Kimpton Hotel Wilshire

We stayed here between Christmas and the New Year. We decided to splurge on the Penthouse, which is a great space with one major issue: elevator noise. The penthouse is on the top floor of the hotel, right next to the roof garden/pool/bar, but also right next to the elevator machinery. Every time one of the elevators would start, run or stop, the machinery would make noise. It was by no means a deafening noise, but loud enough to be disturbing and to keep us awake at night. Luckily, the elevators stop being used much during the middle of the night so we were able to get some sleep then. I searched for other penthouse reviews on here but no one had mentioned the elevator noise. We complained about it twice to the front desk, while also knowing that that they could not really do anything about it. (All the staff we interacted with were excellent, though.) On the plus side, the penthouse has a huge outdoor patio (photo below) and a nice living room that can also open onto the patio during nice weather. Another plus here was a daily happy hour in the lobby with a free beverage such as a glass of wine. When we booked this, we thought we were booking the Kimpton Palomar in Westwood, which is also on Wilshire and where we had stayed once before. But we ended up really enjoying the location of this one more than the Westwood location. We were able to walk to the L.A. County Museum of Art, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, and places like the Grove shopping center and the Holocaust Museum. We also walked to the Beverly Center and parts of Beverly Hills. Due to the presence of street people in the area we would not have done much walking at night, but there were several very good casual restaurants close by (The Alchemist Cafe, Tawanna Thai, and Rocco's Pizza). We will definitely stay here again-- just not in the Penthouse. Read less

I am developing a travel blog that will cover hotels, restaurants and travel. I will be posting no more than 5 Pros and 5 Cons. All reviews will be candid and well-researched. Please Note: We were lucky to meet the new GM for the hotel who was very cordial. She sent fruit to our room before we came back from Palm Springs. I am absolutely certain she will turn this small boutique Kimpton into a 5 star property! Pros: **Mid-Wilshire location which is not far from West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. **Excellent value for the area. Used IHG points. **Modern but small check-in area and downstairs. Amazing bathroom with glassed-in shower. **Personable service by the front desk person who wear round gold glasses and the valets, Silvio and Bryan--thank you so much! **Some of the breakfast items very tasty and excellent coffee. Cons: **The area is experiencing lots of construction and blocked off roads. ** Very high daily amenity and parking costs. **Confusion about how much breakfast should be and the continental was taken away which was promised to Platinum Elite IHG members! **Business area is spacious but no fruit and coffee not always hot. Read less

We stayed here for 8 nights in November and the overall experience was really great. Starting with a very warm welcome at the reception, the staff throughout our stay was always very friendly, helpful and attentive. A very good touch was the buffet breakfast at the rooftop, which is complimentary for all guests. Very relaxed atmoshpere up there with awesome views. The choice was not big, but of very good quality, definitely not the standard American hotel breakfast. The room was of good size with a big bathroom, a comfy bed and enough space for our luggage. We also liked the design of the decor troughout the hotel. On the second floor, there is a nice communal space, where they offer free coffee and tea all day long, and some compilmentary wine in the early evening. We will stay here again, when we come back to LA. Read less