DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Los Angeles - Norwalk — Hotel in Norwalk

This was an enjoyable business stay (12 days) for me. I got a Hilton Honors Diamond privilege, so my amenities may not match up with yours. I believe the perks are a 6th floor room (does it differ from a regular room?), a breakfast voucher, a small app voucher at the bar, and a free drink at the bar for each night I stayed. Read with this in mind.

ROOM The rooms are open concept, with a half wall dividing the bed from the "living room" area, with a couch and a large TV. The appearance is somewhat modern, a bright grey paint to help reflect the ample light coming in through the windows (I got a corner room), and modern fixtures and appliances. The bathroom is large, clean, and comfortable, with good pressure and temperature.

AMENITIES They have a good fitness room, about 6 treadmills, 2 ellipticals, and an exercise bike, as well as medicine balls, gym balls, a balance trainer, and a good range of weights (5 - 50lb dumbbells). Though the space is small, so is the attendance, so you don't feel crowded. It's clean and somewhat well ventilated, so there is no threat of suddenly feeling stuffy. I managed a good 30 minute run on a treadmill, which I have not often been able to do at hotel gyms due to the environment.

The pool is spacious, clean, and nice looking, with some swanky red chaise lounges to relax in if you're wanting some california sun.

There is a business center at the front, which also supplies coffee until 9:00 AM (but you can always get coffee from the adjacent restaurant). It's also open concept, so while not entirely private, it doesn't feel like you're trapped in a cave.

The lobby is filled with several seats to relax in if you're into people watching or just want to get out of your room. Overall, it has an inviting feel.

FOOD My stay included a breakfast buffet, which looks like it costs just shy of $20 for those who don't have it included. This was one of the more impressive buffest I've been to, with a few notes. First, go EARLY, like as soon as they start. The method of making their scrambled eggs is such that they are light and fluffy and delicious, BUT ONLY for the first 30 minutes that they bring them out. It sits on a chaffing dish, which continues to mildly cook them. With this in mind, if you know you want scrambled eggs, you have to have your breakfast between 6:30 and 7:00 AM. Another option is their omelette bar, which is always a nice plus. I'm not a huge fan of omelettes, so I would have them fry me a couple of eggs and top it with some of the sauteed veggies that normally come with it. They were happy to oblige. In the end, it's a great service, though I could not justify the cost in all honesty; you want the meal included in your stay.

I got a chance to try their small bites at the bar. The quality was very impressive. The dishes worth trying are the fish tacos and the ahi tuna nachos (wonton chips under a bed of cabbage and ample portion of sushi grade raw tuna, with a very nice sauce to accompany it).

Throughout, the staff are accomodating and friendly, with maybe one exception. You'll know if you get her, she's just a bit slow and inattentive, but it's jarring if you get her service in the morning.

LOCATION There are some nice restaurants next to the movie theater, which is walking distance from the hotel. Some quick meals like The Poke Co (we need more of this in the midwest!), and Yasai (sushi rolls) were surprisingly better than expected, and I had most of my dinners here. There's an Outback Steakhouse as well nearby, but beyond that, 3 or 4 miles of driving local roads will take you to some decent restaurants (Geezers, for one).

Cookies are at the front desk, just ask for them!

It was a positive experience, and if I ever need to come back to California, I would not be opposed to staying here again. Overall, it wasn't mindblowing; a few late breakfasts or room service that fell short on a day kept this from getting 5 stars, but I would recommend this place to those staying...

I’ve stayed at multiple Hilton branded hotels for more than 15 years from the Hampton Inn Chino hills (my favourite and the best so far), Hilton San Bernardino, Hilton LAX, Conrad Bali, Conrad Singapore, to the Hiltons in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manila, and many others around Asia, pre Covid. Post Covid, I’ve only had 4 stays at a Hilton branded hotel. Namely the Doubletree Hilton Penang Malaysia, Doubletree Hilton Christchurch NZ and this hotel, the Doubletree Hilton Norwalk, CA (2 stays). Here’s my review of the Doubletree in Norwalk CA. To be fair, I’ll only compare my stays at this hotel with those I’ve stayed at, post Covid. I won’t even compare this stay with other stays I had in IHG and Marriot group hotels post Covid. I stayed here from 1st Dec to 17th Dec 23, and from 8th Jan to 26th Jan 24. The Staff One thing that the Hilton group gets 100% right is the people that work there. Doubletree Hilton is no different. Everyone I’ve interacted with was super friendly and willing to go the extra mile to help. They made my stay away from home so much easier. A special mention to the following: Antonio, Bill and Huang who made me sleep better with the alcohol they served me at the bar most nights. Katie, Jonathan, Cinthia and Denisse at the reception desk. Super, super friendly and super helpful… So great to see friendly, smiley faces after a long flight, or after a long day at the office. A big thank you to Katie for allowing me to extend my late check out time to 1600. It saved me the trouble of having to find a place to kill time before my flight. The Rooms. Size and feel of the rooms again are no different from other Doubletree hotels. However, the similarity ends there. Unlike the other Doubletree hotels, • There is no kettle to boil water. If hot water is needed one has to go to the restaurant at the ground floor, or to the gym to get hot water. (had to do that when I wanted to have cup noodles for snack one day) • no umbrella in case it rains (No umbrella for guests even at the front desk), • no complementary bottled water (One must pay $3 per bottle which you can get for $1 in a 7-11). • No drinking mugs (all paper), • no eating utensils like teaspoons, spoons, forks, or knifes. • No plates • Room service is only during dinner and maybe perhaps breakfast, unlike the ones in Malaysia or in New Zealand where it is from 0600 to 2200 daily • My biggest pet peeve, the room is not made or cleaned daily! You must request for it at the front desk after 3 – 4 nights of stay… The restaurant. I would say there is no comparison. Unlike the restaurants in the other hotels where the restaurants were open from 6am to 11pm, it is only open for breakfast and dinner. Lunch is only during weekdays. Another thing I find odd is that breakfast is NOT complementary. It is in fact very expensive. A cup of coffee is around $7. Car Park The car park is not free, unlike the doubletree In both Malaysia and New Zealand it costs $15 per night. Not sure why it is, when the car park is only 20% utilized...

Just completed my second stay at this beautiful full service hotel. I stayed in the 2-Room Suite just as I did on my first stay. I believe there is only one such suite like that at this hotel. It included free breakfast buffet for 2. I uploaded a YouTube video of this same room in January 2018 titled “DoubleTree Hilton Norwalk CA Executive One Bedroom Suite.”

Normally I stay in a business suite at the Best Western in Norwalk as it fits my needs but on occasion I like to stay in higher-end hotel suites.

The hotel is very large and offers several ball rooms to rent out, Sonoma Grill Restaurant, and a bar. There is also an exercise room and outdoor smoke area on the second floor just off the elevator. Plenty of parking in front, sides, and rear of the building. The pool and spa are a bit small and located outside on the ground floor and also accessed from the second floor outdoor smoking area by following the path down a set of concrete stairs. Room service is offered until 10-11pm. Ice and soda vending machines that accept credit cards are on every level but not every soda machine works. I had to travel from the 8th floor to the 7th for a working machine.

Here’s some personal tips: there is an Outback Steak house in the front parking lot which is cheaper than the limited-menu hotel restaurant. Also the bar inside the Outback is open the entire day whereas the hotel bar is only open in the evening. An AMC 20 theater in the front parking lot. Several fast food and stores just down the street.

Housekeeping do a wonderful job working very hard. My suite was spotless. The only piece of furniture missing this time around was a small circular white table to sit and eat at. Of course there is a work desk and chair. The 2-Room Suite features a separate deep tub and huge shower stall along with a double sink. A mini fridge and microwave are also provided at the wet bar.

Usually the 2-Room Suite averages $335 per night however I was very lucky to find it a month in advance for $190 a night. Most likely because it was early October which isn’t a busy tourist travel time. I was there for 4 nights just as I was for my first visit.

The only downside is that even with a Hilton rewards number, the premium WiFi is $14.99 a day yet they offer a free slow version for checking email. Also, the buffet breakfast option isn’t going to be as good as ordering personal breakfast from the restaurant. The $3 bottles of warm water in the room are a bit ridiculous and are an unknown brand wrapped by a DoubleTree label. Apparently the regular rooms lack a mini fridge...