Andaz West Hollywood

After two nights at the Category 2 Hyatt Place Ontario/Rancho Cucamonga, we decided to splurge a little on the points and go for the Hyatt Category 4 (requiring 15k points per night) Andaz West Hollywood (aka Riot House) located on the world famous Sunset Boulevard. Parking can set you back a bit though at their rather pricey $32/night overnight valet-only rate.

Service was a bit spotty as we walked into the lobby. One host was busy checking in other customers so we waited off to the side. Ten minutes had gone by and first host was clearly still in the middle of conversing with that same batch of customers in the lounge and no other hosts had appeared. I was a little bit peeved by the time a host finally came around about 15 minutes after we had arrived, especially given how the Andaz was supposed to be very service friendly - I guess promptness wasn't necessarily part of SOP. In fact, the host neglected to offer us our complimentary glass of wine until I asked about it. The check-in process was definitely a bit of a letdown...

While waiting for a host to come, I took some pictures of the interesting dog statue in front of the restaurant and the staircase leading up to the second floor lounge area. At the top are some photos of the Andaz's heritage depicting some of the rock musician's who once stayed here at the 'Riot House', as it was nicknamed.

Our king room mountain view was quite decent with some nice lighting and a very comfortable bed. The only complaint was a toilet that wouldn't flush, but that was quickly taken care of by the in-house engineer.

Our complimentary glasses of wine which we waited over 15 minutes for:

The minibar was stocked with a nice selection of drinks and as advertised, the non-alcoholic beverages were complimentary along with the snacks. This included my favorite Numi Ear Grey Pu-Erh Iced Tea drink, which was definitely a nice treat.

Some neat records and even a pencil, sharpener and eraser!

These complimentary earplugs was a nice touch as hotels can sometimes get a bit loud (that's right, I'm looking at you, Hyatt Place Ontario/Rancho Cucamonga) although we fortunately didn't need to use this as our room faced the quieter mountains as opposed to the louder, city view rooms which have to deal with the sound of nightclubs in the immediate vicinity.

The shower head had a rather unique shape and I loved the toiletries. The shampoo and conditioner felt and smelled great.

A small square seat in the hallway for those waiting for the elevator. Below that is the gym which offers a nice street view of Sunset Blvd for those jogging on the treadmill.

There were a couple of books in the drawers all introducing something to do with the area, including this one about Jack Nicholson, one of the most recognizable Hollywood actors.

Unfortunately, the rooftop lounge was closed due to a private event so I only got to get a glimpse of it well past midnight as they were still cleaning up the event space. The rooftop terrace and pool was a delight, reminiscent of the one at the Courtyard Marriott Seoul Times Square but much more swanky, with gorgeous Southern California vegetation and textured ambient lighting giving off a nice soft glow amidst the city lights.

The rooftop pool:

Here's a view of the mountains at the back. With that, I'll leave you with the quote from our room window:

"Love of beauty is taste, the creation of beauty is art".