The W Hollywood. An anchor to a revitalized Hollywood Boulevard or Tinseltown smoke and mirrors? In a word, yes.
The W looms above the legendary block of Hollywood and Vine, across from the Pantages, in a resurgent neighborhood with a touch of tarnish.
A magnificent lobby (complete with red carpet) greets visitors and guest rooms are of a decent size, especially if you are accustomed to the rooms at the W San Francisco or W New York. Rooms are tasteful and modern with clean lines and chic furnishings. But unfortunately, like Hollywood itself, the W is about style over substance.
On a recent visit, the housekeeping (which they call “room styling” gag me!) was spotty. One day, we returned at 8:30 pm and the room still hadn’t been touched. When you check in, you are offered a newspaper delivered to you door in the morning. Said newspaper made to our door once, the other days we needed to return to the front desk to fetch it.
Speaking of the front desk, trips were made there repeatedly by us and other guests whose room keys were de-magnetized when they came in contact with wallets and phones. Many guests were also seen struggling with their keys in the elevators as well.
“Drai’s” rooftop club (next to the pool) appears to be a bigger priority than overnight guests, and the club was a definite inconvenience to us/them. On a Friday night, we had to wade past the club kids and wanna-bes clumped behind velvet ropes in order to get back in to the hotel. All weekend long, we couldn’t access the pool from our floor, but instead had to go downstairs, outside the lobby and past doormen in order to go up to the roof-level pool.
The final indignity? We were charged incorrectly for parking which took 15 minutes to get adjusted.
The downlow: The W Hollywood is a good place for a splashy, expensive event but it’s short on individual service, convenience, or comfort.
W Hollywood
6250 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood, CA 90028
(323) 798-1300
This post was contributed by Lisa Dion of Friscomama. Photos by Dan Dion.