Stayed Four nights in August, 2006, and besides for the hot water not working for a few hours one night, the stay was very nice. The staff were very friendly and helpful with info about universal and the area. Only problem was that the conssieurs were on another floor and not available to speak with. Hotel shuttle was easy ride to Universal, and parking was not an issue. Very close to the interstate and all things in Hollywood. Rode the subway to Hollywood one evening. Only a short 10 min. ride away, and felt very safe. Parked at the subway stop down the hill, a rather long walk uphill if you choose to walk. Hotel was clean, A/C worked fine, and bath and room were very large for a family of four. Would definitely stay at this hotel again.

Read the reviews and picked the Hilton for our Universal Studio tour. Wish I would of went to the Sheraton instead...just 1/2 block down the hill. Coming from the Grand Californian in DisneyLand, which is a very nice hotel, showing some age, but clean.

Family of 2 adults, and 2 children 7 & 10, stayed one night (thank God) 2nd week of August 2006. This stay was the worst, capped off by NO WATER in the entire hotel early morning until check out the next day....finally COLD water at 10:30am next day!!

I understand problems arise, but it goes to more than a lack of water issue. Just plain dirty and a lack of upkeep. The following is what we found at this hotel, the good and the bad.

THE GOOD
1. Close to Universal Studios, walk up the hill or take a free bus that comes every 15 min. to Hilton and Sheraton.

2. Strong bar drinks, with a patio for smoking...had a nice Partagas from the bar...nice to find in So. Cal these days.

3. Wonderful buffet breakfast..expensive unless you get a package deal...$18.

4. Nice lobby, friendly bell desk, doorman, bartenders.

THE BAD....where do I begin....

1. A/C didnt blow cold in room...ran entire time and was 80 the whole time of our stay

2. Soiled carpet and blankets....totally gross stains!!!!

3. Pool had black algea growing, and spa was unfit to sit in....very murky and smelled bad....proper chemicals fix this....so noone taking care of this obviously.....very surprised from a Hilton

4. NO WATER in entire hotel from before 5am till checkout...many upset customers on that one!! Supposed to be working on a couple of floors water, which they had signs about...but someone screwed up and the water for the whole hotel was shut off all morning.

5. Bathtub had HUGE chunks of enamel flaked away...didnt use
cause we couldnt, but wouldnt anyway.

6. Video game system on TV wouldnt work, kept freezing and restarting, son not happy in a hot room with no games or water.

Wow, what a dump this place was...and then to be over $200 a night is a crime.
This place is a tourist trap. I felt they didnt care about us or others and didnt maintain the property because you probably won't be regular customer....it is for the Universal Studio vacationers.

Stay anywhere but here, unless you want strong drinks and easy access to Universal Studios, and won't be swimming or need AC

BTW, Universal Studios was awesome! Get the VIP or Head of Line Pass, or you will be waiting in line for hours during the day.

We stayed at the Hilton Universal having stayed there before. It is the closest hotel to universal, an easy 10 min walk away (there is also a shuttle). The only complaint we would have is the slowness of the check in staff. Not just for us but everyone it seems. There is no express here! they really need to improve their service and streamline check in. It also took 30 mins for the bellboy to collect our bags on checkout. The pool is a decent size but is in need of repair and the hot tub is even worse. This hotel needs some TLC in some places whilst others appear to have been recently refurbished. We were on the executive floor and this was in very good condition. The breakfast buffet is very good with excellent variety.We would definitely stay here again.

My mom, husband and I stayed at this hotel in mid July for two nights. We had two rooms, executive floor, king beds, non smoking. We checked in around 5:00 on Sunday evening, no problems with reservations, both rooms were ready. I had requested that our rooms be near each other, my request was granted. The lady that checked us in was very friendly, she gave us one room with a Universal Studios view and one room with valley/interstate view. Rooms were very roomy, the bed was out of this world comfortable and the shower was amazing. The only negative I could find was that there was an odor in my mom's room, which the housekeeping staff told her was the new carpet (didn't look new, but they said it was), they brought her air freshner which helped for a little while. They were in the middle of remodeling, they were in and out of rooms changing out furniture, however that didn't bother us, as we weren't there. We went to the executive lounge for appetizers and drinks, when we returned we found a tray of fruit,water and cookies in our rooms. Parking wasn't an issue for us, we actually ended up in the same spot each time we came back, the only problem was that our room key wouldn't work most of the time as we used it to exit the parking garage. This is a great place to stay if your sightseeing includes the Hollywood area, it is easy access to the interstate and only about a 5 min drive. I will definitely stay here again when back in the area.