My wife and I stayed at the Sky Hotel at the beginning of March, 2008. It was a cute looking place once you pulled in off of the street. It had a nice little courtyard, and give off kind of a motel feel (not exactly what we like to stay in, but we love boutique hotels). It was obvious that this was a recent remodel. The front desk clerk was friendly, and helped us with our bags (there is no valet or bellman, this place is very small).
The room was very nice, we paid for the Superior room off of their website, and got a deal because of our AAA membership. It was very modern, with a sexy looking headboard, marble floors, a pedestal sink, and other amenities. It was nice not paying for internet or parking, as this is standard in LA to pay up to 25.00 per day to park your car. The one thing we did notice was that the housekeeping staff did not pay too close of attention to the room.
We found dirty socks in the wardrobe, an old shoe box that someone had left behind, toilet paper floating in the toilet, and crusty soap in the shower. Also, because the shower is a fiberglass resin material, it had dirt stains in it from previous guests. Unfortunately we did not take any pictures of this as we had a very busy few days in LA. We stayed three days and checked out to go home. The original room rate was reasonably priced (about 680.00 for the three days). The hotel did not seem very full at all, so it was very quiet the entire time we were there. Plus it was close to Westwood Village and the freeway which was convenient.
Here is where the issues came in. Upon checking our account, we discovered an additional 150.00 in charges tacked on a few days after we left. When we called to inquire about the extra fees, we were told that my wife's hair had stained some towels and a robe (her hair is colored, and the color runs when she takes a shower). Now, these are garden variety white towels, but never in all of the years we have been traveling have we run into this issue. We were told that the towels were sent to the laundry, but they were not able to get the stains out.
Have these people ever heard of bleach? My wife has had colored hair for seven years, and we have NEVER had this issue. We even brought it up to the hotel staff of a place that we have stayed at, and they said it was no problem. I think 150.00 for four towels and a robe is quite ridiculous, considering there was no notice of the additional charges. The management of this hotel seems very new, and a bit inexperienced in dealing with guests. The other thing we noticed is that the day clerk never bothered to ask how our stay was when we checked out.
We are not the type of people to complain about a room, but if someone asks us a question, we will give them an honest answer. Granted this situation is unusual, as most people who surf this site probably will not face a towel replacement charge due to colored hair, but please be aware of the condition of the rooms. Had the hotel staff taken an extra 10 minutes to double check the room, many of these issues could have been corrected before we checked in. There are less than 30 rooms, and most of them were empty, how long could that possibly take?
In closing, we will never stay in this hotel again, and intend to write a letter to the owners to apprise them of the situation we encountered..