Traveling for business isn’t always the most lavish task on the planet, as I clearly pointed out here. Often times business travel means you are at the mercy of the budget when it comes to where you can stay and how you can fly. And then there are times where obliging isn’t so bad.
Being an SPG loyalist, I had the choice between the Sheraton Grand Los Angeles and the Westin Bonaventure, and I’ll be staying at and reviewing both.
Last week I had the pleasure of the Westin Bonaventure in downtown Los Angeles. The week before check-in, I received an e-mail from the hotel manager (outside of the typical welcome e-mail) asking if there was anything he could do to make my stay more comfortable. In the effort of full disclosure I asked him to use a Platinum upgrade to one of the suites so that I could review it for
Granted, I most likely would have received the upgrade with my status alone, but I thought it a nice gesture to give him a heads up, which is not what I typically like to do.
Upon arrival at the hotel I was stunned by how “out of this world” the place looked. The hotel is built with five cylindrical towers, four of which are room towers. The elevators are attached to the outside of the building and the views are stunning, especially if you are on a higher floor like I was.
Like most Westins I’ve stayed at, there was no Platinum lounge, which is really annoying and since we often had breakfast catered at the client site, I didn’t bother to check out the offered breakfast. (First world problems, I know)
The rooms are pretty standard Westin rooms in terms of layout and design and though this hotel wasn’t the most modern I’ve stayed at, I was extremely happy with my stay. The rooms were clean, the housekeeping was great, and the front desk staff were very friendly and accommodating.
The Westin Bonaventure is a Category 6 hotel which typically runs around ~$240 per night for a standard room or 20,000 Starpoints (terrible 1.2 cents per Starpoint value!).
Though I did request a larger suite, the room that I had was the Tower Suite which starts at roughly ~$330 per night and was very comfortable for a single traveler; I mainly wanted the larger suite for the purposes of this review, but it was unavailable at the time.
Bottom Line
Though I did enjoy my stay at the Westin Bonaventure very much, I’m not quite sure this property is worth a Category 6, primarily due to its location in the less-desirable part of Los Angeles (downtown in general) and its outdated feel.
But seeing as not every hotel is spick and span modern, I rank the Westin Bonaventure highly among my ever-growing list of hotels I’ve visited. I just can’t get over the lack of a lounge in a Westin so large that you can easily get lost.
Highly recommend this property, though, if purely for the cleanliness and the hospitable nature of the staff!
What are your favorite Los Angeles area hotels?
