Embassy Suites Los Angeles Downey

As usual, I am in California traveling on business, and am actualy writing this from the hotel. This hotel is located in an area in transition. What was once a pleasant middle class community noted for the aerospace industry is now deterorating. On my arrival, I was given a room with a water stained ceiling, an unpleasant odor, rust stained fixtures in the bathroom (with a timeworn shower door that had been caulked inumerable times to seal leaks), and badly worn furniture with sagging cushions on the couch. I requested another room, but was told that none were available. Because it was late, I waited until the next morning to request another room. This second room is somewhat better, but still bears signs of water seepage that has required patching of the ceiling and walls. I can barely believe that this property stillbears the Embassy Suites name. I will be leaving tomorrow morning for another hotel 10 miles away, despite the inconvenience that this will cause with extended commute times in the greater LA area.. Avoid this one like the plague.

HEY WE DIDN'T STAY IN ANY SUITE, BUT IF YOU ATTEND ANY MEETING/ CONFERENCE IN THE HOTEL , WATCH OUT! OUT OF 30+ PEOPLE APPROX. HALF GOT SICK.

COLDS, IN MY CASE BROCHITITS. WHAT I NOTICE WAS THE AIR CONDITIONING WAS COLD OR HOT. I'M NOT KIDDING. CALL THE LACO PROBATION DEPT.

We checked in quickly (efficient front desk staff) but they sent us to a room, with the door propped open and outside windows open. Feeling that something was not quite right, we called from the room (didn't get unpacked) to let the front desk know that the room wasn't really "clean" and the door and windows were open.

The front desk told us to stay there so we unpacked since it was clean enough to stay in and closed the door and windows.

(Shame on them, our call should have raised a red flag.... even though the hotel rooms are in an open-atrium lobby, telling a guest just to go ahead and stay in an opened room is just unsafe).

Five minutes later, some one from housekeeping tells us that we can't stay in that room, they just cleaned the carpet.

So we checked into our second room.

After upacking for a second time, we found the room "ventilation fan" did not work.

Repacked and moved to our third room....

In our third room, everything worked!! Well, not really.

We found a sign next to the thermostat informing guests that while the ventilation fan is controlled in the room AND while guests can adjust cold/heat on the thermostat, the A/C and heating for guest rooms are actually controlled by central air.

I couldn't believe my eyes...central A/C and heating!?!

The room's thermostat had numbers and buttons and everything...it looked like it really worked....but alas, even though it was cold and raining outside, my room was hotter than the seventh level of hades and I couldn't do anything about it no matter how many buttons I pushed or how much I cried. Turns out, the fifty (50) or so business people we were with had the same problem with the heat in each room. (Except one poor guy - he was freezing in his room the whole stay).

I called the front desk to see if anything could be done about the oppressive heat (like giving me control of the temperature in my room).

They sent me a floor fan......a freak'n floor fan.

I don't know why I was surprised, they sent the guy who was freezing in his room a floor space-heater.

So if you want to practice your Spanish, change rooms a lot and sweat in the room that they finally give you, this place is for you.

Really though, I would expect this kind of fiasco to happen in a crap motel. Not an Embassy Suites.....stay away!!

The breakfast selection and the coffee were not good. The room was not up to usual standard and the room freshener odor was not pleasant.