Just what we needed
I needed a hotel that was close to playa del rey and the airport. Since there were three in my party I needed a bigger room with some privacy. The Holiday Inn Express had a suite that fit the bill nicely. It had a refrigerator, micro wave and a safe in the room (the suite had the micro wave and refrigerator-the regular rooms do not have this feature). I stayed two nights in the suite and everybody was very nice to us. The sofa bed in the room was not too comfortable- the mattress was such that you could feel the wires through the bed, when I told the front desk this they sent up a mattress to put on top of the sofa bed and everyone was very nice about doing it. The hotel was very clean and the King mattress on the regular bed was very comfortable. We did not need to be picked up at the airport so I never used this feature but we did take the shuttle from the hotel to the airport and they were very good, no problem getting to our flight. The hotel parking had small spaces but we had a little car so there was no problem and we always found parking. It was free and I was very glad to have it. We picked up our rental car by walking to a rental car agency nearby, they have a rental car agency in the lobby but I had already booked at the other place to rent a car. The hotel pool is adequate, we did not try the whirlpool that was outside, but there were people in it. They need a few more chairs by the pool but a guess a lot of people do not use it. There were four or five chairs and we got two and other people got two, anyone else would have been out of luck. The breakfast is wonderful. We were happy to have it. I picked the hotel because of this and the free parking. They have a pancake maker, they serve the famous holiday inn cinnamon buns, (yum), eggs, cereal, yogurt, milk, coffee and various other breads. We had plenty to eat. Bananas were a little scarce but they would replenish them every so often. When we were there they were having problems with the elevator. In fact someone in our party got stuck in one for 10 minutes. He was okay but I was a little concerned and used the stairs the rest of the trip. I was returning to this hotel at the end of our trip and requested a low floor so I could walk up and down. We did use the elevator with our luggage and we were fine, it can get a little crowded at times. When we returned the elevators were being fixed but it was the one that did not get stuck that they were working on. I hope they are all right now because that was the only drawback to this hotel. In the suite we had a whirlpool tub and I do not normally use these but the place was sooo clean and the tub looked so inviting that I tried it. It was great. When we returned at the end of our trip we booked a room with two double beds. The beds were comfortable and the room was fine for the one night before we left Los Angeles. It is fine to walk around this area during the day. At night I am not so sure. We stopped on our way home at the 7 eleven around the corner one night and it was fine. It is an area where all of the rental car agencies are. It is near the airport. I would not go out walking alone at night but it was not as scary as some people made it out to be. The lobby is very nice and the people who work there are also very understanding and eager to help make your stay a pleasant one. We would stay here again when we are in the area. Planes fly over the apartments next door but you do not hear them in the room. I did not hear a lot of traffic, only an occasional motor cycle. I bring ear plugs because I am fussy about noise but the noise level at this place was fine and also the noise from the air conditioner did not bother me at all. I sometimes have a problem with the noise but I did not hear it at this place. I put it on fan so it would not cycle on and off. We had nice weather so maybe it did not have to run as much. I had a very nice stay. Thank you to everyone!! I gave it four stars instead of five because it is of course not super plush resort hotel, it is a very nice airport hotel with amenities that I like to have. (sometimes I prefer that over a plush resort, I like the free breakfasts!!)