Roosevelt Review
I admit, I was a bit leary after reading some reviews on the wierd staff and unruly guests of this hotel...but the history and location were too much a draw, and I booked it. Due to a flight delay, and fwy shutdowns in LA, we arrived around 3 am. It was a fairly quick check-in, tho none are as fast as I wish they were. The interior of the hotel is gorgeous, nearly everywhere you look. We walked into our room, and tho it was small, it's all we needed and was decorated beautifully! Someonen else commented on small bathroom-whatever, has sink, shower, toilet and cabinet-more than big enough for what it's for! Bits of old-world charm showed through here and there, but room was crisp, clean and modern. Our window looked out over Hollywood Bvd, and how awesome it was to just walk out in the am: Chinese Theater across the street, everything-right there! Restaurants, stores, attractions, all right outside the door or in walking distance. The ONLY bad thing I can say about this hotel is the rooftop, contrary to everyone's postings of 'must see' , etc, is NOT accessable, and that is just wrong. Hell, charge for admission to the roof, but let us up there! They actually have a sign on a door that says, 'roof access' but it is locked, so I called the front desk. They said they CAN let you up there if the suite is rented out, ((which, I believe was where Marilyn always stayed)) which it was not, so they put me in touch with security, who had no clue what I was talking about. I explained, they said they'd double check if the suite was rented and call me back, which they never did, and 8 hrs after arriving, we checked out-STILL worth the $$$ compared to all the other over-priced hotels in the area. The history alone should make this a must-stay, location is great as well. The valet area is even gorgeous-but WARNING: if you use valet, be warned, check-out time is a mosh-pit---leave early or get late check-out, or wait in the bar, lol.