I stayed at the Los Angeles Athletic Club for three nights in October 2012 and highly recommend it to any traveler.

I was having trouble finding a reasonably priced hotel downtown when a friend recommended LAAC where you can stay without membership. The location was perfect and within easy walking distance of the offices I was visiting. There are plenty of restaurants nearby and stores to pick up supplies.

Shortly after checking into a lovely deluxe room, I received a call advising me that I been upgraded to a suite! I never get upgrades and have no idea what prompted this very kind offer, but I happily accepted!

The suite was amazing - a generous sized living area with comfortable couch, work space and wet bar with mini fridge, a very spacious bedroom with a comfortable bed and second work space, and a large bathroom. The suite was clean and well maintained. The rate included wifi which was fast. The corner suite views were also fabulous.

It is one of the rare occasions where I can say both the deluxe room I was briefly in and the suite I ended up staying in looked exactly like the photos on LAAC's website. I can even pick out the suite I stayed in from the photos on LAAC website (images 7 and 8 of 10 on the suite description page - http://www.laac.com/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=245369&ssid=101362&vnf=1).

The staff were always friendly and attentive. I needed to check out two days early - it was not a problem and the reception staff took the extra two days off my bill.

I can recommend the included breakfast buffet. A nice touch for any traveler, particularly a business traveller on an expense budget. LAAC do not short change their guests as the breakfast was amazing - both hot and cold buffets with ample tasty selections.

For parking, go around the corner to the public parking garage on Olive Street. You can access the hotel through the garage and obtain the discounted hotel daily rate.

Although not very impressive from the outside, this is really a historical jewel in LA where you can appreciate what were the sport and fineness concept in the early last century. they also have tons of historic materials from UCLA teams. LA athletic Club has also very elegant dining and meeting rooms on the 3rd floor, various floors are dedicated to the superb sport area where you can get a covered Olympic swimming pool, gyms, yoga, pilates, squash and much more. The rooms are also very elegant and well taken care. Place is worth to stay or just for a visit!

Staying at the hotel for a conference, I was glad to see that guests can use all the amenities in the athletic club. I was really looking forward to a thorough workout after sitting in the conference all day. However, the fitness facilities open at about 9:00 am and close at 7pm on Saturdays--about a half-hour after my conference activities ended. The hotel is also not in a nice area, so walking outside was not a viable option, even though the weather was amenable. The hotel restaurant and even room service close at 7pm on Saturday and so does the bar. Completely inadequate compared to how the services are advertised. In addition, the property is located in an area of downtown LA that only has limited choices of restaurants in walking distance. With the hotel restaurant closed, I actually had Dominos pizza on Saturday night, having already tried the other area dining options during the previous days of the conference. I ran into two other conference attendees who were actually going across the street to Subway because they sat down at the hotel bar at 6:45pm, on Saturday, only to be told it was last call and that the restaurant was closing, too. Ridiculous for what you are paying and ridiculous compared to how the property is marketed. If you don't care about any of these things, it's a good, clean room in a quiet hotel, but I was quite annoyed, overall, by the time I checked out on Sunday. I could stay at a La Quinta and have 24 hour fitness center access.

My husband and I stayed here for one night and were very pleased with the service and the room. The front desk staff was very friendly and accommodating, and the room was comfortable and clean. Also, as a guest of the hotel, you can enjoy all of the amenities in the Los Angeles Athletic Club (pool, fitness center, restaurant, bars, etc.). We will definitely be staying here again!