Figueroa Hotel, Los Angeles

This hotel is rustic and eccentric in all its splendor. If you do not like that kind of charm, don't bother. My room had comfortable beds, a TV, a fridge and phone. The bathroom was small but had all the amenities I needed, including a hairdryer. The location is ideal--a brisk walk to Wilshire, across the street from Staples and ESPN, and Denny's, Subway and Walgreens are within a half a mile distance. All other hotels in the immediate area are sky high compared to this one, and for that it's a decent deal. What the place needs? Longer pool/jacuzzi hours would be good. They close at 7pm. The TV could use a few more channels. A microwave in the rooms or a coffee station in the lobby would be great. We had a good stay, but I also admit we weren't at the hotel very much. One thing worth mentioning--they do a hold on your card when you check in and then supposedly complete the transaction upon your checkout. I was charged twice by mistake but it was cleared up within the day. I was also asked for an additional deposit at check in and was told they don't do that normally when I checked out. I have a feeling that has more to do with the fact that I checked in with a teen son and look like a teen myself, not to mention we didn't quite look like everyone else. The housekeeping staff was courteous and friendly, but the front desk was a bit distant and cold. This hotel is not really geared for children. My son is a teen and was fine, but I wouldn't take a young child there.

I was forced to stay here for a convention I was attending for work. For $180 per night, I was certainly expecting something like working phones, showers and sinks that drained properly, and central air. Ohhh, not here! Here is what you do get for $180 per night: TV's with 4 working channels Not 1 clock in your room, let alone the entire hotel Strange black cats wondering around the pool area Dirty grungy hallways leading to your death pad of a room Chinsy decorations Noisy window mounted a/c units Worn out bath towels that were the size of dish towels Needless to say, I probably would not recommend anyone staying here. Your better off sleeping on the streets with the 4 bums that occupied the 2 corners of the intersections.

My mother and I (her daughter) recently stayed here during a Los Angeles anime convention. At first glance, the hotel is a paradise. Beautiful architecture despite an outward unattractiveness, incredible pool and garden area, and comfy - if small - rooms. We were especially pleased with the location, as it is a simple and comfortable walking distance from some nice restaurants and the convention center itself. Don't let yourself be taken in by this!! Upon settling in, we found a flea on one of our beds (we know it couldn't have come with us, because we live in an area where fleas can't survive). Upon returning home, we were infuriated to discover bug bites all along our arms and legs - anywhere our PJs didn't cover (we are not 100% certain these were picked up during our stay there, but the flea didn't really offer his vote of confidence). If you request a room and a hotel doesn't have it, they'll generally upgrade you as an apology - not here! We were downgraded to a room that could barely accomodate our needs. We were told after having several visitors - and not ONCE beforehand - that visitors, outside food, and generally being a social human being are not permitted. The bathrooms are tiny, and your water temperature while bathing is determined by who on your floor is flushing the toilet at any given time. Our third guest found this out when someone three doors down flushed...and she suffered a minor burn. We were forced to pack a lot because of circumstances presented to us, and the manager openly accused us of lying about how many we were housing - first over the phone, and then to our faces! As if this wasn't enough, when we attempted to defend ourselves, he screamed at us in front of the entire lobby: staff, customers, and everyone else! I have never felt so undermined and insulted in my entire life, not even in grade school. He offered us no chance to explain ourselves, and proved to be incredibly rude and obnoxious towards us (yet we noticed he treated his male customers with much more respect)! When we tried to seek another audience with him, he ignored us and started badgering his staff. Oh, and one more thing - they advertise 'free wireless,' but they make you pay eight dollars. And they won't accept cash; you must pay with a credit card or you don't get your internet. People there for business and e-mailing had best consider themselves warned. In conclusion, AVOID, AVOID, AVOID! I didn't even want to leave my dead skin cells behind, much less my mother's hard-earned money! That was the worst hotel experience of my entire life - and my family frequents a whole lot of hotels.

Stayed there for a conference, and was highly disappointed. Rooms were dark, not clean, and the bathroom was almost too small for one person. My co-worker actually had gum in his sheets. Went down to the breakfast buffet, and was charged $2 for a bowl of cereal. When I called down to request a wake-up call, the unprofessional staff acted like they'd never heard of this before. Shower/tub was gross, room was dingy, way overpriced. One of our head guys sent out an email later with "Top 10 Reasons You Don't Want to Stay at the Hotel Figueroa" and other co-workers passed time rewriting the words to "Welcome to the Hotel California." My favorite part was when my boss said, "Let's blow this joint!"

This was a great experience! What a wonderful hotel, right in the center of Los Angeles, great location, friendly staff and terrific price! I felt I needed to write this because I happened to be at the hotel the day another person who wrote a review was. He was the guy who brought 90 people for a birthday party and considered it just great of himself because he had brought the hotel so much business. I was in the lobby when I was witness to the altercation between the manager, Uno, and the visitor. I have to say, Uno was very, very reasonable and polite to this guy, but the guy didn't get the answers he was looking for. To review: He was not a guest of, or staying at the hotel. He had not made any prior arrangements for a party by the pool. He wanted to have 90 non-guests of the hotel take over the pool area and serve a birthday cake. What about people who were staying at the hotel and wanted to use the pool? The guy appeared to me to be a A class jerk. He didn't even want to pay the absurdly low $8 for parking. He basically wanted to use the hotel as his private playground without paying for it, as most normal people would. Disregard any of what that letter says, he was out of control and truly unreasonable. Bravo Uno, keep up the good work and God Bless you.

TERRIBLE SERVICE, very, very rude staff, but it seemed the manager/owner would relay the messages to his staff without speaking to us directly. We had made arrangements to host a birthday party with roughly 90 people..First, we were informed by the parking attentandt, "Israel." that we'd have to pay, even though we were bringing lots of bar patrons, cafe patrons, aka, LOTS OF BIZ!...fine, we moved our car...then they confront our friends, that they can't bring in a Birthday Cake!! yes, a birthday cake..but that we could bring in cupcakes..I kid you not, there was a stand off in the hotel lobby, not allowing us to bring in a birthday cake!!...I have never been treated with such disrespect in my entire life.....We offered to rent a banquet room to eat our cake and the manager who wouldn't speak to us, told his 4 person staff our money wasn't good and we could go somewhere else after inviting nearly 100 people to his understaffed, horrible owner, horrible hotel...we eventually had to arrange a secret Birthday Cake celebration in the cafe!!! SO there owner...We ate our Birthday Cake in your hotel u looser!! .........rumor is that the owner of Standard, Chateau Marmont is buying the hotel anywayz...then maybe things will liven up, and become less fascist!! CAA Pros: Pool Cons: Fascist Manager, Terrible Customer Service, No Security

Though the hotel scored some points for some beautiful decorations and marketing (website pictures made me think I was heading into the lap of luxury...wrong!), they decided to go cheap on the important stuff, mainly the bed is hard as a rock, the restaurant has exactly three items on the dinner menu, and the bathroom reminds me of those little crates dairy farms put veal calves into so they can't turn around. It looks like the owner decided to redecorate and changed his mind about a third of the way into the project. Also, the front desk staff seems very indifferent and has made it clear in their tone and attitude that they are not a service-oriented hotel. The only thing that has not made this stay a wash is the lovely Italian restaurant next door - La Bella Cucina. Next time I will stay at a chain, which is what I should have done in the first place.

Were in LA for a conference and had to split expenses with a girlfriend. When I was checking in, another coworker was checking out. She absoulutely hated it! We loved it. It's as if you stepped back in time 50 years. The bathroom mirror is medicine cabinet small and you have to take turns putting on your makeup. The beds were comfortable and the room was clean. We didn't see any of the other rooms however, so maybe we got lucky.It does appear to be a bit of a fire trap however, and I was happy to be on a low floor. If you need to read or see anything after the sun goes down, you're in trouble and will need a flashlight! Maybe 30 watt bulbs in the three lamps at most!

I heard Figueroa Hotel referred to as the "ghetto hotel." The hallways to the rooms were very dingy and do not at all leave one feeling comfortable and like they are entering a "nice" hotel. We were scared to see our room, and were not at all impressed. Nothing unique or artsy about the rooms, just old and funky and dusty smelling. I did like the lobby and pool area. We spent as little time as possible in our room. For the cost, it was definitely not worth it. We would not stay there again, and I talked to others who felt the same.

Hotel is so very different than it appears from outside. Once inside your senses are exploding with adventure of a far away place. Highly recomended if you are looking to stay in someplace different and intersting.