Miyako Hotel Los Angeles, Los Angeles

My husband and I stayed here after staying at the Westin Bonaventure and enjoyed it much more. The hotel was clean, the staff was friendly, the bottled water available in the room was affordably priced, the bed was comfy, the hotel is close to mass transit, the food located around the hotel was FABULOUS (there's a Pinkberry within walking distance). I could go on, but you get my drift. We'll be heading back to LA again next year and will be going back! Also, the Kyoto Grand Gardens located just around the corner was priced twice as much as the Miyako. In the interest of our finances, we didn't change and we couldn't have been more pleased! There's a great little bakery around the corner from the hotel with THE BEST am treats to get you going, and a Starbucks, too, in case that's your things. Parking at the hotel is on the pricier side to me, but they allow in and out. You may be able to do better in that respect, but we didn't look.

We were treated very well here. They even gave us a discount because we had never been there before.

The Miyako Hotel was the worst hotel I have ever stayed in, and I really hate to say that because it didn't have to be. I blame the staff who cared little for the comfort of guests, and acted as if having to interact with patrons was a big interruption to their casual conversations. My room had no heat, and I tried to switch rooms a few times, to no avail. They insisted on fixing the furnace, which was fine when the heat first stopped working, but was nonsensical by the third time! The staff even sent the bellman one morning when I woke up freezing -- and he tried to make up an excuse by saying that I didn't know how to use a thermostat, which was absolutely wrong and insulting. I gave up asking for a new room, and sat in coffee shops for warmth. LA had unusually cold temps, but that's still no excuse for not having a functional heater. To make matters worse, my room smelled like mildew and old trash. I should have switched rooms just for that (they ignored that request too), but I discovered by wandering around that the ENTIRE hotel had an old, unclean smell to it, like trash, cigarettes, and mildew. Housekeeping comes by early, and if you are not ready for them by 10:30am, they stick a nasty-gram under your door. Of course, I wasn't planning to be in my room that much, considering the cold and the smell, but on the two occasions I decided to return after breakfast to make a phone call and pick up some items, they let me know that I was not welcome to linger. Also, there were only two pillows on the bed, no extra blanket, and I could not get more when I asked the housekeeping staff. Parking is not easy, but be careful! The front desk will tell you it's cheaper to park with them, but if you park in the Little Toyko Mall parking garage, which is the SAME BUILDING, they will charge you less than half of what the Miyako charges. It cost me $62 for 8 days of parking; the Miyako was going to charge me $136 ($17/day for self park, $24/day for valet). What makes me frustrated most about the stay is not the poor service at the front desk, but the lost opportunity. The hotel could have had so much to offer. The shiatsu massage was one of the best I've ever had, though the spa was dirty and the reception was not very helpful and seemed stressed. The cafe in the lobby was convenient and offered good food and service. Even the gift shop clerk was friendly and nice. Best of all was the location -- in the heart of Little Toyko, it's close to public transportation, downtown activities, a huge selection of restaurants, and has a wonderful view of city hall. I enjoy the Japanese culture and was looking forward to this visit. It's a shame that the Miyako Hotel had such poor execution. I am a quiet, respectful guest who never complains and I travel frequently on business. This is the first time I felt motivated to write a review and warn others. My recommendation: Stay here for the location, the local restaurants, and the shiatsu massage. Have a high tolerance for the cold and damp, and be able to ignore bad smells and awful service. The rates aren't low enough to account for the poor treatment of guests. And despite what I read, I did not encounter any language problems, only attitudinal.

I haven't ever stayed at the actual hotel before, but I go to the spa. The therapists have incredible technique and really gives you the authentic shiatsu massage. If your are a guest you get a discount.

I stayed there from 1-4-08 to 1-6-08, and I have to tell you this was my worse hotel experience. First, i got there in the middle of a torrential rain, and was soaking wet when I got there. they have no shuttle from the Union Station, nor do they offer one, so I had to walk all the way there. When I checked in, as dripping as I was, no one offered me any towels, nor any way to dry my clothes (they have washers & dryers, but no one made mention of this to me). After going to my room, I noticed that the rooms have a DVD player in them (no one mentioned this either), with instructions on how to obtain a rental. I went to the Front Desk and asked about a rental, and they sent me across the street to Paradise Video to rent a DVD. After going across the street (still torrential rain coming down), they store tells me they ONLY carry Japanese DVD's. No English at all. Of course when I got back to the hotel the Front Desk looked surprised, and I found out later it was because they understood very little English. They had no complimentary newspaper (though they had Japanese newspapers at the Front Desk, all others were outside in the machine). They have NOTHING complimentary, and they even tried to close the washer/dryer room at their normal time (10:00 p.m.), even though it was still pouring outside (couldn't dry my clothes). The Fitness Center charges $20 to use the facilities, and there was nothing the hotel wanted or offered to do for me, even though I stated my grievances with them as well. There were no English food places in the area except for Subway & Togos sandwich Shops. the problem with that was no one in the hotel knew this, and I didn't find out until I had walked all around in the rain (for 20 mins) until I found them. this hotel is very English "Unfriendly"!!! If you aren't Japanese, you have nothing coming. Nothing wrong with the culture, but their site should state this information, and the Staff should at least know what's going on around there. This hotel is listed as a 3 Star Hotel, but it is barely a 2 Star. I had the worse time of my life there.

We stayed in the tokyo room, which i HIGHLY suggest! it is wonderful! I loved the fact it was right in the heart of little tokyo! From the moment we drove in, we were treated with the most hospitality i have ever received! Even the front desk was amazing! I did not want to leave! My only regret is not staying longer!!!!!!

The hotel is in very good location. Rooms are very clean and new. However, you must check the charges carefully when you check out the hotel.

It's in the 'little Tokyo' section on Los Angeles. Very unique, very pretty, a whole lot of fun! The rooms service was great and the beds are very comfortable!

What I like about it was that it was located central to other business and interesting sites (businesses) like Placita Olvera, Downtown Markert, Museums, and other entertaments. What we didn't like was the parking they don't have enough parking in their hotel and around there their was alot of homeless people and it would had been nice if we were told about it, because the issue was there was not alot of parking and you had to park outside of the hotel. Overall the stay was good.

Stayed over spring-break (3/7/05 - 3/10/05) and hotels.com booked us for a 1 person room instead of a 2 person room and the friendly staff corrected this for us within minutes. The staff at the restaurant and at the front desk were alway very helpful and pleasant. The hotel is very clean and visually appealing. It's a great value if you're in LA and you get can virtually anywhere with the Metro buses and light rail. This hotel is only a short walk up the street from the Meto Light Rail Civic Station - easy acess to many other great spots in LA. This hotel is located in northern Little Tokyo and all of Little Tokyo's major locations are just a short walk from the Miyako. Overall we were VERY happy with this hotel and plan to stay there again later this summer!