Fairmont Century Plaza Los Angeles at Beverly Hills — Hotel in Los Angeles

I traveled to Beverly Hills from Canada for foot surgery, and this hotel was recommended by my surgeon, who actually owns a unit here. Given the prestigious Fairmont name and the high price point, I expected an outstanding experience. However, my stay fell far short of expectations and was unlike the impeccable experiences I have had at other Fairmont properties around the world.

The location is excellent, close to Westfield Century City Mall and a five-minute drive to Rodeo Drive. Unfortunately, this is where the positives largely end.

Check-In Experience: The check-in process took 45 minutes, with only two staff members working despite a long lineup. My room key didn't work in the elevator, and I had to ride it up and down until I found an employee who helped me and provided older style keys that functioned. The lack of preparation and staffing at check-in set a disappointing tone for my stay.

Room and Amenities: My room was spacious with a balcony, but the bathroom was impractical. The sink drained poorly, and there were no convenient hooks for towels, making it feel unsanitary. The only towel bar was inconveniently placed near the toilet, forcing towels to brush against the wall. The minimalist design, while aesthetically pleasing, lacked practicality for daily use. The balcony furniture was covered in dust, which indicated a lack of thorough cleaning.

Fitness Center: The fitness center was modern and well-equipped with a variety of newer machines, offering a good workout environment. However, the minimalist design extended here as well, making it difficult to locate the entrance due to small signage blending into the walls.

Service Issues :Service was the biggest disappointment. The night before my surgery, I requested foam pillows, which never arrived despite repeated calls and trips to the front desk. I eventually received them hours later, after I'd already gone to bed, which was frustrating.

Prior to my stay, I had confirmed with the hotel that they had a wheelchair available for guest use, as I would be non-weight-bearing after my surgery. Initially, they accommodated my needs upon my return from surgery. But, later that evening when I needed assistance retrieving my Uber Eats delivery from the front desk, I faced the same phone issues - calls going unanswered for nearly 45 minutes. The Uber Eats person couldn't access guest floors without a room key, so they were required to leave deliveries at the front desk. Despite being assured that staff would bring the food up promptly, my food sat at the front desk for nearly an hour before it was delivered - cold and unappetizing.

The next day, needing a wheelchair to get to the lobby, I again couldn't reach anyone by phone. I limped down with a cane and was assisted by security staff member Alvin, who went above and beyond to assist me. He promptly assisted me and ensured I was comfortable. However, I was later told that hotel policy prevented staff from pushing wheelchairs due to liability concerns - despite having done so after my surgery. This inconsistency was frustrating and lacked common sense. If liability was truly a concern, procedures should have been clearly outlined and followed consistently rather than leaving guests struggling to move around. Alvin, understanding my predicament, personally assisted me even after his shift ended, showing exceptional kindness and professionalism.

Checkout Process: Upon checkout, I provided my email for my invoice, but a week later, I had not received it. When I called to inquire, they claimed they had no record of my email. This lack of attention to detail further demonstrated the subpar service levels.

Conclusion: Despite a great location and fitness center, the poor service, impractical design, and lack of responsiveness made my stay disappointing. While staff were not rude, the service was inadequate for a luxury hotel. In contrast, Alvin’s professionalism was a bright spot in an otherwise frustrating experience. Sadly, the Fairmont Beverly Hills did not meet the standards expected...

I decided to book the Fairmont Century Plaza for the first time as we usually stay at The London when we visit..

The hotel has been completely renovated with a grand lobby entrance that makes you feel like you’ve made the right decision to stay at this property — grand and elegant. The colours and energy of the lobby are soft, plush, airy and everything you would expect from a Los Angeles hotel.

Upon check-in, we noticed once we got to our floor, the bright, soft, plush colours of the lobby entry transformed into very low lit, dark grey finishes which through us off as it felt like we were walking through a hallway to a private night club, elegant but far too moody for us considering it was a summer visit.

Our room looked exactly as it showed online however I found myself oddly underwhelmed by the lighting. It was 3pm in the afternoon and with all the lights on in the room, it felt like 9pm. I never fuss too much about lighting and colour schemes however checking into your room should uplift your energy and mood and unfortunately that was not the case for us.

Out of curiosity, I called down to ask if all the rooms were designed with low lighting and dark colours as we would simply prefer a room with lighter finishings. I was informed that all their rooms were designed and lit the same, to which I was surprised and politely said was unfortunate to hear as I could barely see myself under clear lighting in the bathroom and hallway mirrors.

Within minutes I had management call our room and offer to show us two rooms that may be more suitable. The options presented to us far exceeded the room we were staying in with respect to its size and building exposure, clearly these were suites and not standard rooms, which we were incredibly grateful for. However, what transformed the experience for us was how bright and well lit the suite was — wow, what a difference. Our room that we were upgraded to had its own dining, living room and separate bdrm with a walk in closet and a palatial bathroom appointed with his/her sinks, not to mention a full second bath off the living room entry with 3 private patios.

It was a grand gesture by management and was not expected as we simply wanted a similar room to our booking with softer colours however the staff clearly were doing everything possible to make our stay both comfortable and memorable.

The next 3 days in both our room and the hotel were near perfect. From room service to the food and beverage manger of the restaurant/ bar, we were looked after with incredible care and consideration.

A big thank you to the staff and management for turning around what initially felt to be a underwhelming stay into an unforgettable experience.

We truly grateful and highly recommend others stay at...

This was a couples weekend trip on a whim because neither my husband nor I, both world wide travelers, had ever been in a LA & we needed a weekend without teens/kids. |We stayed 5 nights at the Fairmont, we were blown away by the service here, 5 plus stars, from the gold lounge (we were in a sunset gold room on the 11th, more on this later) to the front desk and housekeeping. Our gold lounge was made special daily, led by Todd, a seasoned professional for sure and Manuel & Kevin, bringing us specialty coffees/setting up transportation & providing local suggestions. |Sonia & Eddie ran the gorgeous hotel bar with class, creating interesting cocktails while a DJ spun from 6-9 each evening. |Richard & Gem bent over backwards at the front desk to resolve an issue with had with Accor, (Accor was a nightmare to deal with). The housekeeping was timely and detailed, providing service twice a day. The bellmen always seemed happy, greeting us like family every morning/evening. |We ate twice at Lumiere, our server for lunch was delightful and we loved the pate and cheese board. Dinner service was a little absent on our first evening, but it was late and we arrived tired from East Coast time. |The suite had a nice view of the sunset and we enjoyed having a glass of wine out there, with ample space for two. The lighting is a bit dark in the bathroom for my liking, but we enjoyed the table and couch for lounging & answering work emails. We did not use the spa, but used the gym quite a bit and both my husband and I use a high end gym in our daily life, we found the gym to be top notch. There is a great variety of new Technogym machines, Peloton bikes, ample lifting/studio area, towels (cold & scented) and bottled water are provided. It was too cool to use the pool but we peeked at it and it seemed small for the size of the hotel, but I don't think people come here for that. We LOVED the location, central to everything. We walked to Beverly Hills and used cars to drive us to Santa Monica, DTLA and Hollywood, nothing took more than 15-30 minutes. The outdoor Westfield mall across from the hotel is convenient as well, with many eateries & shops. We wouldn't hesitate to return and hope to be back with our teens next year. It would also be a great stopping point on the way to...