Best Western Plus South Bay Hotel — Hotel in Lawndale

Hotel aspires to moderate-plus status; fails to make it. Watch Best Western Rewards program for bait-and-switch tactics Room was decently clean, presents as a basic 2- star property, not the 3-stars they imagine. Mattress in need of replacement, bathroom and furnishing clean but not updated from original refurbishments. Area somewhat sketchy, rooms very noisy.

This property represents and prices itself as a competitor to Hilton Hampton and Marriott business traveler products but does nothing to distinguish itself in value-for-money beyond basic grade--if not inferior--Best Western offerings. Vinyl flooring in hallways and common areas was worn out and had been replaced in some areas, so the general impression was that of a work in progress. Maid staff and front desk staff personable and efficient.

There had clearly been a token effort at remodeling what appeared to be an older Best Western property, with the plan apparently being to make this hotel competitive with newer business-focused accommodations within a radius of LAX airport. A large, new sign looked out of place here, given the poor paint work, original bathroom tiling and room furniture, which added together, gave the impression of being a partial cosmetic upgrade done on the cheap. We paid an allegedly discounted $139/night, tax included. $89 would have been the correct value-for-money at this facility.

Few power outlets were available for charging personal electronics, no USB ports at all, and certainly not enough 110v outlets. TV was a surprisingly new 4k Samsung, but the cable offerings were underwhelming. WIFI was decently fast, if not blazing. Coffee, fridge, soap and amenities reasonably nice, although bath dispensers stingy. Linens moderate quality but oddly the duvets were warm enough for a cold January night in Yellowknife; even with the the A/C down to 62 f (16 c), we roasted.

Free parking, area was nicely and brightly lit for security. That's essential because this section of Lawndale is reportedly a high risk neighborhood.

Computer room and 2 elevators are available.

The free breakfast was closer-to-premium experience, offered from 6A-10a. Service staff kept food items hot and fresh and worked hard to maintain an amply supply of items. The breakfast room is compact so the crush of guests felt a bit like the frenetic flow of the nearby 405 freeway. There were rarely any empty tables; we took our food to our room.

The outdoor pool and spa were very clean and located in a secluded enclosure, though the pool was cold and the spa jets were not working properly.

We won't return to this property for a couple of reasons; first, the mattress was long past its replacement date. It was over-soft and worn; our bodies carved small canyons overnight and finding a comfortable position proved difficult. The other issue was noise. There seems to be little sound insulation; you could clearly hear conversations on all sides of our room; when room doors a floor away opened and closed, we looked up because it sounded like our door was being opened. Our neighbors were deep in an increasingly vocal domestic disturbance when we left. We notified the front desk attendant, who immediately took care of the problem.

Beware: If you do not use or have Best Western's discount program, advertised prices online are not available. I signed up for the program, got what I believed was the correct price, only to find I was charged more than what I thought I had agreed to. While ultimately the fault was mine--caveat emptor. The online reservation process felt like carnival sideshow basketball; it seems intentionally designed to fool you and keep you from getting the best available discount. It felt like bait and switch.

The other issue with pricing is Lawndale's confiscatory transient occupancy tax, (TOT). Such taxes are not especially transparent through the online reservation process and that leads to some nasty surprises at check-in. For us, the room tax alone amounted to nearly $30 a night. Check the tax...

This hotel was absolutely awesome! From check-in, the staff was fantastic! Did not encounter 1 rude person the whole 3 days we were here. It is located in the heart of a shoppers paradise. Walmart, Target, Dollar Tree, Smart & Final, Walgreens, CVS, and many more stores within 2 miles from the place. Multiple fast food and restaurants all around. We saw Indian, Mexican, Chinese, sushi, steak, and quite a few others within walking distance. The rooms were spacious, and the beds were comfortable. Very clean, fresh towels in the room, and when we asked, they brought more. Everything was super clean. I liked that we could fully open our room window. It helped with the humidity in the room. The rooms did feel a bit humid, but it was very overcast outside, so that could have been why. Plus, my kids swimming and leaving wet towels on the floor could have contributed, ha ha. The pool was very clean, water was cold but it was only 72° outside. The hot tub was more lukewarm, so not to our liking, but the kids didn't mind. They just loved the jets making bubbles. They went from pool to hot tub the whole time. Even when we asked, someone brought us towels to the pool area. The breakfast was absolutely wonderful. Everything you could want for breakfast. Bonus they had banana nut batter for waffles!!! They were amazing! All the cooked food was fresh, not overcooked and kept full. Eggs, Sausage, potatoes (they were cooked to perfection), oatmeal with toppings, fresh fruit, toast, english muffins, bagels, muffins, yogurt with toppings, boiled eggs, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, and great juices. Of course, there are plenty of plates, bowls, silverware, and condiments. The place is very well lit, even at night. Parking was ample and seemed to have a lot of Handicapped parking. The lobby was very decorated for Halloween. We loved it! The kids were amazed with all the great decor. This hotel was a jewel, and we look forward to going back just for a fun visit. Thank you to the staff on duty from 10/4 to 10/6/2024, you all...

This best western is discriminatory, ableist and downright incompetent.

I went here with my school's debate team on October 1 and we had reserved the ADA room weeks in advance for one of our team members. They just decided to give away his room (which was apparently the ONLY ADA ROOM they bother having).

While this gross negligence is bad enough, they also made no attempt to fix their mistake, going so far as suggesting that WE buy our teammate a shower seat with our own money so he can take a shower and be clean, and tried to make the baseless claim that their mistake was somehow our fault. After all, as they told us, there was a BadBunny concert in town, so we have to understand. Sure. There was no manager on duty, and nobody in charge could even be reached until the next day. Not like we have a teammate with nowhere to sleep in the meantime :)

Another cute way this place dug their hole deeper: despite promising to refund us for 3 rooms, we were still charged for 5 of the 6 reserved rooms. Including the unused room. Wow.

The final (so far) nail in the coffin was them calling us asking us to take down our teammate's review because they didn't like how it made them look. Pro tip idiots: if you don't want to be called discriminatory, simply don't be discriminatory!!! Don't give away the only accessible room you have! Try even a little bit to fix your mistakes instead of placing the blame and burden on your customers, who suddenly have no place to sleep.

In fact, this place was so unaccommodating that my teammate had to go to an entirely different hotel last minute. They simply could not muster the ability to create an environment suitable for a person in a wheelchair.

In other news, the ceiling of our bathroom leaked the entire night and I was eaten alive by mosquitos in my room.

My entire school is deeply disgusted by the discrimination and lack of professionalism from this best western. The entire experience was deeply horrible and upsetting and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. Never...