The Biltmore Los Angeles — Hotel in Los Angeles

Our experience at this hotel was absolutely dreadful, despite only being there for about an hour. It was so bad that my sisters and I decided to check out immediately. We have never been treated so poorly at any hotel, and the entire ordeal left us feeling extremely disrespected.

We arrived and were told that we’d be charged $70 for early check-in at 9:53 AM. When we declined the charge, the front desk staff simply handed our IDs back with no explanation. After pressing for more information, they eventually told us we could check in at 3 PM instead and would have to come back to the counter. There was no offer to store our belongings (we had backpacks and suitcases). The dismissal from the hotel staff was very clear and evident even though we were paying guests.

I checked online and saw that early check-in was cheaper at 10 AM, so we waited 7 min and went back to the check in counter. Suddenly, the price had decreased to $50 for early check-in, which was highly inconsistent. There was no acknowledgement or apology from anyone regarding this $70 to $50 discrepancy.

To make matters worse, despite not accepting the early check-in at 9:53am, our credit card was charged right away, and we were later billed twice for the room. The room was clearly available and empty, they just refused to be kind and offer any sort of customer service because they wanted to charge us $70 to check in early. I want to reiterate - the customer service was appalling.

Additionally, we had paid extra to book the club level (which included lounge access) room for 4 people, when booking online through the official hotel website (this was not a third party booking). However, we were told the lounge was only available for 2 people at check in. This made no sense, especially since we’d paid extra to book the room for 4 people, and no one could explain why. We were informed that we would need to pay an additional $45 per person for the extra two people to access the lounge even though we had already paid an extra at time of booking for the additional adults in the room.

We decided to pay the $50 for early check-in, and went to the room. The room was awful. The “queen beds” were just glorified twin beds. How 4 adults could sleep in them comfortably is beyond me. This made no sense, considering I booked and paid for 4 adults for this room. The bathroom was tiny. It’s clear this hotel has not upgraded their rooms. My sisters went to the lounge and when they got there, none of the room keys worked for the lounge. I had to go back downstairs to have them reprogrammed. It was evident that the keys were never given lounge access to begin with even though we booked a club level room with lounge access. And the staff at the front desk did this on purpose.

When we returned to the lounge, suddenly a staff member appeared and asked for our room number (there was no staff member manning the lounge for probably 20 minutes before this) and there some confusion where they couldn’t find our room number on their list so they called the front desk. We overheard the phone call where the staff member said she had been specifically warned about us and asked to check for our access to the lounge by the person at the front desk after I had gone back down to ask for the room cards to be reprogrammed. Meanwhile, during this entire ordeal, three other guests walked in without being questioned at all or room number being checked. It was clear we were being targeted.

Overall, the lack of professionalism, inconsistent charges, poor treatment, and clear racism left us completely dissatisfied and unwelcome at this hotel. We won’t be returning to this hotel and strongly advise others to look elsewhere for a more respectful and reliable experience. This was a horrible start to our trip and my sisters and I were so offended and made to feel like we were being surveilled and criminals. We left immediately & went to another hotel where we were treated a million times better (and they checked us in early AND waived the early check in fee without us having...

I initially took this review down after calling 3 times was able to speak with a manager who apologized and advised they would reach back out to me with their direct superior. Reposting after 3 days no response:

The rooms and hotel itself are very lovely, truly historic and some wonderfully picturesque locations. Our issue came with the service or lack thereof. Housekeeping was exceptionally polite and helpful and when my husband and son had lunch at the café they stated the server was also exceptionally kind and attentive especially to our young son who was on his first trip out of state with us. This is unfortunately the only positives I have around service. Check-in was frustrating, we were attempting to drop our items off so we could then park our vehicle, the attendant was exceptionally standoffish when they realized we did not wish to valet. While I parked our vehicle my husband tried to ask Bell desk to store our items and take them to a friend's room they told him to go try and check-in first. The front desk agent was very curt and simply looked at my husband and said insert your card. No pleasantries, no explanation of what he was inserting the card for, my husband had to ask multiple questions and described trying to get information from the agent as pulling teeth. We are fairly low maintenance so had minimal staff interaction after check in, but our check-out experience soured the whole trip. To be fair we were attempting to depart at 1:30 am on a Sunday to avoid traffic and make it home in time for other appointments, so I will admit the minimal staffing while frustrating I could at least have understood and overlooked if not for the attitude of the staff. My husband attempted to acquire a bell cart but at the time of looking there was neither a front desk or bell desk attendant. We ended up having to cart our luggage down by hand. I went to the desk to attempt to check out while my husband retrieved our vehicle. I also experienced the checkout agent not providing any information and simply trying to check me out without discussing any of the billing. I manged to stop her and request to change the card on file to my debit card. She seemed irritated, but it was late and I was already frustrated and so I ignored it because we simply wanted to go home. The agent took my card and inserted it in the pay machine, again without any verification of what I was being charged, the machine said approved and I left to collect my items. I found a cart sitting out front and asked an employee if I could borrow it as there still was no one at the bell desk, they said that was fine but no one offered to assist me. I took my 10 year old son and we loaded everything up and then waited out front for my husband to arrive with our vehicle. Suddenly the front desk agent comes running out, and in front of the people milling about and other employees, loudly stated that my card declined she took the cart with my items and pushed it toward a small group of employees and said they will watch your stuff you need to come with me. I had already pulled up my bank account to find that not only had my card not declined but I had been overcharged. I tried to explain this and as we walked back inside the hotel another agent was waving her off stating it was fine the card went through. I was now demanding an explanation for one why they claimed it had declined and two why the charge at checkout was more than my bill. Instead if admitting a mistake had been made and taking accountability, they tried to blame it on standard procedure, and then the "declining" of my card. Having worked in hotels for over a decade I know EXACTLY what happened, and it was a simple mistake made in a hurry but also easily avoided. If at any point they had apologized or taken accountability I would not be writing this review. Ive attempted twice to call front desk to speak with a manager and been transferred to a VM, different each time, with no explanation as to who or where I was being transferred or an acknowledgment that they were currently...

Disappointingly this is one of the worst hotels I’ve ever stayed in- and I was super excited to stay here because of the hotels unique history.

Before I had booked my room I called to inquire about if it was possible to use Apple Pay for the room incidental fees because I did not have a physical card with me, and the woman working the front desk told me no, however, I could pay in cash as long as it was a one night stay (which it was) and I would receive my deposit back in cash.

Upon arriving to the hotel I was awestruck by how intricately beautiful everything was. I had scored an executive room for a very good deal and was so excited to stay in such a nice room and hotel. I go to the front desk to check in and was told I could not pay in cash and they couldn’t even find my hotel reservation. I begin to freak out- thinking I made a huge mistake and called the wrong hotel and that I would lose almost $200. I called Expedia, whom I made the booking with, and was on the phone with them for over 30 minutes to ultimately be told yes I do in fact have a reservation, yes they take cash, and that the hotel kept putting them on hold so they weren’t able to speak to a manager.

With the good news that I called the correct hotel, I went back to the front desk to speak with the manager, only to find there was a new person working the desk, and when I told them about my situation, they told me that I could pay cash but that I didn’t need to because I already did the pre booking and I was already checked in, I just needed my room key. As soon as she told me that the first person I had talked to walks out and hears what happened and does not apologize for their mistake or offer me any kind of compensation for the stress I was put through. Given that this is a 4 star hotel, I expect more.

I finally get up to my room and honestly, for the amount that some people pay, it wasn’t worth it. The room itself was pretty baron, the bathroom was pretty small and didn’t have much counter space, and the bed was very uncomfortable and I think must’ve been missing the down comforter that was promised on the website because there was nothing besides a thin blanket and a sheet (plus when I look at photos of other rooms the bedding looks different compared to my room). The Biltmore was a marvel when it was built. Looking at the framed articles and photos all over the hotel, it is clear how luxurious it was- and I’d expect for that luxury to continue to awestruck guests today. I feel like the rooms lack the small details (like high quality soaps and lotions that have a nice scent, softer towels, or even filling out the room a little bit more) that make it a luxury hotel.

During my stay I also decided to pay for access to the club lounge which was $45 a day. Because I checked in at 5 I was only there to receive dinner hors d’oeuvres and a continental breakfast. The selections were pretty decent, my only complaint in terms of the food is that in my opinion there should be signs on what everything is and what it contains- just in case someone has an intolerance or allergy. Although the view from the lounge and the food were good, I don’t recommend paying for lounge access. The lounge is once again pretty baron and there’s a tv that whilst I was there was played pretty loud which kinda ruined the atmosphere (in my opinion). I would prefer for the lounge access to be higher quality even if it means it is more expensive. I know I am coming across very picky, however, I just feel like the Biltmore, with all of its history and former glory, should be held to high standards.

My final piece is that the location of this hotel is pretty amazing. It’s smack in the middle of downtown Los Angeles, meaning there is so much to do within a 30...