Sunset Marquis — Hotel in West Hollywood

This breaks my heart to have to leave such a low review for a place I have loved and adored until now. I’ve stayed here many times in the 90s, 2000s and 2020’s . The first time I came here was with musician friends who were in town for awards. The next was for another award show and the other times were staycations. As a member of the Los Angeles conservancy and a member of the art and entertainment world, this place had special meaning to me. The owner built the villa side of this hotel as a sort of tribute to “the garden of allah” which was a magical beautiful place from a time past where creatives would go to get away from the hustle and noise of the city while never having to actually leave the city. Unfortunately the garden of allah was torn down and a parking lot was built in its place. The folk musician Joni Mitchell even wrote a song about it called “big yellow taxi” in which the lyrics say “they paved paradise , and put up a parking lot”. Naturally someone like myself would be elated that anyone would even know about the garden of allah and dedicate a whole hotel as a sort of memorial to it. Well not the entire hotel but at least the villa side. The villas were where I would stay to write and get away from the city without leaving the city much like many had done at the garden of Allah . Until now I’ve had lovely stays. Let’s jump forward now to my most recent stay which I endured for only a few hours when I had intended to stay for 3 days. There is a ton of noise from renovations which I was not expecting but was willing to tolerate (although I do believe rates should be lowered during renovations or the villas completely closed to not cheapen one’s experience) . The noise wasn’t the real issue, the old smelly dirty outdated villa was the issue (the room smelled of mildew which I had initially attributed to old carpet, I would later find out it was the shower, the chairs were stained and there was debris on the dining table) . The room was not clean upon arrival and although management was helpful and lovely as always (the team at this hotel are 5 star) , housekeeping came to the room and still did not clean thoroughly. I’m a very tidy clean person who hates germs especially other people’s germs. I’m a local and had errands to run in another part of town so I did not stick around and babysit housekeeping. I arrived again after midnight and decided to use the bath facilities in my room. As I always do, I sprayed the shower and bath with a disinfectant to get up any left over germs , then I took one of the hotel white wash clothes and proceeded to scrub the shower walls and shower floor. Much to my surprise the white towel had turned brown from filth. Then upon trying to rinse the shower down, I discovered the shower head was stuck in one position which caused water to exit through the closed shower door all over the bathroom floor. By this time I’m soaking wet and cold. Front desk staff came to my villa to witness the problems and tried to rectify my stay by offering another room ,however the only available rooms would have been a down grade . I ended up checking out at 3 am and going home. I was so sad and a little confused about this experience because it’s nothing like my many other exceptionally lovely experiences here. I will note that of course I was given a refund but nothing can refund one’s time or inconvenience. A ruined staycation and a bad taste lingers. With that being said, up until now I have loved this hotel like an old friend . Now it seems like an old friend who needs rehab. Still love it but from a distance until the issues are no longer a problem. 5 stars always for front desk and management . I would suggest they implement a “white glove cleaning and inspection” for housekeeping . Also don’t charge full price for villas if noisy construction is going on. It’s not in line with the sanctuary vibe the hotel is selling. Some old friends we love as memories so as not to continue to allow them to destroy their reputation. As of now my good times at the Sunset Marquis are...

Has the true 5 star experience fizzled in Hollywood? Unfortunately the Sunset Marquis might be part of the fading glory of Old Hollywood.

On a whim and seeking a more comfortable and exclusive experience I switched reservations from the hustle bustle of the Mondrian Hotel Penthouse to a "Deluxe Villa" at the Sunset Marquis.

My first sign that the glitz was gone was when my email to request $2k in spa services was left unresponsed to for a week or more. Than last minute I was responded to without any options for services and an offer for $25 off.

Like most things in Hollywood these days, everything is photoshopped and overly described. The photos used to sell me on the unit were of course a one of a kind unit, that you will most certainty not get as your unit. Kind of like a timeshare offering or display model home.

Instead I was placed in a blocky non window filled unit next to two single units and below two others. The advertised balcony was a death trap with two chairs a makeshift table/planter stand shoved onto it, with a dangerous lip to trip over while trying to squeeze onto the "balcony". The beautiful round bathroom with separate shower and windows, was realistically a large dark room with no ventilation, and the makeup counter was shoved behind the door, with no natural lighting. The back patio was divided by a planter with no privacy and a solid gray wall...No views like you are shown in every photo.

Of the 36 light switches with smaller paddle controls, half worked half did not. The built in wall speakers sounded great when blocking out the other two neighbors next to you watching their movies, it was like 3 movies at once. The movies brought out a plethora of spiders as well. Crawling up the walls, from the toilet, and even across the bed. They seemed to like the warm wet bathroom, which had no ventilation and stayed constantly moist like a rainforest for 5 days after my first shower.

My friend who is local to LA wanted to stay over so we tried to utilize the Murphy bed. We pulled it down and immediately were both struck in the head by the broken leg/support for the bed. Immediately it was obvious it was not useable and they slept on the couch.

The A/C worked great at night with it turned off and the sliding doors left open. Of course this means anyone can walk into your unit, but who needs safety? You just had to wake up before the sprinklers went off at night or else the area near the door will get wet. This doesn't help the "3D" flooring, which is laminate but warped and pops like old natural wood flooring. You might even cut a toe or two walking through the unit on the edges of other pieces that are popping and warped.

The mini fridge worked just as well as the A/C it kept my food spoiled at warmer than room temperature from the light bulb inside. My $200 worth of door dash groceries for the week went bad, it was ok because they didn't provide coffee anyway and Ralph's was out of the $18 pods anyway.

They offered room service for these events don't worry! The Wagu burger came with a 6in piece of Hair, and the tostada that came with the guacamole were stale enough to slice the burger with and a hair. The club sandwich was the savior and all for only $150, the over seasoned chips made me able to try the guacamole it was fire.

I came back and the housekeeper was sweating and hot because the A/C didn't work well, I tipped her all the cash I had because I felt awful she was forced to wear a uniform and work in 80 degree units with supposed A/C on. Like most companies the true workers and people keeping the place in its glory are less taken care of. The managers I saw walking around had short sleeves and comfy clothes.

I was in town for business and performing locally at a private event. I did not have time to be displaced and complain to a bunch of people who already seemed unhappy to be working. The staff all seemed bored or bothered, other than the service crew - Food runners, Cleaning Crews, Ground keepers. The restaurant was sub par and even breakfast eggs couldn't be...

This is really the nicest and best hotel I've ever stayed in. Beautiful grounds, incredibly friendly staff and superb service. We had a suite (my then girlfriend and I – she was on a two week break for recording during a tour. The suite considered of a spacious bedroom, bathroom and lounge – we had a dozen people in there for drinks one evening and it was far from crowded – with a little kitchenette and a balcony the width of the lounge and bedroom, facing the street. The street was very quiet, with next to no traffic, so there was no problem with noise) that cost less than the pokey room we got in New York! West Sunset Boulevard is a few minutes walk to logical north (north to all intents and purposes, NNW if you want to be exact) and about five minutes walk logical south and a left turn is Barney's Beanery. When we were there there was a Vietnamese supermarket on the opposite side of Sunset Boulevard that did superb take aways at lunch times and a great diner a little further logical west. The hotel's food was excellent too (we treated ourselves to a meal on the balcony). At the car end of the gardens was a sauna and hot tub with a phone for room service that no one else seems to have discovered. I don't know if it's still there as it was quite a while ago when we were there, but we indulged ourselves on more than one occasion, ordering cocktails and savouring the tranquility. The crews on tours always know all the other crews, so we got to see Sting. As we walked into the lobby the next morning, having gone for breakfast at a pancake house (a few minutes logical south) there were the band, waiting to leave! Such an honour and pleasure to meet and chat with them, particularly Omar Hakim (the drummer – I'm a drummer) Branford Marsalis (sax – my girlfriend was a saxophonist) and Dolette McDonald (backing singer whom we also knew from her work with Talking Heads) to name but three. They were lovely guys. It's not unlikely that you'll meet a celebrity or two (amongst others, Roy Scheider was staying there while we were. I'm not normally a huge fan of hotels. I find they can be a bit impersonal; somewhere you sleep but wouldn't really spend much time in. The Sunset Marquis was a totally different experience all together: warm, welcoming, luxurious and thoroughly memorable,...