My husband and I booked a room through Expedia and stayed at the Roosevelt for 4 nights in July 2011. First of all, you can't beat the location. It is on Hollywood Blvd across from Madam Tussaud's/Grauman's Chinese Theater/Kodak Theater. The subway is a 2 minute walk (and then it was one stop to Universal), the Hollywood and Highland shopping area is two short blocks away and there is a public bus stop right in front of the hotel (for Santa Monica and Venice beaches, the Beverly Center/Grove shopping malls etc). There were two designer shoe warehouses (one on Hollywood, one down Orange Drive on Sunset) and I spent hours there. There is also a CVS right across the road.
The elegant glazed tiles on the lobby floor and stairs spoke of another era and there are lovely indoor fountains. The rooms could use a bit of renovation (but the furniture and furnishings were definitely not tired) and the bathroom was very small, but everything was clean and comfortable and we loved the minimalist black/white/chrome look. The pool and Tropicana bar were amazing, if a bit crowded. This is a very 'happening' hotel and the common areas were noisy over the weekend. But we heard not a peep from our room. The front desk staff was very efficient and accommodating (especially Jeanie/Jenny?) and the concierge was very knowledgeable but housekeeping kept forgetting to leave toiletries/bathmat. However, calls to the front desk remedied the matter instantly. We also didn't get a turn-down service or chocolates, but it wasn’t worth complaining about. After check-out, though, there was a bit of miscommunication with the valet guys, and we had to wait almost 30 minutes for our Emirates chauffeur-drive car and it turned out that the car was waiting all along in the parking lot for us (and the chauffeur had informed the valet).
All in all, a great trip. We will be back next summer.
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