My wife, my 15 mo old daughter, and I stayed overnight at this hotel for a weekend. I chose the Culver as I tend to enjoy places with a bit more character than your cookie-cutter Hyatts or Radissons of the world. The Culver exceeded my expectations - primarily due to the pleasant and helpful staff.
The hotel itself is a work of art. The lobby has wonderful high ceilings with beautiful panelled windows. There is also some wonderful woodwork (the bar in particular is nice) and the furniture throughout the lobby is very classy with a nice vintage feel. The Culver was built in 1924 to cater to the developing movie business and is most notable for housing the Gone With Wind and the Wizard of Oz cast and crew members. The hotel was renovated in 1997 and one can see that they tried to keep a vintage look to it. I feel that they were very successful. The bar is part of the lobby and, as a guest, I enjoyed a few drinks and felt extremely relaxed in this gorgeous lobby/lounge area.
Our room was very clean and comfortable. My 15 mo old daughter explored every nook and cranny and did not find any "treasures". That, in my opinion, is an extremely high mark of cleanliness. The bed was comfortable to sleep in and the shower had a nice high showerhead with a very satisfactory water pressure. I took an extra long shower which means they did something right in designing it.
The highlight of our trip was the fantastic service and helpful attitude we found with every staff member. And trust me, with a 15 mo old who has just learned to walk - you meet all of them. What I appreciated the most was that each staff member was genuinely pleasant and very sincere in their desire to make our stay pleasurable. Most hotels train their staff members well - but its more of a professional politeness. The Culver employs people that are legitimately nice and, I feel, went out of their way with real friendliness. I highly recommend this hotel for the staff alone.
Other nice things about the Culver - they are centrally located with many wonderful restaurants within walking distance. There is a nice vibe to the downtown Culver area these days and I'd say the hotel certainly adds to the experience. The hotel doesn't have it's own parking (again, built in 1924) but they have a very nice valet service for a reasonable price. I recommend taking them up on it.
More than anything - this place has character. That's really tough to come by these days, particularly in Southern California.
Oh, and Constantine the bartender makes a solid "Old Fashioned".
- Culver City Hotel
