LAX Hilton--Efficient, but Nothing Special
Written: Jan 31 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Efficiently run, comfortable, no horrible surprises
Cons: Difficult parking, nothing special, food variety inconsistent
The Bottom Line: A good hotel for business travelers and others who need to be near an airport
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| mrlarry's Full Review: Hilton Lax Airport and Towers |
I just got back from my second visit to the Hilton at LAX. Both stays were to attend a professional association weekend meeting. The experiences were, well, okay. If you are looking for clean, reliable lodgings near the airport, you’ll do fine. If you’re looking for a hotel experience you will fondly remember, you might want to look elsewhere.
Start of the Experience
Be prepared to park in the bowels of the Earth. If you self-park, you will have to go down four levels of steep, narrow, descending driveways.
The lobby is attractive, but not really spacious. Seating is comfortable. We had to have many of our displays on different levels which made going to see everything a little inconvenient. Not a big deal to me, but some people weren’t really happy about it..
Check-in was slow because of long lines. The desk people were efficient and friendly. The computer system seemed to work all the time. Hilton allows you to earn both airline miles and Hilton honor points with the same stay. If you don’t plan to use the honor points, you can exchange them for e-bay anything points which is what I probably will do.
While I was checking in, servers came to offer sparkling cider and cookies which made the wait a little more palatable.
The Room
Nothing special here. I stayed in a room with two full beds (I was sharing with another attendee). The bed was comfortable and there was enough room to maneuver. The closet and dresser were adequate, but not spacious. Same with the bathroom.
One thing I did appreciate was that the television had more channels than other hotels I had been to. Besides the usual network fare, we had HBO, Showtime, PBS, A&E, CNN, Fox News, Headline News, and quite a few others. The television was placed, however, so that it was difficult for one of the beds to see it and the layout of the room made it difficult to move.
There was an ironing board and an iron as well as a clock radio. Pretty standard fare.
My organization paid $51 a night per person per double room occupancy and that included parking. We all know that hotel rates vary widely. I looked on the website and found that similar rooms go from $140 to $180 for about two weeks ahead. Parking is about $12 a day, though I didn’t pay it.
Food
I experienced three types of food service at the Hilton–a banquet, the restaurant, and food brought to meeting rooms.
The banquet sported a variety of foods, most of them quite tasty, though not necessarily extraordinary. We had Italian, Mexican, Chinese, and American available. It was more than adequate.
The restaurant food was decent, but not extraordinary. Buffets were available for all meals. Buffet prices were in the $15 range and a hamburger cost about $10, to give you an idea. I found the breakfast buffet lacking as it did not have toast available. Most food was served hot. Entrees looked good and my friends made positive comments, though I did not have any myself.
The food brought to meeting rooms was very uninspiring. Lunch was the usual salad, one type of soup, condiments, sandwich makings, and dessert. There wasn’t much variety. The breakfast brought to meeting rooms was actually better than the breakfast buffet in the restaurant and sported more variety. Hot and cold cereal, toast, breakfast meats and potatoes, and other foods were available.
Food service attendants were pleasant and helpful.
Other observations
I don’t know if it was just the weekends I was there, but I was cold much of the time when I was in the public areas.
Acoustics in the main ballroom were very good. I have a hearing processing problem, but I could hear everything. Same in the meeting room.
The hotel had a business center with computers, fax, and all the rest. There were, of course, fees to use them. I can’t speak from experience using the center because our organization had its own.
Toll free calls (800) are free from your room while local calls cost $1. Therefore, for me it would actually be cheaper to use my calling card to make a call across the street rather than just to dial it.
The hotel has a 24 Hour Fitness Center in the basement. There is an extra fee to use it.
There was a small, garden variety gift shop which stocked the usual items you’d expect in a hotel. Nothing special and no other shops in the hotel.
Overall
The Hilton is an efficient, generally well-run airport style hotel. It works as a crash pad for the beginning or end of a trip (though there is a Super 8 around the corner if you’re watching your pennies and a crash pad is all you need). It does well for a meeting or convention. I guess if you’re on a trip and won’t be in the hotel much, it’s fine.
If you want a hotel to be a memorable part of your travel experience, this isn’t the one to stay at.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
mrlarry
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Member: Larry Wiener
Location: Alhambra CA
Reviews written: 64
Trusted by: 14 members
About Me:
II'm a black-belt bargain hunter. Check on my e-book at www.betterbudgeting.com/
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