The location and layout were very nice. The quality of the beds and the pool were much appreciated. There were some odd problems. There were only 4 bath towels for 4 adults and 2 children, and these had to double as pool towels. The kitchen/living room floors looked clean, but they turned the bottoms of our feet black--had to scrub them. The fire detector outside of the bedrooms was missing. With some TLC, this would deserve a higher rating.
Had a great trip family to LA last month.
The positives are location and the majority of the apartment, the staff are also friendly.
The apartment is above a Starbucks, across from Walgreens, within 5 mins walk of loads of restaurants (the Mexican just beside is great value), trader joes, car rental and the Starline bus office. 10 - 15 mins walk to the Chinese theatre etc. Universal studios is only 10mins drive, don't bother with the metro or a bus an Uber cost us $9! Taxi back was $15.
The apartment we stayed in was modern with full length windows, it had a dining table and basic kitchen facilities, the gym was basic but good.
Downside was arrival, no access to reception, bed situation and confusion on rooms. The apartment is part of a larger complex, it's situated in a large building one the corner of Vine and Sunset that has a mix of office and residential, the reception when you enter the building do not provide any assistance. The company who run the apartment is Pelican Residencies, they have a number of apartments around LA.
Downsides
Initially I thought we had a 2br apartment as the description on hotels.com was different to the confirmation email. The pictures are of all apartments so it's hard to tell what one you are getting but we ended up with a 1br apartment.
We emailed in advance to try to get access to drop bags prior to check in as we were arriving early. We were told 'it's not encouraged' but to call the people giving access when we arrived, we called and after some back and forth we eventually were able to drop bags 2 hours early, 4 hours after we arrived. It just highlighted the challenge with not having reception on hand.
As we didn't have a second room we used the sofa bed, it was terrible, you couldn't sleep on it, I ended up with significant back pain that impacted the rest of our trip. Honestly based on the bed situation it's a 1br apartment that sleeps 2 not anymore, it's really really bad.
Netflix didn't have enough log ins (4 were being used? I am guessing they need to change the password as someone is clearly using it) and there didn't appear to be access to regular channels so we didn't have TV, which wasn't a big deal.
Other considerations are the windows don't have block out blinds so it's really light at sunrise. The area around the apartment is, in parts, quite run down. As a result there is a decent sized homeless group across the road and walking about the area, we didn't see any trouble but it's a little confronting.
Lovely spacious apartment with all the amenities you could need. It even has a swimming pool and jacuzzi. The security staff are excellent and even offered to print off the boarding pass for me! We stayed in above the Walgreens in Vine Street which was a brilliant location! However, when booking the apartment we werent told the exact location of the apartment but told to contact staff when we are an hour away from the apartment. We did and was told to wait another 30 mins because staff member Chris was driving. We waiting 30 mins, then another hour until we had to loose our temper and waste time and money ringing this man by telephone until we could get a difinitive answer from him. Checking in procedure needs reviewing urgently! but there is free parking a in garage which is a plus!
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We had a fantastic stay. Huge apartment and very clean. It had everything we needed. Location was fantastic. We lost our key - but the host helped us out and provided a spare key.
The experience was very good - much better than hotels.
How easy was it to book the property? | How helpful were the directions to the property? |
How easy was key pickup/access to the property? | Overall condition of the property |
Bedding & mattresses | Kitchen & utensils |
Bathroom cleanliness | Other facilities & amenities |
Service |
Friends getaway | People with disabilities |
Older travelers | Families with young children |
Large groups | People with pets |