The mondrian has basically become my home away from home in LA. I moved to Miami with my wife from London and now whenever I am in LA whether for work or pleasure this is where you will find me, most probably at the poolside, enjoying the beauty of the crowd, the music and the vibe. Until I start to grow old you're not really going to see me anywhere else :P

I always read Tripadvisor reviews before I travel so I noted a few negative reviews of the Mondrian in West Hollywood. That said, I know some of the other properties owned by this company, so I felt pretty confident.

We were not disappointed. We upgraded to a suite with a balcony and, yes, all the balconies face the pool and the SkyBar. Yes it's loud. We were on the 9th floor so it wasn't really an issue. One night we simply went there and that solved that. Our room was very comfortable, the bathroom with its two headed shower was nice, the bellman was awesome, the valet guys wrestled the top off our rented Jeep (no small feat) and Jason the concierge hooked us for drinks and dinner at various spots on Sunset and Melrose like we were movie starts.

Everybody was friendly and helpful the vibe is very young, hip and fun even for an oldster like me...I'm in my mid-fifties and I was perfectly comfortable there. We ate at Asia De Cuba one night in the hotel and our waiter was awesome and the Butter Fish and Cuban Chicken BBQ were delightful.

If you like hipster hotels (Morgans, Kimpton, etc), you'll love the Mondrian...It's not the Marriott or Shutters On The Beach, or The Beverly Hills Hotel - it's a different kind of hotel. If you check out their web page, you should know what to expect. If it looks the part, just engage the staff and you will be rewarded with great service and a lovely stay!

Our experience at the Mondrian was mixed. We arrived very early and had a great check in experience with Saraee. Our room was ready well before the normal check in time which was appreciated. And we found the room quite comfortable (facing the pool but high enough not to be affected by noise).

But the bad; we booked a table at the restaurant but were not seated until an hour after our booking. Makes a booking kind of pointless. Service was pretty disinterested. And then on check-out i'm glad we checked the bill. There was an additional charge of 'porterage' for almost $100 that had been added to our bill. The explanation was that if bags are taken to the room and people don't have cash, then this tip can be added to the bill by guests. However we had given a cash tip, and had not authorised anything like that. $100 for bags to the room? Felt like
someone had decided to slip a $100 tip for themselves onto our account. Did not leave a very nice taste in our mouths and seemed to fit with the attitude of the Mondrian.

Stayed here for three nights between Christmas and New Year. From arrival to departure all the staff were friendly, polite and helpful. We stayed midweek so it may be quieter than at the weekend, but we had a room overlooking the SkyBar, and heard no noise at all.

Our room was enormous - a King suite with a separate bedroom/living area. All the white scared me a little as I was convinced I was going to spill something! Lovely toiletries, and lots of space, although I couldn't for the life of me work out how to switch the bedside lights on.

Valet parking was expensive but so much easier, and you only pay once per day.

Didn't eat at the hotel, so can't comment on the food - we walked right out of the hotel and ate breakfast at Starbucks, and dinner at the rodeo bar and the Cabo Cantina - both were a few minutes walk away.