotel is very quiet - I've been through the lobby half a dozen times and not seen a single other guest in the hotel side.

The rooms are very nice - remind me a lot of some of the morgans hotels (sanderson in london etc).. the redesigned Mondrian is better but this is close. They have the same sort of huge mirror with flatscreen TV embedded in it , although the SLS are floor to ceiling.

Only minor downsides were the overnight laundry doesn't cover the hours it says on their forms, and the wireless internet seems a bit flakey.

I paid $389 for their opening offer (which included a $50 credit per day, and triple starpoints). I got upgraded to a two dounble bed signature suite.

Anyone stayed here and received a platinum amenity ? Other luxury collection hotels seem to do it.. I forgot to ask on check-in after a long flight.

bigguyinpasadena

plat amenity is the exception rather than the rule at luxury collection properties.

KENNECTED

Biggie, what do you mean by that? I thought the Platinum Amenity was "locally selected"?
FAQ: The Platinum Welcome Amenity thread

bigguyinpasadena

You are correct CE-and thank you for finding the link.But with so many of the LC properties being "resorts"(I do not know if SLS considers itself a resort or not)and thus allowed wiggle room on the SPG program that I do not expect anything from them.
The two LC collection non resorts I have stayed in both required prodding when it came to Plat ammenities-but did cough it up.

Kagehitokiri

every category can be booked with SPG50, including top 2 suites

everything but the top 2 suites are ~30% off BAR with SPG50

top 2 suites are rack only, so 50% off "BAR" with SPG50
another solid SPG50 property ^