Stayed here 3 nights for the LA Times Travel Show. the conference center is a 10 minute walk, LA Live is a 5 minute walk, the Staples center also. Downtown is not the best location for tourists, but if you do stay here you have some nice options to eat (LA live). The hotel itself was great - the rooms were clean and had everything I needed. The staff was EXTREMELY helpful - I got a suite upgrade, they reserved a great LA tour for me, and by day 2 knew me by name and greeted me in the lobby. The hotel has a bar, restaurant, starbucks, a little store, and is connected to the mall and a Macy's so you can shop without going far ;) The only downside was breakfast - I do not suggest you spend $20pp on a sad buffet. If you do not like noise, ask for a room far from elevator.

Let me just say I hated this place before I even checked in. I was traveling for work and needed a place that accepting the Government rate close to the location I would be working in Downtown Los Angeles. I knew when I booked this hotel was attached to the mall, I had no idea it was “in” the mall. I was traveling solo and upon arriving to the hotel, there were three huge tour buses parked out front blocking the check in entrance. I was also aware that I would be parking in the mall parking structure after arrival as that is the parking lot the hotel uses. I didn’t bank on the fact I wouldn’t be able to enter into the check-in entrance. I tried driving around the block and call the hotel to see what options I had since their entrance was blocked (mind you, downtown LA, you cannot park or pull over to the side of the road at any time as there are signs everywhere stating such. Not sure why three huge buses were the exception) the phone rang, with no exaggeration for at least three minutes before someone answers. Mind you I am driving, can’t pull over anywhere, holding my phone and trying to maneuver through streets that don’t allow right and/or left hand turns at certain times of the day, not to mention several one way streets. When someone finally answers the phone they ask immediately if I can please hold, of course my response was no I can’t. I asked where I could go to check in since the entrance was still blocked. She told me to park in the parking garage next to the hotel and I could enter that way and it would be easy from the elevator.

I do as suggested and pull into the parking garage, park near the elevators and think this isn’t so bad the elevator will take me right there. When I get to the elevator with my luggage, purse and other items from my car, I realize there are no signs as to what floor to get off on. When I get in the elevator there is a button for the bottom floor that says Sheraton. Okay great, this works. As the elevator stops on other floors, there are shoppers, people dressed in gym clothes and I realize that we are stopping in the middle of Macys department store. Did I get on the wrong elevator? Nope, when I get to the bottom floor I get out in the middle of the mall. I get to drag my suitcase through the shopping mall, and as I continue to walk there is a sign as if I am going to a department store that says “Sheraton” at one of the entrances. Needless to say I am not happy by this point.

I check in hiking to myself, just relax it will get better from here. I go to my room and its okay, nothing spectacular, but not too bad. You can definitely tell they tried their best to update the appearance while being in an “old” hotel. It was clean and doable, but definitely been in better. I had picked this location, thinking it was next to the mall it would be safe for me to find places to eat, etc.

I am so frustrated I go talk to the manager and nicely explain had it been one thing I could live with my check in issues, but I had real issues with not being able to pull in to check-in and not being able to give the bellman my luggage, having to pull my luggage through a parking garage, through the mall and lastly having them take so long to answer the phone to be told to hold. She graciously offered me dinner, which I was happy with and not expecting. I just wanted her to know tour buses should not be blocking the entrance AND they need to pick up the phone. Anyhow, I used it for dinner in the restaurant, which turned out to be just as horrible as check in. My $30 steak was overcooked, chewy and dry. The bread they served was as hard as a rock. I have had better steaks from Chilis Grill.

Anyhow, when I checked out early in the morning a few days later, I had to take my suitcase and walk through the quiet and eerie mall and into the parking garage which just as eerie for that early in the morning. I didn’t like that at all. There are too many other choices to have to stay here again, in fact next time I will pay some out of my pocket and stay at the Omni which is top notch in downtown Los Angeles.

Our room was huge and this was a convenient location, but other than that, there is not much to say. There is no pool, no stunning lobby, the bathroom seemed in desperate need for an upgrade, and the whole room seemed a bit drab except for the bedding.

We picked this hotel for its proximity to LA Live. For the price we paid we were disappointed at how dated the rooms were. The room had a faint smell of old water although the room appeared clean. The beds, dresser and TV were the only furnishings that seemed to be updated in the last decade. The closet had old mirrored doors, the bathroom had a sink faucet from 1980 and overall had a time warp feel. The light switches were dated along with the lamps, phone and alarm clock. This hotel's only saving grace was its modern lobby which includes a restaurant, Starbucks, internet area and a small TV 'living room'. Also, another positive was the free parking across the street at a meter on a Sat night to Sunday.