Shelter Hotel Los Angeles

All I can say is, "WOW"! Don't stay here with your dogs unless you want the LAPD knocking at your door!I booked a room through [...] for a one night stay at the Shelter Hotel in Los Angeles. From the website, it looked like an okay spot for one night, and they take pets, so their website says...Well, after a grueling 3 1/2 hour drive in Friday traffic in L.A., we were ready to get into our room, and decompress for 10 minutes before we had to get ready to head out for our event. But...not so fast! We were, rudely, informed upon check-in that they had no record of our reservation. I thought that was interesting, since I was holding the confirmation letter from [...] in my hand. Well, a quick check-in it was not, but no problem; we worked it out, and the hotel did offer to give us a better rate for our trouble. We proceeded to unload the car, hustle our gear, ourselves, and our dogs up to the room. Well, after a long drive, no doubt everyone needed to relieve themselves, dogs included! We took the dogs out front to pee, and after returning to the room, got a phone call from [...], at the front desk. He proceeds to inform us that we can't have our dogs there because they are over 20 lbs. If we want to stay, we are going to have to pay another $60! Well, I was shocked, as nowhere in any of the literature about the hotel either on Orbitz, or the Shelter's own website was this indicated. All that it says is that they take pets. I told this to [...], and he went round and round with me. I asked him to simply show me somewhere that a weight limitation was indicated, and he couldn't do it. He then told us if we didn't pay $50, we had to leave. Well, the first time he said $60. Now which was it, $50 or $60? It was really starting to feel like an arbitrary request, as his amount requested, changed. I refused, until he could present me with facts, which I tell him is a reasonable request. Well, then Rick threatens to call the cops, and hangs-up. Now, mind you, we had nowhere else to go at this juncture, it's now after 8:00 p.m., we have an event to attend, and really, how the hell am I going to find another hotel that "takes pets"? I got the phone number of the GM of the hotel, [...], and left him a detailed message hoping to get some kind of assistance with the situation, but to this day have heard nothing from him! We continued getting ready, and 30-40 minutes later, get a knock at the door. It's the LAPD!!!! I am asked out into the hallway, where the police proceed to tell me that they have been requested to remove us from the property! I am really apalled at this point, and state my case. They were very nice, and completely understood my plight. They agreed to mediate the situation, as we had nowhere else to go! So, I am escorted down to the lobby by the LAPD to work something out! Now mind you, kind reader, I am extremely embarrassed by this! There are other people in the lobby, and even though I knew that I was in the right, I felt like a real chump! At the desk, [...] was nothing shy of a joke! I asked him, again, to show me something, anything that states that they only take pets that are 20 lbs or less. Again, he can't. I then ask him if they have a scale to weigh pets in on upon arrival, or if he is capable of making a weight judgment by just "eyeballing" it. What do you think his reply was? "Duh..."! I asked him, again, for the phone number of the GM, and also his first and last name. Rick says, "I don't know how to say his last name". I am thinking, "Wow, what kind of Mickey Mouse operation are they running here?". Well, I just want to be over this fiasco, and get on with my night, so the police ask me if I will agree to pay the $50 now, and work on getting reimbursed at a later date. They tell [...], that if I do this, he must let us stay. I, reluctantly, agree (how easy will it be to get my money back at a later date)? So, apparently, we have reached an agreement, albeit I wil...

I have never felt the overwhelming need to review a hotel stay prior to this one, but felt obligated to share our experience. THE GOOD: Staff was friendly and the location is close to the attractions so it’s convenient. Free garage parking and free internet were useful. THE BAD: According to their description the rooms have already completed renovations while the pool and lobby were still in the process so I felt comfortable booking it. When we arrived I got the impression it was a converted apartment building. The room was very basic in that it had a bed, night stands, standard desk, large tv, and a curtain- no problem. We weren't planning on staying in the room much other than for sleeping and showering so that was fine with us. However, this already renovated room was totally lacking, I’m sorry to say. Where maybe a closet once was, there was now no rod, no hangers, no hooks, no closet door. Basically it’s just a nook now. And from the looks of it, no plans on putting anything there. Bathroom- no towel rods, hooks, or shelves to put anything. It did look remodeled, but no place to put anything. Oh, and the floor-I had walked barefoot on the dark hardwood floor in the main room for about 10 minutes before showering. Big mistake. The washcloth was dark brown after I washed the bottoms on my feet! Ewwh! They obviously don't wash the floors. We wondered what else isn't getting cleaned? The bed was comfortable but 2 of the 3 nights we found long black hair within the sheets. When we turned off the light I asked my wife, "why isn't it dark in here?" That is because there was a good 1/4" gap between the door and the jamb on not just the floor side but also the lock side. You could pass a Ritz cracker through the side of the door without making any crumbs. NO EXAGERATION! They just inserted a shim so the door would latch. I could actually see people getting on and off the elevator from our bed and hear their conversations. How lovely. Totally unacceptable. And the walls truly are paper thin as other reviewers mention. Example- my wife said I was receiving an SMS while I was in the bathroom as we both heard the vibrations coming from the phone. Problem was both our phones were turned off at the time. Yep, it was from the neighbor’s room. Again, NO EXAGERATION. Thank God we had ear plugs which we always travel with just in case. We understand every hotel is going to have some level of noise, but this really was ridiculous. Other rooms’ tv noise were unusually noticeable. They still don’t have an ice machine but if you ask them, they have a store bought bag stashed somewhere and they will give you some unless they are out. They did offer to send someone to a store if we wanted to wait for it. Not critical but something to be aware of. My wife is a long time flight attendant and has stayed in thousands of hotels with plenty of stories and said this place ranks right up there with the “Never Again” places. Our recommendation is to stay somewhere else for the basic needs of cleanliness, acceptable level of noise and, at the very least, privacy from the corridor patrons.

This place is a dump. Filthy dirty. Don't be fooled by the photos that look like this hotel is a cool and contemporary. It was probably remodeled 5 years ago or so and has NOT been maintained well. Scratched floors, dirty walls, hair in bedding, sticky rings on the night stand, dirty grout upon bathroom tiles, filthy bathroom walls and baseboards. I was so disgusted upon checking in at 5:30 for what should have been a relaxing evening that I walked over to Starbucks and worked until they closed at 10:00. Bolted out the door minutes after waking up. Nice job with materials on renovation. Helpful staff. Just dirty. Also, no blow dryer in the room and no box do tissues in the room. Very bad experience.

Having bought my hotel stay, I arrived and was subsequently told that I had to pay extra for this and that - everything that anyone would normally expect to be included. I did not expect much from this cheap hotel, but it was worse than i expected.

The hotel is still going through renovations, but that wasn't the problem. The staff were friendly and helpful, too. So that wasn't the problem either. This hotel seems to have been an apartment building converted to a hotel. Their attempt to turn it into a boutique tyoe hotel fails miserably. The guest in the room above me woke me up around 9 am and I could feel and hear the footsteps above me all morning until I left the room. I don't understand how people can have such a heavy foot, know they have uncarpeted floors, and still move back and forth in such a small room all morning long. The cleaning staff were just as noisy. If they're cleaning the room next to you, you can hear the banging, the moving, chatter, etc... All in all, it wasn't a quiet hotel. It was very noisy and made my stay ther rather uncomfortable. I would never stay there again.

i am traveling there, the hotel is clean, good for the price they charged

The bed was very comfortable. I was not in the room must. It was a good hotel but they need an ice machine as well as room service or a locate diner that deliver to them.

This place is worth what you pay for. At a prime location located in Koreatown, just two blocks from Wilshire Blvd where most business are located, this hotel provides a really convenient access to the city. However, it is quite far from most locations that worth a visit (like conference centers and shopping). Despite the okay location, the amenities provided in this hotel is really little. Should be called a minimalist hotel. There is no hair dryer, no coffee machine... it's easier just to list the things they have rather than things they should have but don't. The room is super spacious, but the lack of things makes it look not so good. There's only a bed, a TV and a few tables with lamps on them. Nothing else. The bathroom doesn't even have a towel hanger. The hotel is not soundproof as mentioned by other reviewers - I was wakened at 2am by the bark of a dog in some other distant room. Also, the elevator produces very loud noise. (It actually looks like a 80's elevator, and the maintaince tag on it says it was on a 60-day temporary license which already expired three months before my stay.) Don't ask anyone in this hotel about staff and service - so far I have only seen the receptionist (and it's the same person whenever I peeked into the lobby). This hotel has almost NO staff. Don't expect any service except for cleaning - I don't think they have anyone to handle all that. After all, if you are only expecting a very simple hotel located not far from LA, this is a place to choose. If you expect anything more than bath, sleep and TV, then maybe pay some more for a better chain around the area.

fresh renovated, but the improvement of service is needed

Staff are amazing and really go out of their way to make your stay as comfortable as possible. HOWEVER, the sound in this place is the worst I've ever experienced, I hardly slept. It sounds like they have designed it so that sound effectively runs through as much of the building as possible. I was woken up every 30 minutes or so during the night just fromt he people upstairs walking around (it didn't help they were obviously drunk and had a huge fight that left me genuinely scared). Whenever the hotel goers upstairs turned on the water a loud 'thud' would make me jump. Those next door sounded like they were talking directly into an echoey vent that led to my room. I could hear them as though they were right next to me, or perhaps somewhat amplified at times! The little necessities were missing. No hand soap for the basin, only one hook to hang towels on, when I booked there was an icon for a hair drier which did not exist when I got there. The area is fine enough but there was nothing there for me. There isn't much to see there and I found it difficult as much of the signage was in Korean and in the mornings I just wanted to get a coffee and a bite but there wasn't anywhere nearby that I could find. The noise levels were just so atrocious I would say don't stay here if you are planning on sleeping.