I just went to Los Angeles with three friends and we booked two rooms at the HHH through Expedia, based on reviews we had read on here and because we weren't willing to spend an arm and a leg on a room. When we arrived, it was a bit confusing to know where to park, but it turns out there is 10-minute parking right in front of the Magic Castle (where you check in). We were greeted with flutes of sparking lemonade (quite good!) and the two guys who checked us in were very friendly and helpful. We also got upgrades on both of our rooms.

Initially arriving at the HHH (which is also strange to get to the first time, as it's behind a coded gate), I was wondering if we had made the wrong decision. The outside of the rooms is not the nicest and the staircases need painting. But that's only a problem if you're a picky traveller, like some reviewers seem to be on here. The rooms themselves are very nice. What a bonus to have a functioning kitchen, a living room, two TVs, balcony, a good shower and comfortable beds, for a great rate to be anywhere close to the Hollywood area!

My friends ended up getting upgraded to room 403, which has an unparalleled view of the Hollywood Hills and Los Angeles Downtown. Absolutely beautfiul from the balcony.

One obstacle of the HHH is that the hotel is up a hill. However, whenever we needed a ride, the staff would drive up and promptly shuttle us down to the Magic Castle with friendly service. So this obstacle ends up not being an issue.

Location? Okay, this can not be beat. Once at Magic Castle, you are literally a five-minute walk away from the main Hollywood area, including the Kodak Theatre and Grauman's Theatre.

I was so impressed by this hotel and its great staff and housekeeping that I had to express my opinions on here. If I return to Los Angeles in the near future, I would certainly stay here again.

Thanks!! Derek (Canada)

Okay, first of all you must realize that this property used to be an old apartment building and there are still people who live there (they have rent controlled apartments). The hotel people cannot spend money doing major renovations because they have actual tenants living there. I imagine whenever the tenants finally vacate, they will do massive renovations which will result in room rates five times what they are now and sort of a "ruining" of the experience here (in my opinion).

Years ago when I went to LA I would stay at the Hollywood Roosevelt in one of their poolside cabana rooms. There was something about them that reminded me of how Hollywood used to be in the fifties. Since they renovated the HR all of those kinds of great authentic Hollywood experiences were gone. Only to be replaced by all things gross and glossy mall-like any-city any-place.

The HHH is the last real great place to stay in Hollywood. If you need room service, and want luxuries of that sort -- you won't find them here. But you will find the same quality linens and bed that you will get at the other over-priced hotels in Hollywood. Personally, I'd rather stop by Mayfair Market on Franklin and pick up water, food, etc., or Victor's deli for some wine and then keep them in the fridge (every room has a full kitchen) than to order the exact same things and spend more money. You also get complimentary dishes and basic pots/pans.

On my most recent visit I was "upgraded" to a one bedroom suite. I honestly prefer the Studio City View because I liked that the room was more open. I thought the "bedroom" area made it more congested. The *best* thing about the hotel is the balcony and the view.

NOTE: There are two types of rooms here. When you drive into the compound there are a row of rooms on the left-hand side of the road and a row of rooms on the right-hand side of the road. The rooms on the left at what they call rooms with a "hill view" and the rooms on the right are what they call rooms with a "city view." I have never seen inside a "hill view" room, but judging from how they look from outside, I wouldn't stay in them. The ones you want are in the greyish building on the right -- the city view rooms. But then again, from outside, those don't look so hot either. Never mind all that - this isn't the place to stay if you're shallow and into surface only.

Easy to get a complimentary ride down the hill if you just wait to call the front desk until you're ready to go. It takes them about 4 minutes to come pick you up.

The service at the HHH is great. Gretchen delivers some of the best customer service I've ever experienced.

I'm very afraid of writing this review because I want to be selfish about this hotel and tell no one it's here. Because I have this horrible feeling that sooner rather than later more and more people will realize what's here and Paris Hilton, or the like, will ruin it.

Also -- I'm not a budget traveller. I have no problem spending $400/night on a hotel room or $200 on a nice dinner. The reasons I love the HHH are more about the feeling - the energy - the sense of magic and a taste of what true Hollywood has to offer. If you want to feel a part of it, stay here. If you want to be destracted by glossiness and mall-like atmosphere, stay elsewhere.

The HHH is for people who want to be near everything but yet hidden, out of view, nestled in a quiet place. So that at the end of the day, you can retreat. And in a city as fake and gross as LA -- nothing's better than to escape into calmness.

We had stayed at the Magic Castle Hotel previously and loved it, which was unavailable but the sister hotel, Hollywood Hills was available. So we booked it, having had such a positive experience at the Castle. We arrived after a 12 hour car trip in the dark and were quite surprised when we walked in and smelled the room. It smelled like old, musty wood-so we opened the windows and lit some candles and fell into a comfortable bed. In the morning we noticed the paint on the ceiling of the bathroom was chipping, water damage to the walls and floor, and stains on the very thin carpet. The bathroom has a thin pocket door that was dirty, the front door was dirty and the walls in the bathroom were dirty. The tub, sinks and toilet were cleaned very well. We tried to upgrade and were told the hotel was completely booked. The neighbor above us was a resident and rolled around on a chair (or something) all night. You can hear everything, including the phone ringing. If it was not for the Staff at the Magic Castle I would have rated it a 1.

The location is the only good thing about this hotel. The outside of the hotel is in a terrible condition - like old, abandoned, dirty appartment building. The room was really big, with the kitchenette, but it smelled of gas terribly . Most probably there was a gas leak from the stove. The bed and the bathroom seemed very clean, but the carpet had stains, the microwave looked like it had been at least 20 years old and the same about the stove. Because of the gas smell we checked out after 10 minutes and we were given our money back with no problem. The staff people were all very nice. But the overall feel of the place was very dissapointing.