Ramada Plaza by Wyndham West Hollywood

I'm ashamed to say I was being a bit of a hotel snob since I usually stay at Hiltons (Diamon for life member) but I was looking for a place I could stay one night, walkable to the WeHo strip, and this was the perfect choice. I used to stay here often in the 90 and had not been back since. The room was very clean, the bed and pillows comfortable and nice bedding. The towels were much better than I expected. Great shower pressure and hot water (better than my last two Hilton stays). The bathroom was not fancy but had shower gel and an S shape extension on the shower head that made it higher up than originally designed. The staff was SO friendly and helpful. Online it said there was a $25 fee to check in early. I was not charged that since there was a room available. I wish the Hilton staff were this friendly.

Don’t be fooled by the pictures—the photos online are a complete work of fiction. In reality, this place is an ancient, filthy, outright seedy, and hopelessly understaffed dump. If you are foolish enough to book this wreck, demand the top floor. Otherwise, you will be subjected to the agonising, non-stop thumping of footsteps from the room above you—a relentless pounding that penetrates right through the paper-thin ceilings. The service is an absolute joke. Want your room cleaned? You have to book it 24 hours in advance, as if basic hygiene is a luxury privilege. Need to use the gym? It’s a claustrophobic, sweat-stained broom closet that can barely fit one person at a time. Want a morning swim? Good luck, the pool is inexplicably locked down until 9:00 AM. To top it all off, the entire venue reeks of decay. Our room possessed a vile, stagnant stench the moment we walked in, and the worn-out, neglected common areas smell just as rancid. The only positive is that the location is decent, but location means absolutely nothing when you are paying a premium to stay in an overpriced, crumbling nightmare.

Excellent location. Clean modern room. Close to Trader Joes. A big plus. Close to transport and a fabulous pool to relax by.