Could easily be zero stars. Original room was 93 degrees upon check in, the air conditioning unit was poor by anyone's standard, we asked to switch rooms. They did not offer to come get our bags, or move us to a new room so we brought our luggage back down to the front desk. We were then given a second room. Again, no offer made to accompany us and see if the new room was up to standards. This room was 92 degrees upon entry. After a second phone call, they sent up staff to change the filters on the AC unit. That team told us the AC was functioning well and blowing cold air (it was blowing cold air as if you had a few ice cubes in your mouth and blew on my neck) and to use the blackout curtains (after a sort of condescending explanation of what blackout curtains do) and give it some time for the AC to work. We went out to dinner for about two hours and came back to a nice cool 87 degree room. We once again took our belongings back downstairs. We were then told by the front desk staff that since we booked a room with a king size bed all of those rooms faced the sun and would all have similar problems (why would that be an acceptable answer?) and they could do nothing more for us since they accommodated us once already. I had no idea their idea of accommodating someone was to put them in a room with the same problem that the previous room had but what do I know, I am not in the hospitality industry. We were then told that the hotel was completely booked so no further ”accommodations” could be made. We asked for a refund and this is the first time they reacted with some conviction, they were happy to let us leave. Must be nice to be able to turn away business. At no time were there any apologies, any remorse, just matter-of-factly let us leave. My wife and I don't argue or yell, we never feel its worth it, but we left angry and hotel-less on a Saturday night in Los Angeles. We scrambled to find a new hotel but the damage was done, they took our entire Saturday away from us, which no refund could ever compensate for, they temporarily took our joy to be in town on our own as we are parents and do not get much time away. We did take our business elsewhere, to a Hilton, they seem to understand that to relax you need a room that is slightly cooler than a sauna. We were able to salvage the remaining days of our trip. Also the elevators at the Freehand are old (charming?) and constantly in use because of the rooftop bar so it took us waiting for a few packed elevators to get up and down to the hot AF rooms which probably added to our level of frustration. But it was mostly the Sahara like environment of the hot room. Did I mention the rooms were hot? Also maybe use a free hand to open a book on what hospitality looks like, I think your staff may be surprised. (see what I did there?)
58 Reviews