My husband and I stayed here last month (Aug) it was probably the worse Holiday Inn I've stayed in. Our room was on the second floor and it had small windows which looked out on to a small road or something like that. The room was so dark I called it our cave! The air conditioning was so noisey it kept you awake in the nght. The breakfast was normal standard Holiday Inn Express but there was not enough room for the number of guests that were there for everyone to have a seat. All in all we did a lot of traveling this holiday and stayed in Holiday Inns and Holiday Inn Expresses at several different locations and this was the worse by far. The only positive is that it is in walking distance of Universal Studios.

We chose this hotel b/c it was close enough to Universal Studios Hollywood but not costing the high price like Sheraton or Hilton that was even closer. It does take about 15 minutes to walk to the base of Universal Citywalk but additional 15 minutes through Citywalk to get to front entrance of the Universal Studios Hollywood. No shuttle available as some reviews stated in past unless it was available before. Includes wifi which works okay. Includes hot breakfast which is okay as well - the pancakes were good - didn't care so much for the scrambled eggs or something else I didn't know what it was and they didn't label - but at least the choices were good. We chose a junior suite which includes extra sink with microwave and refrigerator - it's not a suite in the sense of having a separate living room space, but my guess it is slightly bigger than the regular rooms. We had 2 adults and 2 kids. The room was clean. A/C worked well but it makes a lot of noise and turns on and off or to low blowing fan so hard to sleep with it on. Beds were comfortable though. Traffic noise outside wasn't so bad with windows closed and A/C off. The soap and shampoo/conditioner they provide has a cinnamon kind of smell - can't say it's my favorite but will do. Plenty of parking available - didn't seem too crowded when we went. We paid about 156-170 dollars a night. We tried the indoor pool - a bit cold but my kids were able to tolerate such - it is a small indoor pool but still a pool.
The area around seems safe enough but would only recommend walking when it is bright. Not too many people walking about - mostly a few stores nearby and then lots of apartments. Starbucks across the street. Hotel right off the highway. Overall this was a great choice to go to Universal Studios. We didn't drive unless we wanted to. We ate at Citywalk for most of the evenings or even at lunchtime instead of at the park.

We wanted to be close to Hollywood/Universal Studios. It IS in walking distance, but we chose to pay the $15 and park at Universal Studios anyway. The walk would have been about a mile each way. This hotel has Family Rooms that have a King bed in one room, and two Queens in another with 2 full bathrooms and very roomy. The free breakfast was great (Cereal, packaged oatmeal, muffins/bagels/danish, pancake making machine, biscuits/gravy, a meat and the standard scrambled or omeletted egg with cheese (would pass that up next time). Would have liked hard boiled eggs but maybe they offer that on different days? It had free Wi-Fi in the rooms. It's not much to look at, but it is located directly off the 101 exit if driving in from the north...literally you would drive straight into it as it shares the intersection light. But, if coming from the south, exit Barham and drive back over the freeway, turn right and a quick left at the light. Internet mapping sites have the location of this hotel in so many different places it is crazy!!! Just use the hotel directions!!! :-) I would stay here again. There are NOT bars on the windows...there is a barred fence about 2 feet off the back of the hotel to separate it from the alley way. The pool is not much to speak of however... small and square in shape and only 4 1/2 feet deep... but would suffice if you just wanted to cool off. The staff was very nice.

My brother, his friend and I took a trip to the Universal Studios, and stayed at this hotel the day before and after the visit.

The hotel feels kind of old, nothing special to mention. It's an holiday inn express! The location is good because we didn't use a car. It only took 10-15 mins to walk to the Studios. Some stores across the road. The only thing is the hotel is hard to locate by GPS. the staffs are really hospital and helpful as we arrived late at night and received a warm welcome. Rooms are just okay, though very clean. Air-conditioner worked very well. Breakfast is like any other holiday places. The laundry room was out of detergent and was causing a little inconvenience at that time.