Horrible experience from start to finish. The staff was rude, the pool was off limits to those of us who paid too much to stay there in the first place and the banquet food was horrible. Service was excruciatingly slow so the food was cold and plates were cleaned away before our members were even finished eating.

Basically, we were in their way because we were "nobody". It's a total shame that such a beautiful, historical hotel has been destroyed by greed and indifference to the customers.

Can i say something good? Well, if i have to, it is in an excellent location and the view out of my window was Graumann's and the Hollywood sign. But that's where the glamour ends. Unless you are "somebody" you'd better stay away from this one!

As other posters have stated, the hotel is very dark. Our room was a dark brown and with hardly any decorations in the room it seemed depressing. Upon arriving, we were told our room wasn't ready and to check back in an hour. We left our luggage with the bell hop and returned an hour later only to be put off again. We waited over 2 hours for our room. While we were standing in the lobby, we overheard another gentlemen tell the desk clerk that he had just checked in, got his key card, and when he went to his room, there were other guests still in it!!! I do not know how his situation turned out.

The beds do not have top sheets, but the comforter was nice. There are hardly any plugs, which means tieing up the bathroom while you do your hair. Please be aware that if you use the coffee provided in the room, it is charged to you in ADDITION to the regular room rate. The coffee is NOT included and is considered part of the bar.

On one of the nights we stayed, the BET awards after-party was held at the hotel. While that was impressive, it made it impossible for us to leave without breaking through the tight security and standing out like a sore thumb. We tried to leave without walking through the middle of the black-tie event, but they had all the entrances and exits blocked. I even heard someone say, "No, this is not going to happen," when she saw our family standing there trying to find a way out. Her reference was to the fact that other hotel guests like ourselves were not going to be tolerated walking around when all we wanted to do was leave our room and do some shopping.

I would not stay here again.

My husband and I frequently stay in hotels for weekend getaways and I must admit this is the first time I have stayed in a room where I just did not want to be in the room. Generally I enjoy breakfast in bed, but at the Roosevelt I could not wait to get out of the hotel in the morning.

To be fair I think whether or not someone likes the Roosevelt depends on what you are looking for in a hotel. So I will list the positives and the negatives.

Positives-

1. The front desk was very nice and we were upgraded to the Cabana section of the hotel so we had access to the Tropicana during our stay. I'm not sure what is so great about the Tropicana, but if you are looking for $14 drinks then I guess this is a perk.

2. We had dinner in the restaurant, the food and service were excellent. I ate the veal 2 ways and it was incredible.

Negaitves-

1. The airconditioner did not work properly and our room stayed a consistent 79 even though we set the thermostat lower. We were told engineering was working on this, but during our 3 day stay nothing ever changed.

2. The room is very, very, dark. The walls are painted chocolate brown and the lighting is very bad. The unscreened window opens to the street so we did not open the windows. There was not enough light in the room for me to comfortably read a book.

3. You can easily hear you neighbors talking, listening to the radio, or watching TV.

4. The bathroom more closely resembled a jail cell than a luxury bathroom. The room is concrete, the shower is concrete. There is no tub or any hint of luxury.

5. The concierge was not very helpful and insisted that he must make us reservations at restaurants rather than given us some options and letting us make our own decisions.

In summary, I would not stay at the Roosevelt again. When getting away with my husband I look for a luxury room and amenitities. It appears this hotel is for people who want to be seen at the pool and the Tropicana bar. The pool is nice, but it does not make up for the lack of quality in the rooms. I would so say the rooms are lower in quality than the rooms in any lower priced chain hotel.

After reading the reviews posted, I was somewhat skeptical about this hotel. After my stay, I should have listened to my gut instincts. I understand this is considered a "botique hotel." Painting a few walls black and using minimal lighting does not constitute "botique" to me. Rather, the hotel was a glorified Days Inn. The attempts to be "trendy" were silly. A bottle of "M&Ms" by the bed in a prescription bottle to mimic prescription pills was tacky. The room had no chair, only a bed in it. The AC was loud and didn't work well and the room in general was dirty. The pool was quite nice - if you are 23. Overall, the hotel caters to a 20something crowd that does not need/want any comfort during their stay. I would not recommend this hotel.