Review: Andaz West Hollywood

One of my best friends had a graduation party in May in LA, so Chris and I booked a room at the Andaz West Hollywood for the trip. Chris was in the middle of a Hyatt Diamond Challenge, so he wanted the chance to check out one of Hyatt's more unique properties. Hyatt's Andaz properties are designed as boutique hotels and there are currently only 12 of them located around the world. According to Hyatt's website: 

Each hotel features indigenous designs capturing the sights, sounds and tastes of its surrounding area.  Our spaces, food, artwork and events bring an authentic, intimate feeling that you’re in a place quite unlike anywhere else in the world.

The Andaz West Hollywood had an awesome location right on Sunset Boulevard and was previously known as the Continental Hyatt House and the Hyatt on Sunset during its heyday, which, according to Wikipedia:

In the late 1960s and 1970s the hotel proximity to popular clubs such as the Whisky a Go Go made it the preferred Los Angeles accommodation for touring rock groups, notably English bands Led Zeppelin, The Who and the Rolling Stones.

The property was transformed into the Andaz West Hollywood in 2009. It was definitely a unique hotel and a lot of the renovation was tastefully done. However, it was also obvious that the hotel was older and that it had been repurposed from its previous iterations.

Since we drove down from San Francisco on a Friday night (terrible idea), it took ages and we didn't arrive until very late at night. You can look forward to paying $36/night for valet parking if you drive! 

One unique aspect of the Andaz properties is the lack of a traditional front desk. There's an iPad that the staff uses at check-in and that's really it. 

Andaz West Hollywood Lobby

Andaz West Hollywood Lobby

We were upgraded to a one bedroom suite after Chris used one of his Hyatt upgrade certificates from the Diamond Challenge and headed immediately upstairs since it was about 2 AM. 

Andaz West Hollywood Bedroom

One aspect of the room that was pretty cool (although admittedly unnecessary) was the fact that there were two bathrooms. It was clear that the room had previously been two separate hotel rooms that were combined into one, but we weren't complaining about each having our own space to get ready.

Andaz West Hollywood Bathroom #1

Andaz West Hollywood Bathroom #2

Andaz West Hollywood Bathroom #2

The hotel had LATHER toiletries available as well as some toothpaste in case you had forgotten your own.

Andaz West Hollywood Toiletries

As I mentioned earlier. The one bedroom suite was originally two separate rooms, so the living room area was quite large and it seemed like the designers had trouble filling all of the space. There was a sofa, a desk, a nice sound system and TV, a bar-like table and 4 chairs, which held the "mini-bar", and a very unique sunroom with a really cool view of the Sunset strip. Apparently, the sunrooms used to be exposed balconies, but in 1972, Keith Richards threw a television off the balcony, so they decided to enclose them. Way to ruin that one, Keith. 

Andaz West Hollywood Living Room

Andaz West Hollywood Living Room

Andaz West Hollywood Mini Bar

Andaz West Hollywood Sunroom

Outside of our room, like many of the hotels in Hollywood, the Andaz has a rooftop pool with a view that stretches as far as the Los Angeles smog allows. You'll need to get there early. We went up around 11 AM and already, almost all of the chairs had been claimed.

Andaz West Hollywood Rooftop Pool

Finally, because of Chris' Diamond status, we were able to have free breakfast at the buffet, which is served at the Riot House Bar next to the lobby. Riot House is actually a gorgeous space with an open kitchen where you can see all the action directly from your seat. The buffet offered typical breakfast fare, with breads, eggs, bacon, sausage, meats and cheeses, etc. There was also an option to order your eggs cooked to order from the server, which was great.

Andaz West Hollywood Riot House Breakfast Buffet

Andaz West Hollywood Riot House Breakfast Buffet

Andaz West Hollywood Riot House Breakfast Buffet

Overall, we had a nice stay at the Andaz and I think we both appreciated the Andaz's unique history. For me personally, I don't feel the need to be in the thick of Hollywood when I visit LA and I would prefer to stay somewhere closer to the beach or in Orange County, but the Andaz is a fun option if you're interested in checking out the Hollywood scene and want to be where the action is. 

Happy Travels!