Reading previous reviews about this place, after I'd already booked it, made me a bit worried. I must say, the rooms do smell, you do hear gun shots at night and it is in a pretty run down area, but the actual room (apart from the smell, you get used to it) is fine. Nice interior and very clean, with a comfy bed, and the free WiFi is great, fast connection. We were only here the one night, that's all I think you need really, it's fine for a stop over, cheap and easy to find from the free-way. Just don't go wondering around after dark.

Room was clean, Bathroom also. Very good Price in Long Beach/LA.
The problem was only the morning noise on the street.

We stayed in this motel for five days as part of a trip around west coast USA. What attracted us was the price (cheaper than most in the greater Los Angeles/Long Beach area. It is located off the Pacific Coast Highway in a fairly convenient location for all the famous sights in the area.

THE ROOM
The room itself was very basic but clean and tidy, had 2 large double beds and an en suite bathroom. The shower was over the bath but was fairly powerful. The room had air conditioning but it was VERY noisy and not that efficient. The motel had other conveniences such as ice etc.
and. A bonus of staying there was that pastries were left with the coffee making facilities and all were replaced on a regular basis. This made for a handy breakfast substitute when we were in a rush.

THE MOTEL IN GENERAL
The motel in general was fairly quiet, apart from at 6am when we were awoken daily by loud talking in the room next door. The large "No prostitutes sign on arrival was quite off putting. The hotel manager was South Asian and didn't speak much English. I would have had no issue with this if I had been prepared, but you don't really expect this in Urban California! So communication was fairly difficult and he seemed very unsure of how to deal with the my booking confirmations or how much to charge me. Despite this he was very nice and did his best to help. My other minor gripe about the motel was that free wifi was advertised. We did everything to try and connect to this using the passwords provided, but to no avail. I have a Nokia smartphone that has never had any difficulty connecting previously.

THE AREA (the motel is located in, NOT Long Beach itself)
Now we live in South Manchester so we are used to crime etc but I have to say that at times I felt rather unsafe while staying at the Tower motel. I don't think my fears are unfounded because on three separate occasions we saw people being arrested, including one in the motel carpark! There is a very cheap Mexican supermarket down the road-excellent for stocking up but it was disconcerting to see people openly selling drugs out of the boot of their cars. Finally the other problem is that the motel is a long way from downtown Long Beach so eating out etc is difficult and if you don't want to go without a drink (we were on holiday after all), you are limited to fast food and beer from the 7/11.

I would however, still recommend this motel to those on a budget. Just don't go out alone after dark and keep your wits about you.

TRIPS/THINGS TO DO IN THE AREA (this is what we did)
Hollywood, Grauman's theatre, Greek Theatre, Griffith Observatory, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Sunset Boulevard, Mulholland Drive, Sony studio tour, Long beach harbour, Queen Mary, Whale and dolphin watching, Santa Monica Pier, Muscle Beach, Venice Beach, Malibu

The motel is in a really sketchy neighborhood by the freeway. Close to the port/downtown long beach but definitely not somewhere you'd want to take a stroll. There are a few fast food places and liquor stores if you want to get some food.

The man at the front desk was curt but efficient. A paper sign warned against prostitution or drug use and noted that the Long Beach police department made frequent inspections of the establishment, which was simultaneously worrying and reassuring.

Parking was free but there was none available. The desk attendant told us to park in a 'no parking zone' in the lot and that worked out fine.

The room was clean and nicely decorated, much better than what I expected to find. It was quite tiny, but very quiet. The bed was a comfortable king but we only had 3 pillows. The towels were the smallest I've seen, they looked more like hand towels than bath towels.

There were toiletries by the sink that I'm sure were mini-bar priced (brand name toothpaste and hand lotion) but weren't labeled. It seemed like it was meant to confuse customers into taking them, thinking they were free, and then being charged. I'm not sure this is what was happening but if so, that's pretty annoying.

Overall, a very good experience for travelers on a budget.