05/18/04

A South Bay business classic across from an enormous shopping mall.

by Contributor

The Scene
This contemporary chain hotel offers a convenient location for specific business interests. It's only a couple of miles from the beach, but one of its biggest draws is its proximity to the corporate headquarters of Toyota, American Honda and Nissan. Not surprisingly, Japanese is one of several languages spoken by the multilingual staff. As well, the hotel is situated amidst the recently renovated Del Amo Fashion Center.

The Details
Designed mainly for business travelers, the guest rooms are spacious and comfortable. Many offer private balconies which overlook either the lush courtyard garden or suburban sprawl. Luckily for guests, the lobby bar is warm, dim and inviting, and features an oversized fireplace and seating areas for sipping drinks and discussing the day's meetings. An adjacent casino is where most guests spend the evenings, since even limited gambling is a rare treat in the state of California. Torrance's Restaurant Row is just minutes away by car.

04/11/03

Don't stay here.

by TLC

Avoid this place if you can. The rooms are tiny to start. The staff is rather clueless about the locale and transportation in the area. What's worst is the lack of WORKING vending machines and ice machines. (In fact, they post which floors have working machines, but I still had to visit 4 of the posted floors to find ones that actually work!) Last of all, if you have upgrade status, don't expect anything. With the lack of tower or club level, the free continental breakfast is a joke. The menu says juice with coffee or tea and a basket of breakfast pastries. They will only give you one breakfast bread and the drinks. Their only redeeming quality is the proximity of the Del Amos mall.

• Pros: close to shopping mal
• Cons: small rooms, poor customer service, low quality hotel