A friend and I just stayed at the HHH last weekend...our experience was consistently odd, from start to finish. On the plus side, the location is awesome and the views are amazing. The pool is fine and it's nice to have a kitchen in your room, though we had some issues with our ability to use it-more on that later. On the down side...where to begin. I guess with the whole check in debacle. First of all, it's extrememly difficult to even figure out where to check in. Once we figured it out (after a lot of gratuitous driving, parking, reversing, etc) and got our key, finding the room took another ten minutes of bafoonery and utter confusion. The thing that is ABSOLUTELY INSANE to me is that they don't have FAQ's at the front desk. We spent our entire stay there trying to figure out how the hell things worked. For example: We were not informed that there is a shuttle to take us up and down the hill if we needed one. We were not informed that internet only works at the magic castle hotel, and not at the HHH. Our first morning there I asked someone at the front desk how to get on (after informing her that I was staying up the hill) and she told me, but left out the fact that i had to come down the hill and bring the laptop with me in order to get online. We were not informed that if we walked down the driveway there was a pedestrian gate to get down the hill, and we were also not informed that the same gate is not open-able with our room key upon returning. So I had to climb the fence. In my skirt. The weirdest thing to me was that the front desk was SO inefficient and they acted as though we were putting them out every time we asked them a question. If they would just have a FAQ handy for every guest, the wouldn't have to answer the same damn questions all day long, and they wouldn't have to get annoyed with every guest that asks them. A list of other oddities: 1. Housekeeping cleaned our coffeepot and coffeecups, but did not restock the coffee. We had to ask the front desk for some and the person who answered the phone had to drive it up to us. Guess how annoyed she was? 2. There is nothing "fresh" about the breakfast. Oh, I'm sorry, there were some nectarines and kiwis. Otherwise it was just crappy toast and muffins from the grocery store and mini cereal. 3. Our A/C dripped a small lake onto our balcony and we feared electrocution. 4. They have complimentary snacks, but both times I asked for something the person at the front desk had to actually leave the room to go get it. Like they walked around the counter and out the doors to the pool area. Again, is it any wonder they are so annoyed? Can't they keep a small stash of stuff in the room BEHIND the front the desk and restock as needed? 5. They park the shuttle in the garage. So when you need a ride they have to finsih whatever unrelated task they are doing (there is no shuttle driver) and go pull it out into their focacted driveway where people are moving backwards and forwards in halting, spastic movements, trying to figure out where the front desk is and where they can park. So, as I said, there were things that were inherently cool about the place. Like the view...but the staff seriously needs to have a sit down and figure out how to run their hotel more efficiently. As it is, they just seem to walk around in circles doing whatever task comes up at the moment, forgetting what it was they set out to do in the first place.

Don't let the reviews here fool you. Yes, the location is nice. Yes, the staff is friendly. Yes, the front desk (down the hill by car) has free snacks. Yes, the views are expansive and desirable. Yes, there is a kitchen or kitchenette and the rooms are more spacious than average hotel rooms. BUT, the rooms are pitifully dirty and dumpy. The kitchen and bathroom are decently outfitted but only partially clean. Throughout the place the furniture, curtains, carpeting and all other fabric finishes are stained and ratty. The mis-matched wooden furniture is nicked, stained and sticky. Yes, sticky. The painted walls are covered in gunk that should be scrubbed off or painted over and I counted no less than 15 random hairs (obviously not mine) stuck to them. Overall, it's like you're staying at a bachelor friend's apartment that was decorated with his mother's old, dirty hand me downs from the early 90's. And he rarely cleans beyond a light vacuum and dusting. If you require the space of a small apartment for your LA stay or an outdoor balcony space with a nice view and don't care at all about the condition or cleanliness of your room, by all means, this is a value. Just don't be fooled by the reviews here apparently written by frat boys like the ones partying all night in the driveway just outside the windows of my room. If you are not bothered by the cleanliness issues or potentially loud people through paper thin windows and walls, you really should stay here for the value of the space and location.

This past Saturday I stayed at the Hollywood Hills Hotel with 7 other buddies for a bachelor party. We had 2 of their suites and I picked this hotel because of its location to where we would be eating and going out as well as the reviews I read. I went into it not expecting it to be a 4-5 star hotel however the service I received was far beyond the Hilton's, Hyatt's and Sheraton's I ahve stayed at in the past. From the moment I checked in the staff was absolutely courteous and friendly. Melissa and Terrell were awesome and before I even said anything they offered to have taxi's ready to pick us up. When the time came they called us and told us our cabs were there and off we went. They even let us check out 2 hours later (there was no way we were going to be ready and out by 11 after our night). The only problem they had was the ice machine was broken but when I called and told them so they remembered that we were part of the bachelor party and I didnt even have to ask as they sent up to buckets of ice. For any and all future weekends of mine in Hollywood this will be where I stay. O and I forgot to mention that the views of the hills are amazing and parking is not a pain and they dont rip you off for parking. I dont require 4-5 stars when I stay at a hotel because I usually just need a comfortable room and bathroom to sleep and wakeup in -- if you need all the extras like a fancy pool with DJ, and a club/lounge, and a spa, in-room massuse, or catchy name for the hotel then this isnt for you. If you want to get treated well and have a nice clean room with a great view in the heart of Hollywood and you dont care that this hotel's name is more than 1 letter or not abstract then you will be fine.

We were in Los Angeles the last week in May and due to unusual circumstances had to stay in two different hotels that week. We stayed three days at the Best Western Sunset Plaza which was very nice but rather expensive and did not have very helpful front desk staff. For the rest of our stay we were at the Hollywood Hills which is definately an older property and could use come upgrading. That being said, the staff are the best I have ever encountered and made the stay very enjoyable. The check in is at the Magic Castle Hotel and the Hollywood Hills is located up the hill in a seperate building. I think the rooms at the Magic Castle are a little nicer but they were full for the dates we needed. They offer very accesible shuttle service back and forth and we used that a couple of times to go back and forth to the pool which was very nice. They offer free snacks and drinks which was great for our teenagers. Again the staff definately make your stay here an enjoyable experience and we would definately go back. The location is great, close to all the tourist attractions.

I have stayed in hotels all over the world but I have never seen more a personable or genuinely caring staff than the Hollywood Hills! Our journey began with contacting Megan as our concierge and guide to reservations, tours, you name it! She set the tone for this hotel and should be CLONED as the way people should be treated when staying in a hotel for the first time...or even on those times when you return. Thanks to Megan, we will return to the Hollywood Hills many times over!