For the bulk of my time in Los Angeles, I will be staying at the DoubleTree in DTLA near Little Tokyo. I will be here for 4 nights. I was just looking at the Hilton properties in Los Angeles and decided on this since it is the cheapest one on offer with a rather good location. It is my first time staying here. Compared to the last time I was here in 2017, there are a lot more properties under the Hilton umbrella. While I would love to try out some of the more lovely ones like WA Beverly Hills or the Conrad, it is way out of my budget. I also do not see the need to splurge given that I am travelling alone. The hotel is rather dated but one key reason I chose it was the rather convenient access to the metro station which allows me to visit various areas in LA easily like Hollywood and Santa Monica.
Booking Process & Pre Arrival
I booked directly with Hilton for this stay and got the base-level guest room for around 280 SGD a night including tax. Yes! You read that correctly! This is how expensive hotels are in the States. I could have got a villa in Thailand. It is a lot more than what I would like to pay but this is the reality of hotel prices in Los Angeles. I will be just staying here for 4 nights. I did not manage to use my Citi Prestige 4-night free as they did not have any fully prepaid rate. A couple of days out from my stay, I can see from the app that I was upgraded to a 1 King Bed 2 Room Suite with Sofa bed. The names are so weird here. I will just call it a King Bedroom Suite. DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Los Angeles Downtown features 434 guest rooms and suites. This is one of the largest Hilton hotels in the world.
Checking In
I took an Uber from Hilton LAX where I was staying the night before and arrived at around 1.45pm. It cost me around 30 USD. Do compare the prices between Uber and Lyft. It is not as cheap as before. It was pretty quiet when we pulled up to the hotel in Little Tokyo. The decor was straight past its prime. I was helped at the check-in counters to the right. There is no wait and no priority lines. The associate that was helping me was helpful but wasn’t exactly super friendly. It felt rather cold. I was not thanked for being a Diamond member and the signature cookie if that matters. It felt like my arrival was preventing her from making small talk with her colleague.
My room isn’t ready but she did reconfirm that I will be upgraded to a King Suite. The official check-in time here is at 4pm which in my opinion is rather late. I clarified the breakfast credit with her. Since I am doing a four-night stay over five days, I can use it on any 4 days. The credit doesn’t roll over. You can use it anywhere in the hotel from the pantry to the bar. Late check-out is extended till 1pm. My room was ready at around 3pm and I got an alert on my app. I got back in the evening to collect my keys and this time I was greeted by a much more friendlier associate.
King Suite
This is known as the 1 King Suite 2 Room Suite. What a weird name for the suite! Can’t they just call it a King Suite or a One Bedroom Suite? They are trying to say that this is a king-bed configuration suite with a separate living room. I was assigned a suite on the 19th floor. The suite is located in the corner. It’s a shame that this suite cannot be connected to a room next door to make it into a two-bedroom suite. Upon entering, you are in the living room area which is kind of in a weird layout during to the location. Immediately to the left, you have a high-top table alongside two bar stools.
The living room comes with a lovely set-up with a huge sitting area that could fit 4 people comfortably. This comes with a coffee table as well as side tables. It is a good setup for gathering.
Opposite the sofa, you can find huge television. It comes with a good number of TV channels. There is also a microwave and a fridge here. The fridge is left empty for your use. This might come in handy to heat some food.
In the corner, you can find a wet bar. It comes with a coffee machine with coffee bean filtered coffee, an ice bucket as well as a couple of glasses. The sink does come in handy since there isn’t a half bath in the room here.
The view from the suite is pretty good given how high up we are. You can get a nice view of the surrounding area as well as the landscape view of DTLA.
The bedroom is separated from the living room by an actual door. The bedroom is a good size. Immediately upon entering you can find a wardrobe with an ironing kit, a portable rack, a safe, bath slippers and bathrobes. There are plenty of hangers and an extra pillow here. I did feel like the space could be better utilised. It would be possible to install a double wardrobe.
Along the wall, you can find a chest and a television on it. It is a replica of the one in the living room. It is huge and high-quality. The size is perfect for the room. I enjoyed having a movie night and catching up on some of my favourite primetime TV series right from cable.
The plush king-size bed is on the other side of the room. I love the beds in America. They are much higher than usual. The mattress and bedding were good. They offer awesome back support and I had a good sleep. I was accompanied by plenty of pillows. On one side of the bed, you can find a nightstand. Outlets are within reach and on the other side the bed is right next to the working desk.
The working desk comes with an armchair that offers great back support. Power outlets are within reach and the Wi-Fi connection is strong in the room. I had access to the premium Wi-Fi plan on account of being a Diamond member. I hated that all the lighting in the room was individually controlled. There isn’t a central switch by the bed.
By the side of the window, you have another armchair and a full-length mirror.
The bathroom is pretty spacious. It comes with a single sink and a mixer tap. Counter space is plenty. All sorts of amenities are provided and you have a dental kit.
Sadly, the bathroom is one of the most disappointing aspects of the suite. It comes with my most hated configuration with that shower and tub combo. To make it even worse, they only had a wall-mounted showerhead that was fixed to it. This makes it so incredibly inconvenient. I will never stay here again due to this. This is my pet peeve for all bathrooms and hotels.
Water pressure and temperature control are good. The drainage isn’t. It gets flooded at times.
Fitness Centre
The fitness centre is open 24 hours. It is of a good size. You can find treadmills, bikes, yoga balls and weights. It is well-equipped and great for a workout. You can easily access it with your keycard.
Pantry
The Pantry is located right next to the reception. It is open 24 hours and this is a good spot to grab some items. They sell all sorts of items. You can also use your credit here. To be frank, there is just a 7/11 right opposite the road.
Japanese Garden
In line with the Little Tokyo location, the hotel also has a Japanese Garden located on the G floor. The nice sculpture garden is a lovely space, especially in the evening for some drinks. It is a good spot if you would like to have a change of scenery. I wish that the hotel had better plans for the place. There is so much potential here.
Rendezvous Lobby Bar
The bar is open from 5pm to 9pm on weekdays and from 3pm to 10pm on weekends. This seems to be the most happening place in the hotel. I guess most guests use their breakfast credit here. It features a full-service bar, light bite menu, and large-screen HDTVs for watching sports games. Happy Hour will be available from 5pm to 7pm on Sun to Thu and 3pm to 5pm on Fri and Sat. It is a cosy area and I had drinks here on some nights.
You can check out the menu here. Do note that you are also able to order from the restaurant menu. The prices are very fair and decent. 6 USD for a beer during happy hour is very fair by Singapore standards.
I got an IPA and the Buffalo wings here.
On another night, I got the Mahi Mahi Tacos as well. The IPA was delicious!
Justice Urban Tavern
The restaurant is open daily from 6am to 11am for breakfast, 11.30am to 2pm for lunch and then 5pm to 9pm for dinner. This is the hotel’s main restaurant. In contrast to the bar, the restaurant was rather quiet. The decor is all alright. It just looks like a dated American restaurant. I ate here twice during my stay since I had some credits to spend. I guess this is where the flexibility comes in. I also appreciate not having to force myself to wake up in the morning when on vacation at times.
You can check out the menu for the restaurant here.
The staff are very polite and helpful. I got the salmon on one of the nights. It was cooked well and a good portion. I love that it had perfectly crisp skin. It comes with plenty of roasted potatoes. The dish was rather expensive as it comes up to about 37 USD after taxes. I had the credit to cover it but this is way above what I am comfortable with paying.
On my last day before I checked out. I had lunch here and got the Justice Burger. It had a nice char and the portion is probably way too huge for my liking. It was a struggle to finish it. The bar seems to be the more popular outlet here. They also share the same menu and as such, guests would rather order and dine over in the bar.
Breakfast at The Cafe
Breakfast was served in Justice Urban Tavern from 6am to 11am. I appreciate the long hours. It is located on the ground floor. Complimentary breakfasts are no longer offered to Gold and Diamond members but instead, you get a credit that ranges between $10 to $25 per day per guest. This is provided for up to 2 registered guests. The credit differs by market and you can find the breakdown below. The advantage of this is the flexibility as you can use it throughout most of the hotel. The trick here in the States is to always book for 2 pax even when you are staying alone. You can check out the menu for breakfast here.
For Los Angeles, breakfast credit for Hilton Honors Diamond Members is $18 per day per guest. I was down at the restaurant to check out the breakfast once. Prices here are definitely on the higher side. It is a little sad that breakfast is like this in the States when I could have a feast in Tokyo or Bangkok.
It was quite quiet when I visited around 9am. There are both à la carte or buffet breakfast options. The buffet cost a whopping 32 USD. It is not worth it and your credit is not going to cover it. The buffet looks miserable. You can check out some pictures of the buffet breakfast here.
I got the lovely breakfast burrito. The portion is ridiculously huge. This is enough for 2 pax. I struggled to finish it. It comes up to around 20 USD after tax.
I only came here once as I did not enjoy the breakfast. I would rather grab something out in the city and use the credit for dinner or at the bar for drinks. Despite my criticism of the breakfast credit policy in the USA, I appreciated the flexibility.
Conclusion
It felt so different coming here from Hilton LAX which was way too crowded. This felt quiet. My experience here was a mixed bag. On one hand, the elite recognition was pretty good but on the other side, the hotel was dated. I wish that they had used the lull period during the pandemic to freshen up the place and renovate the rooms. The bathroom is awful and suffers constant flooding both in the shower and sink. The location is decent and you are within walking distance of the metro. Other than that, there isn’t much to do in Little Tokyo and DTLA. This is one of the more affordable places to stay in LA.
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