Loews Hollywood Hotel

Our trip to Hollywood was great, it started off by arriving to the Loews early and our room was ready, James at the front desk was went out of his way to make sure our stay was a pleasurable experience. We had two rooms and he took care of our unique check in and out with our niece's room. I will definitely stay at the Loews again on our next trip to Hollywood. Thank you so much! Read less

Checked in about 1245 pm prior to check-in time of 4 pm and was met by the lovely James who was welcoming after being jet-lagged and overly tired. All we wanted to do was check-in, dump our bags and get something to eat. After travelling 12 hour flight and layover 6 hours we were buggered. James kindly checked us in and gave us a room with a view of the Hollywood Sign which was awesome for my son. Not so much for me as I hate heights and even the Ferris wheel scares me, but this was very kind of him to do this which made my sons stay even more appreciative. James gave us the key card & the mini bar fridge key and explained that we could use the mini bar fridge by removing the bottles and placing our our foods/drinks in there. We had a double room which was extremely clean, bright and comfortable. The pics you see on their website for a double room is exactly what it looks like including flat screen TV, hairdryer, magnified mirror with lights (this is awesome for those who wish to apply their make-up etc), shower gel, creams, shower cap, cotton wool buds). I also thought the pillows and bed were nice and soft so no complaints there. There is a power point to charge your phone or laptop on the side of the lamp by the bed and other power points on the side of the desk and by the larger lamp. If you have more than one gadget to charge, I suggest you bring along a double plug to accommodate these. However, I would use caution & to check the voltage if you are using plugs from overseas. This is in case you overload it and KA-POW it blows!!!! Although you may be just fine? We didnt use the pool but did use the Gym which had the usual elliptical, treadmills, free weights, a number of machines, swiss balls, towels, water. Although it didnt have a huge amount of weights/machines/barbells, it did the job though. The entrance to Loews is a bit tricky, if you are driving down North Highland, you will need to turn right into the entry of the Hollywood & Highland Car park, however, you will need to take a sharp right into Loews Hotel. Bear in mind, the other lane on the left is for cars exiting the car park. If you are driving from Hollywood Blvd (corner of Hollywood/Highland), just make a left at the car park entrance. If in doubt, there are traffic lights whichever way you come from. If you wish to shop, Hollywood & highland is a skip and a jump from the hotel (exit the hotel entrance on Highland and turn right). You need to watch the cars driving into the car park both ways and then cross safely to Hollywood & Highland. If you need refreshments, Loews does have restaurant, bar, kiosk for Starbucks coffee, snacks. If you prefer there is a Walgreen's store in the Hollywood & Highland complex which sell drinks, snacks, make-up, touristy gifts, batteries, slippers, sandwiches, bottled water, toiletry stuff - toilet paper, hygiene products, cough medicine. If you wish to see a pharmacist, go to CVS store along Hollywood Blvd (heading North). It is about a 3 minute walk from Walgreen's unless you get caught up with all the hype of Superman, Wonder Woman & others hassling you to take a pic and then asking for money. Walgreen's is overpriced since its bang right in the centre of the mall but very handy. If you find you dont want to walk to the mall (Hollywood & Highland), there is a 711 store across from the hotel which sell all sorts of snacks, drinks etc and a store which sells liquor a few stores along from 711. Bear in mind there are homeless people who do hang out there but then they are everywhere and harmless. There is also a a gas station next door to Loews which is fairly safe & where I have purchased items late at night. Another entry and exit from Loews Hotel to the mall is on level 3, you will find on level 3 instead of coming & going out the main entrance of the hotel is that if you go via level 3, you will walk directly into the mall. You will have to use your key card to enter Loews from level 3. I recommend California Pizza Kitchen which have reasonable priced pizza, drink etc, Johnny Rockets for burgers, fries, Wafflejack for waffles/cream/nutella & smoothies, Cantina where they sell burrito's etc. There are many restaurants/food places to choose from either in the mall or outside along Hollywood Blvd. If you ask me is it safe? Yes it is. Myself and my son (12) didnt have any issues and felt completely safe. We also hired a car and I believe parking (valet) at the hotel is around $46+ tax with in and out options at no charge. After a long day of sightseeing, we would pull into the carpark (self-parking) around 5 pm and park up until the next morning around 10 am when we were ready to leave - cost $18. We parked on level 4 in front of the escalator with no issues (vehicle being broken into...touch wood!). If you do leave, you will have to pay each time you leave. I recommend you plan to do everything you want to do that day and park up for the night. Uber/Lyft - I never used this in my home country but found this was the most convenient way to get around as a Taxi can be quite expensive. I was hesitant at first but as long as you check the details before entering, you should be fine. I also went more for the drivers who had high recommendations from customers. Always good to go with your gut instinct. We were stranded downtown as the Metro had a fire incident and we had no idea really where we were apart from knowing it was Westlake/MacArthur Park at about 5.30pm when it was dark so we used Uber. I suggest you download both the Uber/Lyft app to give you comparison of prices before confirming who you want to go with. We ordered an Uber but found he left us stranded (unsure why) but there are always others who are willing to pick up a fare. Lastly. whether to tip or not. It isnt a Kiwi thing to tip but I found the service we received was really outstanding in the sense that those we came across provided service which was helpful (information on sights) and sincere. I did tip as some people depend on tips to get by. Tipping is a personal thing I guess but if the service is fab, why not tip. James was brilliant & I highly recommend Loews to others. There was also others who helped with issues around wifi - thanks - A++ *** picture of the bottles I removed from the fridge and listed each item (this was for my reference). On check-out we placed the bottles back in the fridge although not in the right order...oops. Read less

This was a second time staying at the Loews Hollywood. First time was 5 years ago. We picked the hotel because of it's super central location in Hollywood. We wanted to immerse ourselves into the Hollywood culture and that we did. Self parking was expensive at $17.00usd for a 24 hour period with no in/out privileges. Metro station is right next door at the HIghland Mall and easy access to Universal Studios as well as Downtown. Check-in was fairly decent, but I do remember the staff being a little friendlier last time which had left a great impression...not so much this time. Hotel has a nice heated, outdoor pool Room was well appointed and we paid for a view of the Hollywood sign. Everything was fine with the room, just felt it was showing it's age and needed a little TLC....again, compared to last visit. The best feature about the hotel is the location - attached to Highland Mall and walking distance to TCL Chinese Theatre, walk of fame, Dolby theatre, Madame Tussaud wax museum to name a few. Also walking distance to Starline Tours central departure depot for various tours. We took the Celebrity Homes and Beverly Hills tour which included a free Madame Tussaud visit. Read less

The Hollywood Lowe’s is a beautiful looking hotel from outside but then you go inside. Check in was slow and getting our bags upstairs took fifteen minutes and it was a quiet time of day. Nico the concierge was pleasant and friendly but totally incompetent and worse when you told him he gave you incorrect directions he just shrugged. He told us to have lunch near the pool and when we went there the bar man told us the restaurant was closed for weeks for repairs. We wanted to go to Japan House for lunch. Nico “triple checked” on line that all was good and no need to call. Elevators were broken, directions were difficult and at the end of the journey the hostess at Japan House told us they were never open for lunch and in addition they were under renovation for several months and wouldn’t open for another month. Housekeeping was absent and only showed when we called at 3pm and complained. The renovation of our room was fine but the bathroom door was chipped as was the base of our bed. The carpet was badly stained in front of the elevator. The whole experience was second rate. Read less