Cali Inn — Hotel in Carson

I was in LA on an emergency and did not check any review on this place. Walked in and asked about the rooms and if available. The manager looked up at me with a scowl on his face like I was seriously disturbing him and the look of disapproval. No welcome, no how may help you, I know this look so I did not take it on I just wanted a place to sleep for a few hours because I anticipated I would be out for most of the time. He sent me to look at a room but there were people in it, he even gave me the key. Luckily the guests were leaving and the door was open so I got a glimpse, I paid for a room and left. When I returned later and opened the door the room kicked with such a stench, I put the AC on to cool things down a little, there was a damp spot on the floor between the bed and the fridge. Every time I walk by my foot would stick to the carpet. I opened the bedside draw to put some items in it I was greeted with a box of open condoms and wrappe! The AC blows directly on the bed with no adjustment so at some time in the night it became very uncomfortable, I took the chair and put my suitcase on it in front of the vent to redirect the airflow. The man upstairs had to be doing P90X because I could hear him; every step he took was so noisy. My left arm started to itch the first night and after the second night a rash broke , that was it, I seriously know how to rough it, I am a scuba instructor and have been in some places before. I can take a beating but this was totally ridiculous to pay for it, I stayed two nights and that was it, and he still charged for 3 ontop of that. When it was time to do a refund he charged the card instead of reversing it, leaving me with $1000.00 US less on my card because it would take 10 days for the charges reverse.||||All in all don't stay here!!!! There are many other options in Torrance which I found just by driving around, I would highly recommend Travelodge on Sepulveda Blvd. and higher up from Cali Inn there is Econolodge if you have to stay...

Pros: The room itself was clean, nice, central to LBC area and Santa Monica, near freeways, several spots to eat at nearby, room had fridge and microwave.

Cons: The biggest negative thing about this room is the light that comes in the room at night while you are trying to sleep. I've included photos that I took at 3AM, to show how bright the room is at night. There are outside lights that come on at night, that kept the room bright. I had to buy eye masks at Target in order to get any rest the following/last night there. This is the biggest flaw that they need to fix- most travelers want to get their sleep and most prefer darkened rooms- no light.

A couple other things to note:

The on/off switch for the shower light is on the outside of the shower rather than it being in the shower area. And since the light switch was by the sink, it was often mistaken as the switch that turns off the sink light.

The sink itself, when opening the faucet was very loud. So at night, you are waking up the others by using the faucet.

Also, there is no mirror at the sink, so if you want to shave or apply makeup, you have to use the closet mirrors... not a great set up.

There is no coffee pot in the room. And while they do have coffee in the lobby, it is instant coffee and not what everyone likes- this is not a huge deal but something to note if you are a coffee lover.

Pillows: only 2 per bed while most hotels will provide 4 per bed, and not...

The guy working there I think the owner was very nice .that made the room nicer just because he was so cool to us. Alot of times you get a room for the night and for some reason the owners are rude to you. . But this guy was actually pleasant . He complimented our car and it's little things like that to me that matters. No breakfast no coffee in the rooms . Has ac and our room had a shower the size of a bathtub but it was actually like for a handicap person with a removable shower head. Let me specify the bath tub . It was shaped like a tub but no side on the bathtub so you can step right it and bars to hold onto but you couldn't roll a wheelchair into the shower the showerhead I guess you could use that tho. Anyways . No pool no hot tub . Ac worked. Parking is fine. Not very loud at night. I don't recall if they have jacuzzi rooms but it did have a closet with mirrored doors but the side of the bed if you like to watch or be watched in a full length mirror. ..in a bed ..bow chicka...