Andaz West Hollywood
8401 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, California
(323) 656-1234
http://westhollywood.andaz.hyatt.com/
My Rating: 87%
Price Rating: $$$$
Summary of Stay: Arriving on New Years Eve with 3 friends to paint the town red. The welcome hosts checked us in quickly and ushered us to a counter with complimentary wine tasting and snacks. The lobby is fresh and hip and welcoming to guests.
I had an Andaz King Suite and my friends had Andaz View rooms. They were jealous of my room - how spacious it was with a huge entertaining space. The rooms all have views and mine was of the beautifully lit Sunset Boulevard. The spaces were all modern, minimalist and very clean. The welcome hosts checked in on us to ensure that everything was satisfactory with our rooms.
The staff were all very friendly, professional and attentive. The valet was quick and housekeeping efficient and invisible. There were many thoughtful details during the stay including a handwritten Happy New Years card and cookies on the nightstand.
The hotel also has a beautiful rooftop pool but it was too cool to use during our stay. But while up there, I noticed that even though the pool wasn’t being used, there was an attendant up there putting out towels for guests. The music was on and it would have been a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon.
With the Andaz’s location close to so many great musical venues, this hotel popular with rock stars including The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who and Blur. Little Richard lived here for over a decade and Jim Morrison called this hotel home until he was evicted. The hotel can be seen in the movies ‘Almost Famous’ and ‘This is Spinal Tap.’
Highlight of the Hotel: The rooms and suites are great and very spacious. My King Andaz Suite was perfect for entertaining. It was a corner suite with loads of windows and natural light. It included free mini-bar (non-alcoholic drinks) and snacks which we enjoyed either after a night out or before going out. There is a large bar-style table in the suites which is ideal for cocktails before heading out. Other nice points of the suites include 2 full washrooms, large closets, and tonnes of sitting space. My favourite was a chair-and-a-half in the bedroom facing the window. I curled up here and drank my morning coffee each day.
Highlight of the Stay: The nightly wine tasting and snack downstairs is a really nice touch. They had 6 California wines for us to choose from and they were very knowledgable about the wineries. It always seemed to coincide with when we were headed out - so we always stopped by. We got to meet some other cool guests and it all just had a great LA vibe.
Drawbacks: The hotel is in West Hollywood, but like most of Los Angeles, and you will need a car to get around. Some hotels have better locations and are more walkable. But as mentioned, its LA and a car really is a necessity. Beyond that, the pool area does not have a hot tub, so it would have been nice if the pool was heated to a more realistic temperature in the winter.
