citizenM Los Angeles Downtown — Hotel in Los Angeles

Response: We had to extend our reservation by 1 day, not because we were satisfied staying at this hotel but rather because there was an error with the initial reservation. Had we been given a chance we would have canceled our entire stay after the first night! As I said, before you book a stay at this hotel, Google Skidrow LA and see on Google maps how close the hotel is to that dangerous place.

We are avid international travellers, and frequent Google Reviewers, we found this hotel to be among the worst we've stayed at in North America. We tried to contact the hotel so that they would get a chance to address this issues, and they have a WhatsApp bot that is not useful at all. When I managed to get an email address to write to, my emails went unanswered for weeks and counting; they never replied.

We stayed at the CitizenM Los Angeles Downtown, and I would urge you to think twice before you book a stay:

You will likely have countless homeless people under the effect of drugs chase you around, when walking 1 or two blocks from the hotel. Just google Skidrow and see that the largest homeless encampment in the US is 1 block away from the hotel.

We experienced smell of smoke seeping through our room door and waking us up in the wee hours of the morning on various nights. The hotel staff did nothing to address this violation to their policies.

There were nasty hygiene and sanitary issues during our stay. Towel with excrements left on the hallway for hours. (I attached pictures for your review, sensitive eyes, please abstain).

Detailed review

Location My wife and myself stayed at this hotel in Downtown L.A. from August 2-8. For those of you who are not familiar with the area (l also fell into this category), you may want to note that it is one block away from the largest encampment of homeless individuals in the United States. You WILL see several of these individuals around the hotel, some can be aggressive. We witnessed an encounter in broad daylight in front of Grand Central Market. These are not your average peaceful homeless people on the corner of the street, many of them are heavy drug users, likely under the effect of Fentanyl and they are quite aggressive. We had to resort to walking on opposite sides of the street numerous times as some of them approached. Sure this is a downtown concern that CitizenM has little control over. I can accept that, however as guests, we also don’t need to stay 1 to 2 blocks from the infamous Skidrow and face potentially life-threatening situations.

Front Desk The front desk staff and kitchen staff were very pleasant.

Technology in rooms We also appreciate the technological features that were available in our hotel room.

Sanitary issues On Sunday, August 6th, we started to notice certain issues. We were woken up by a persistent and strong smell of Cannabis at around 4AM on the 3rd day of our stay. Then later that day, upon leaving our hotel room around 11 a.m. there was Cannabis in the hall (legal in California, smoking is prohibited in the hall).This wasn't the smell of someone who had a joint before coming in the hotel, it was obvious that guest(s) were smoking on the floor. There were two Housekeeping staff members on the floor that were made aware of the situation and this smell continued on and off throughout the day and the following day.

Also, upon arrival from a day out on Sunday, my wife was appalled to see a rather large pink stain on her body towel after taking a shower (needless to say we shared one). She had noticed smaller spots on towels over the past days, but the pink stain was the worst of all the days.

If this wasn't sufficient, upon leaving our hotel room on Monday morning, we were disgusted to see a towel stained with feces in the hallway. We went out for breakfast and it was still in the hall when we returned. Needless to say that not only is this disgusting, but poses a serious...

IKEA meets cruise cabin, minus the charm

As my wife said when we walked in: “This is a cruise ship cabin. For $200 a night.” She wasn’t wrong — but to be fair, she did appreciate some things: the modern vibe, the soft ambient lighting, and the shelf of curated books gave the space a nice touch. I respect that. But once the novelty wore off, the actual experience left a lot to be desired — especially if you’re expecting comfort, usability, or traveling with family.

The room is small. A king-size bed stretches wall to wall with no space to walk around it. There’s a desk and chair, but the desk is barely big enough for a laptop and a bottle of water. Outlets are awkwardly placed, and there are no USB ports — which, for a place marketing itself as tech-savvy, is a huge miss.

All of the “smart” features are controlled by a docked iPad Mini that adjusts lighting, blinds, temperature, and ambient sound. It works fine — it’s not clunky — but it’s incredibly basic. Lighting is controlled through LED strips in the shower, and you get a few pre-programmed mood settings. But if you want to use the “focus,” “sleep,” or “relaxation” sound modes, you’ll need to leave the TV on — because the hotel didn’t bother to install a separate speaker system. That alone is enough to break the immersion. If you're going to sell a tech-driven experience, you should install a standalone multimedia setup, not force guests to leave the TV glowing overnight.

As for TV content, it's just basic cable — no premium channels, no on-demand options. If you want to watch Netflix or Disney+, you’re expected to Chromecast from your own device using public Wi-Fi in Downtown Los Angeles. That’s not convenience — that’s passing the buck to the guest.

Now, about the mini fridge — yes, there is one. But it’s hidden inside a closed cabinet with no label or signage. I didn’t even realize it was there until nearly 18 hours into the stay. That’s not sleek. That’s poor communication by design.

No microwave either. And while the food menu is displayed on the iPad, you can’t order through it. Yes, there’s a room phone, but it doesn’t do much. You’re still walking downstairs if you want a meal.

Check-in is via Walmart-style kiosks. Two employees hang around in case the machine breaks. It’s functional, but it feels like you’re checking into a vending machine, not a hotel. There is a security guard — but they’re posted inside the lobby, not outside, which seems like a misstep in Downtown LA.

Parking is $38/night, at an unmarked third-party garage they don’t own or mention during booking. No signage, no directions, no heads-up. Just vibes and guesswork. If you’re local and driving in for a night, good luck.

And let’s be clear: this hotel is not family-friendly. Not just because of its Downtown LA location (which is unpredictable at best), but also because of some adult-themed decor choices in the room and the lack of a bathtub — which is a huge problem if you’re traveling with small kids. It’s not just inconvenient — it’s not designed with families in mind.

The entire stay feels like a branding exercise more than hospitality. The neon slogans, modular furniture, and mood lighting give it personality, sure — but under the surface, it’s lacking in every area that counts.

Final Thought:

My wife enjoyed the aesthetics — and I get it. But if you’re after comfort, convenience, or actual hospitality, this place falls flat. For $200 a night, you’ll be checking yourself in, casting your own content, finding the fridge by accident, and wondering why you paid for mood lighting and minimal function. 1 out of 5 — nice books and lights, but not enough to save...

BED BUGS ALERT I experienced bed bug bites throughout my body (neck, arms, chest, abdomen, back, legs, feet) during my two-night stay in a certain room on the 7th floor of citizenM LA Downtown for the Juneteenth weekend. Upon my report of these bites during the check-out, the hotel inspected the room and notified me of the confirmed case of bed bugs the following day. For the ensuing months, I've been dealing with persistent skin conditions (some of which may not be solely attributable to bed bugs, but began that weekend), multiple medical visits and house inspections and treatments, the routine of washing and drying on the highest heat setting all my clothes worn the same day, a 6-week-long social quarantine, and mental anguish and anxiety about invisible/hidden organisms, to say the least.

While the hotel issued a refund for my stay (less than $500) early on, it then refused to cover any other reasonably foreseeable expenses (e.g., medical bills, costs to inspect/treat my apartment, pain and suffering), citing the limitations-of-liability clause in its terms and conditions, which (if legally enforceable) limits the hotel's liability to the "amount of the charges paid by you to us," and characterizing the bed bug bites as an "unfortunate circumstance" that is "not possible for us to prevent ... 100% of the time" and a manifestation of a "fundamental risk to traveling." What is notable, in my opinion, is the business decision citizenM appears to have made on how to allocate this fundamental risk to staying at the hotel: to allocate the risk almost entirely to its customers and to write it off (by limiting its liability to a refund) as if the room-at-issue had remained vacant, as if the victim hadn't stayed.

"Stay with us at your own peril," I heard loud and clear--alas, two nights too late.

(I still want to acknowledge the professionalism of the staff members who responded to my inspection request and promptly issued the refund. Thank you.)

UPDATE: Deleting and re-posting this after the hotel manager's reply revealed my identity despite my attempt to remain semi-anonymous given the sensitive medical information contained. The reply invited me to "continue the conversation ... directly offline," so I emailed them back only to learn the invitation was disingenuous and they were unwilling to resume...