First of all, this hotel is bloody gorgeous! I will attach some of the many photos I took of the Biltmore and you’ll see what I mean. Add to that the history of this place and its connection to the golden age of Hollywood and you feel like you’re stepping through time to an age of glamour and opulence.
Millennium has this hotel looking fine at 99. Smooth nostalgic tunes are heard throughout the lobbies, current and former, around the clock, adding to the dreamy atmosphere. The rooms are modern, with a nod to the elegance of the hotel’s history. My room used to be two very small ones that have been joined by a large cutout that looks like was always there. I had two full bathrooms, tubs and all, just for me (which is obviously overkill for one person).
But that fifth star has to be held back, I think for legitimate reasons. One could say that a 99 year old hotel can’t be a five star, because it’s just old. Old buildings have old building problems, telltale signs of their geriatric state such as decades of layers of paint that just can’t hide what’s come before. But that’s crap. The Biltmore is in fantastic shape. I can only imagine how hard it is to keep a huge old hotel looking fine, but they do a damn fine job. Minor flaws can be expected in ANY hotel. The Biltmore has earned its scars.
Here are my beefs, some larger than others. Let me start by saying I was over them before I’d checked out, because I think I’ve fallen in love with this hotel. The water pressure in the shower is… well, there isn’t any. I actually felt pity for the shower head as it squealed in an effort to squeeze some water out. After a few tries, I managed to get a limp shower going. I had to laugh, because the shower head make is Speakman Anystream, and that’s just what I was trying to achieve!
The housekeeping staff, actually anyone who works here, including the vigilant security, have been very friendly. Unfortunately, the last couple of days of my stay, I wasn’t given a liner for the ice bucket. This is really only significant for me because my stay coincided with a heat wave (mid 30’s C), so I needed ice. Add to this my frustration that the 11th floor ice machine was out of commission the whole time. The next closest one is down two floors, and luckily there is a lovely stairwell closeby so I just trotted down for my ice and back. But the Biltmore is a stout building, 11 floors of looooong hallways. So, the whole ice thing wore thin after a few days.
I feel the need to mention the pool. It’s beautiful and, like the rest of the building, evokes the glam of old Hollywood. And refer to the above for how hard it is to maintain something like a swimming pool over 99 years of public use. It’s beautiful, and I hope people appreciate it as I did. I believe it’s salt water, which makes the swimming light and easy and then gravity is dialed up by ten when you step out. For some reason, both steam rooms were either closed or out of service. There were signs to this effect on the amazing brass doors. I wasn’t the only guest to be disappointed by this. Maybe it was due to a COVID health order? Then, there’s the hot tub, or rather the signs leading you up the stairs to the wall where the hot tub used to be? It’s was mostly funny, but I thought of how much more amazing that area would be were the original plan to be restored.
The hotel has a restaurant that was closed during my stay. It was another demerit for a hotel that has a full kitchen and several spaces where food can be served. When I checked in after 10 pm I was famished. Little did I realize that downtown LA experiences something like The Purge every evening. Businesses close up, the few options become none for something as essential as food as the disenfranchised emerge and the sad inequity of one of the wealthiest places in the world is on disturbing display. The Biltmore could offer basic room service if for no other reason than the safety of her patrons.
The only other thing I would add is a suggestion that the hotel provide more than a couple of bottles of water during nasty heat like that. I assume the standard is 2 bottles per person per room, because that’s what I received. I was very happy for it, but I was losing water faster than I could consume it. I didn’t touch the coffee maker the entire time, so maybe a fair trade?
And that’s it. Love this place so much that I hate to check out tomorrow. I would stay here again without question. Can’t even think of staying elsewhere in LA. It’s not in one of the more vibrant or toney neighbourhoods, but the metro is barely a block away, and weekly fare cards are cheaper than Uber. I hope my review is helpful to travelers and the proprietors of the grand and fabulous Millennium Biltmore LA.
