mssawyer

I had occasion to stay at the Los Angeles Downtown Marriott for two nights last week. As a platinum, I received an upgrade to a "Jr. Suite" located at the very end of the hall. The room was OK, but a little crowded for a suite setting. The real problem is that the wireless internet simply did not work. I called the front desk and the manager on duty offered me an antenna booster. I had to make a trip down to the lobby and they put a $150 deposit against my account to make sure I wouldn't steal the booster box. The booster box didn't make the signal any better, so I made another trip to the lobby and asked them to make sure they removed the internet charge from my account. Yes, I know I might have saved a trip to the lobby with a simple phone call, but my attempt to resolve that way resulted in 20 rings until I hung up and made the trek to the front desk.

The next day I checked my account and sure enough the charge was still there so another trip to the lobby to point this out. They politely removed the charge. The following morning when I received the express check out receipt under my door, there was yet another daily internet charge on the bill necessitating another trip to the lobby to get the bill corrected. This trip was accompanied with an assurance that I wouldn't stay at this property again. The manager on duty did offer some points as compensation for the trouble, but that doesn't make up for two evenings of lost working time in the room.

This property definitely needs a makeover, but more than anything else it needs a serious technology upgrade. This was a disappointing experience.

SkiAdcock

Well other than the i-net boo-boo, how was the rest of the stay?

Perhaps a better subject line would have been Los Angeles Marriott - internet difficulties, which would let people know a specific vs condemning the entire property based on one part.

If there were other parts of your stay that were bad or good, it would help to provide a more complete view of the property and help others to decide whether to stay there or not.

I've been there before. Got a nice upgrade (which since it was an overnight trip w/ lot of late night scheduled stuff meant I couldn't enjoy it - sigh), friendly staff, no problems. It's a large downtown convention hotel so my expectations are basically that. Parking is expensive but that's not exclusive to Marriott.

Cheers.

bigguyinpasadena

Service here has always been chimpish.
Not my favorite Marriott by a longshot.

NDDomer86

Definitely not my favorite property either. I don't find the parking to be expensive, if fact for a downtown location (although granted it is Downtown LA so there isn't much there) I find it to be on the cheap side (unless they have went up since last time I was there) and definitely better than the Westin across the street (parking price wise). Have never received any upgrades other than to a CL room and find the evening offerings in the lounge to be abysmal (overcooked sometimes to the point of burnt). Rooms certainly need a makeover but are clean. The bathrooms amuse me as they have the glamour lights surrounding the mirror.

SkiAdcock

Hey don't you be dissing those lights. They make me look good

FWIW - I find this property to be a typical convention hotel. Not great; not crap. Just 'eh'.

But I still think the OP could have been more detailed in his/her title.

OVMV. Cheers.

holtju2

The Junior Suites at this hotel are simply crap. The only acceptable is a Vista Suite upgrade.

mssawyer

Just a follow up to my original post for the benefit of Sharon above. Were the problem just the quality of the internet service I would have taken it in stride. The room was sub-par in terms of quality. The furniture was very worn, the carpets needed a serious cleaning and the bathroom, while quite large, was poorly lit and looked like it hadn't been updated in twenty or so years.

The evening CL food was not warm and veggie tray was rather unattractive. I passed on eating from it. The breakfast selection was standard fare at a FS Marriott, and I will say the CL staff was friendly and attentive.

The fitness facility was a very small work-out room with no sauna. The outdoor pool was no where near the fitness room. The Televisions are the old monsters and the cable service was limited.

Frankly, the overall experience was less than one would expect at a FS Marriott, and the only representative Marriott property in Downtown Los Angeles. I wouldn't go to the trouble to stay there again.

bigguyinpasadena

When the huge new hotels open near Staples this property is going to be in serious trouble.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for providing more details. Helps others to know the overall (disappointing) picture.

Cheers.

StayingHomeIsBetter

In my experience, rooms at the end of the hall seem to consistently have weak internet signals. To have a shot at a strong signal, you have risk the elevator noise and get a room near the center where they seem to most frequently place the signal repeaters.

I have found hotel internet service to be so frequently problematic (all chains) that I finally got a broadband card and a data service subscription.

Have not regretted it yet... and I am netting a reduction in what I pay for away from home internet service.

clarkef

I've stayed at the property twice. Both times I was given a Vista Suite so I cannot judge the other rooms, but I did not have problems during either stay.

woojink

I used to stay at this property and the Westin across the street pretty much every week (alternating between the two), for nearly a year. Funny thing is that in that entire time, I don't think I ever visited the lounge once... go figure, also I may have had breakfast just once or twice in the property. Just realized it. Weird.

The hotel is definitely in need of some serious refurb, it is an old, large property that has a good/interesting layout, but definitely needs a face lift. However, I've found that the staff at this property has always been very good and helpful. Goes a long way in my book. It is worthwhile to note that this property changed ownership in 2007 (for a pretty tidy sum) and a large scale renovation was planned to start sometime in 2008, but I'm sure lending issues and the economy has delayed that project.

The Jr. Suites at the end of the halls are also a lot smaller than the ones closer to the elevators... probably at least 30% smaller, maybe more. As a Plat, I would get a Vista about 90% of the time - there are two on each floor.

The downtown LA hotel scene is really not that great, especially when you compare it to other cities. Most properties are older, and not super luxurious, but LA's downtown is quite different from other cities as well.

Colin

property no longer a Marriott, as of 04-AUG-2012

holtju2

Not really a surprise unless the owner was willing to spend some serious money to renovate the whole thing.

NBSPGMEMBER

What brand is the hotel now?