Wouldn’t stay again
25/07/2018 furby14, Oakville, Canada
BW member. $20 parking. Booked months in advance, indicated a free parking. We had to pay $20 per day. Located on a very busy street. Exiting the hotel on the busy street by car is almost impossible. ... more
BW member. $20 parking. Booked months in advance, indicated a free parking. We had to pay $20 per day. Located on a very busy street. Exiting the hotel on the busy street by car is almost impossible. Bathroom too small. Try getting into the shower....I barely slept at night due to noise from the street. The windows do not block the noise. 1st day we arrived late and walked to find a restaurant. I was shocked how many homeless and mentally ill people were in the area. The hotel is very close to Metro transit that will take you either to the beach or downtown. The breakfast lady (forgot her name. She also spoke Spanish, had her hair tied, slim figure). I hope you’re paying her well as she works very hard and is very nice to guests. The staff at reception is ok as well. The room was ok if you don’t count the bathroom. less
Aalok S, Owner at Best Western Royal Palace Inn & Suites, responded to this review
We are very appreciative of the loyalty of all of our Best Western members. I would very much like knowing where you booked your reservation with us. We use a system called EDS, which delivers our hotel information to all online channels, and uniformly, they all indicate that 24-hour valet parking is at a rate of $20.00.
You are right to suggest that we are on a very busy street. Sepulveda Boulevard is located right off the 10 and 405 freeways so it provides easy access to Los Angeles' two main freeways. We are also located one block from the Metro Expo Line, which, for $1.75, allows a guest to travel as far west as the Pacific Ocean and Santa Monica Pier, and as far east as Downtown Los Angeles.
We are proud of the efforts the City of Los Angeles is engaging in to provide a much more enjoyable experience for traversing the City. We find the guests who use Uber, the Metro Expo Line, Bird Scooters and other ride-share programs really enjoy traveling. I have lived in Los Angeles for over thirty years and I empathize with your disappointment in your driving experience. To put it mildly, driving in LA sucks. Use Uber, the MetroExpo Line, Bird Scooters. Forget the rental car, forget having to pay for 24 hour valet parking, and enjoy the best of LA.
I am sorry that you were not able to get a good night's sleep. Most guests are able to sleep well and find that the window does provide the adequate noise protection. I am sorry that we did not ask you how you enjoyed your room or whether you receive a good night's sleep. If you had not, we could have very easily put you in a room on the other side of the hotel. We usually ask our guests how they like their room and respond to complaints by resolving problems quickly and efficiently. I am sorry that was not the case with you.
Los Angeles does have its share of homeless people. I am sorry that we did not direct you to the better places to eat. On Pico Boulevard, there is a great place for burgers, beer and sports called the GULP. There is also Brazilian cuisine called Bossanova. We are also in walking distance to Little Japantown, which has amazing Japanese eateries. There is also a very healthy fresh restaurant called Lemonade. It seems by your description that you chose to walk under the freeway at nighttime. Note to all: Its never a good idea to walk under the freeway overpass at nighttime in any metropolitan city. Next time, I would suggest you choose the fine establishments on Pico Boulevard, the Japantown eateries on Sawtelle, or use the Metro Expo Line to eat at all of the great eateries, from fine dining, to bars, to casual spots, in Santa Monica.
The breakfast lady you speak of is Araceli. I agree that she has a warm personality and am glad you took notice of that. She is the person we have assigned the task of asking guests how their room was and whether they enjoyed their sleep. I will check with her to see how she did not catch your problem early enough so that we could fix it.
I'm glad you thought the room was suitable other than the restroom. I assure you, redesigning the restrooms is part of our long term plans. Unfortunately reconstructing bathrooms is not a quick fix. However, our assessments are aligned in that area.
Thank you so much for your honest feedback. We are sad to hear that you will not choose us again. I do hope that you know that we hear your feedback, take it very seriously, and will make every effort to improve our service and product for the next guest. Thank you so much and thank you for choosing us.