My husband and I spent three nights at the LAX Westin 12/2003. Overall, it was a terrific hotel and we would definitely return provided we received the same rate. We paid $62 per night on hotwire.com and it was worth every penny.

Here is our overview:
~ Airport Shuttle: We were told the airport shuttle runs every 20 minutes. We each proceeded to the Red shuttle area at our terminal and were each picked up promptly (we flew in on separate flights). Depending on time of day, the shuttle was quick. I had a total of three passengers on my shuttle at 7:30 PM, but my husband had several passengers at multiple pickups throughout the various terminals on his shuttle that afternoon.

~ Check-in: We checked in at separate times due to flights and job schedules. My husband checked in first and made sure my name was on the reservation with Westin so that I could receive a key when I arrived later that evening. When I arrived, I told them my name and gave them a photo ID. No problem. The front desk staff was smiling and friendly.

~ Room: Room was very nice and clean upon arrival. Large king size bed with the Heavenly mattress/linens/etc was very nice. We both loved the Heavenly shower, and the curved shower curtain rod was a nice touch, provided a little more space in the bathtub. Hot water was quick to come through the faucet. The desk was spacious and provided ample storage. The large tv that swiveled was a plus, but we did not partake in the minibar provided underneath the television (locked with key available at checkin; we did not choose to receive the key). The lounge chair was extremely comfortable and could easily be slept in if you were tired when watching television! We used the safe in the closet with a four-digit code, and I used the hairdryer (1850 watt) a few times. I did not use the iron and ironing board in the closet.

~ Lighting: Our room faced south, so we had the morning sunrise. Because the drapes are so thick, we had no problems with unwanted sunlight. The room had two small lamps on each side of the bed, one floor lamp by the relaxing chair, and one lamp on the desk. The entry area by the door had a light in the ceiling.

~ View from room: Our view was of one of the runways of LAX. Because my husband loves airplanes (and I do too), we thoroughly enjoyed watching 747s land just outside our window.

~ Noise in room: Noise was not a problem at all. We did hear nearby dogs barking at night (maybe "guard dogs" for nearby industrial area businesses), so we just double checked the two windows that could open and turned the fan up on the thermostat control to make more air noise. This remedied the little noise we could hear occasionally outside.

~ Westin Workout: I worked out in the workout facility on the third floor three separate mornings. There were five treadmills, two "seatback" bicycles, two "regular" bicycles, one stairmaster, and three "cross trainers". All were the nice digital kind, and also had Cardio Theatre with flatscreen tv and earphones provided. The treadmills also had the handgrip for heartrate. The workout facility also had weight machines, big balls, and other items. A sauna was located at the back of the room (I did not use it) as well as restroom facilities. A nice touch to the facilities were the shower and basic toiletry supplies (shaving cream, deoderant, razors, and hair spray). These were in addition to the conditioning shampoo that you could also find in your room (also available in the changing facilities of the workout area).

~ Pool: looked nice, but was closed for maintenance. The workout facility overlooked the pool area.

~ Location of hotel: Obviously, very close to airport. Walking distance to McDonald's, Denny's, Subway, and TacoBell/PizzaHut. Due to Westin restaurant prices, we ate outside the hotel. There was also a Payless Car Rental a block away (which we used) as well as a Thrifty Car Rental. Access to the 405 (highway) was two blocks away. However, a cab driver did inform my husband that it was not in the best of places. Being cautious travelers like we always are, we kept that in mind.

~ Checkout: There was no "checkout invoice" left under our door, so we had to check out in person with the front desk. Our only charge was the $2 toll-free (800) phone call we made using a calling card. The price we paid with Hotwire did not show up, so it looks like our total bill was $2 for three nights.

~ Concierge: I'm not sure if it was the concierge, but someone who works at the small desk by the lobby door recommended the VIP tours. They explained the tours to me, answered my questions, and said they could set it up. We ended up calling to set up the tour ourself due to specific needs, and enjoyed the VIP tour recommended to us.

Concerns:
~ Incident: We checked in on Wednesday with scheduled (prepaid) checkout on Saturday. We returned to the room on Friday night to find our room keys not working. We called the front desk from a house phone near the elevators and a male employee showed up within ten minutes. He let us in the room and called back to the front desk (from our room) to let them know. However, their computer system showed that our room was empty that night. We told the man we had checked in Wednesday and showed him a printout of our Hotwire documentation. He told us that booking through Hotwire should not make a difference with the computer. The front desk checked to see who was in our room the night before, but the computer showed it to be unoccupied. The front desk then searched for our last name, but had no record of us. The man obviously knew someone had been in there the night before due to clothes in the closet, but of course we had no proof they were our clothes. He left to go work with the front desk and promised to return with keys that worked later. He came back 30 minutes later with a new key. The front desk finally figured out the problem. However, it was frustrating after a long day of sightseeing to come back and have to deal with that. Plus, having no record we were ever there? They could have easily assigned our room to someone else. Just a big inconvenience, but it was remedied within an hour.

~ Incident: I used the Westin workout on Thursday and Friday mornings with no problem. However, when I arrived to workout at 7:55 Saturday morning, a lady informed me that none of the treadmills or bikes were working and she had already called using the phone (no numbers to dial, just pick up the phone). We assumed a breaker had been blown (or something) since these were all "electronic" machines that were not working. After I was there ten minutes and nobody had shown up still, she suggested I call. Another ten minutes, and nobody had shown up (except more guests to work out), I decided to walk to the front desk. After waiting in line, I asked. They said someone was on their way up. I returned to the workout room and waited another 15 minutes. Two calls and one in-person request... and still no Westin employee showed up. Finally, another guest came in and figured out that the machines were actually TURNED OFF, so we went between the machine and the wall and turned on each one. (I never even thought to check the power switch on all the machines - they had all been turned on the previous mornings!) So, I did about 45 minutes on the treadmill and then left. However, during the entire time I was in the workout area, no Westin representative ever showed up. We were told it was "engineering" looking into the problem.
Two suggestions for Westin:
~ Assign an employee to turn on the machines in the morning if someone is turning them off in the evening.
~ Have a list of "what to do if..." for the front desk. If the front desk would have just said "have you checked the power switch on the back of the machine by the floor" then I would have gladly looked for that.
My concern is not so much with the machines being turned off, but the Westin not sending an employee to the workout room after two phone requests (from two different guests) and one in-person request. Of course, I left at 9:10, so someone may have come after that to look at the situation, but the initial phone call by the other guest was made at 7:50. I feel a four-star hotel should have prompter service than that.

Again, overall, this was a wonderful hotel and well worth the rate we paid. It was also our first Westin experience, and I expect we will return to another Westin property.

Recommended: Yes