The United States is one of my favorite countries to travel to. Not too long ago, I got to visit the Midwest and recently I flew into Los Angeles for a road trip through California, Utah, Arizona and Nevada. Several national parks were part of the itinerary, but my trip began in LA. This time I stayed at the marvelous citizenM Los Angeles Downtown Hotel, check my review in this article!
Location in Los Angeles Downtown
Los Angeles is high on the list of iconic American cities. California is not only known for San Francisco and Silicon Valley, but the city of angels is also on many travel bucket lists. LA has just under 4 million inhabitants, which makes it the second largest city of the US by population.
Make sure to plan when visiting LA. The city has several neighborhoods and if you want to visit more than one, which is recommended, you need to take into account travel time. Popular spots include Santa Monica, Venice Beach, LA Downtown and of course Hollywood. Just like in any big city across the world the hotel rates can skyrocket depending on when you visit.
This time we wanted a hotel in the LA Downtown area and got the opportunity to stay at citizemM Los Angeles Downtown.
The citizenM hotel is easily accessible by both car and public transport. A rental car or taxi will take about half an hour from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Public transport is about 90 minutes. I took a cab from ‘LAX-IT’, just outside of the airport. You can take the free shuttle to this taxi stand. It’s easy to order a Uber / Lyft / taxi there using the free WiFi service. A taxi for 4 people and 5 large luggage pieces cost me about $ 65.
Curious about our other reviews of hotels in the United States? Check out the review of the M Social Hotel Times Square in New York and The LaSalle Chicago, Autograph Collection.
Welcome at citizenM Los Angeles Downtown
The taxi dropped us off in front of the hotel. For check-in, we handed over our passports and credit card. The friendly staff at the desk checked us in for 2 rooms and 3 nights. After that, we were directed to use the self service kiosks to create our own rooms keys. It felt a bit like duplicate work as we needed to scan our passports again, but the process was quite easy.
When we finished creating our room cards we got a small explanation about the hotel. And after that, we were good to go!
The Room: citizenM Room
In this review about the citizenM Los Angeles Downtown, we will also discuss the room types of the hotel. Actually, we can be short on this part of the review: all rooms are very similar. The only real difference is the floor and the view. Each room has a size of about 150 sq. ft. or 14 m2. This time I stayed at the 9th floor.
When you enter the room you can find a big mirror directly on the right. On the other side there’s an open wardrobe with hangers. You can also find some storage space above the wardrobe.
After the little hallway, you encounter a small wash stand on the right. There’s another mirror and a wall mounted lamp, along with two power outlets and light switches. Under the sink, there’s more storage space and a drawer with the mini fridge. Next to that, there are some towels, a hair dryer and paper handkerchiefs.
On the left you can access the bathroom with the toilet and shower. You will read more about the bathroom later in this review of the citizenM Los Angeles Downtown hotel. The majority of the rest of the room is taken by the big comfy kingsize bed. Under the bed, you can find some extra storage space and a small safe.
Opposite the bed there a big wall mounted tv and a book shelf. It’s possible to stream your own content to the tv by the way. Next to the bed there is also a small desk with a chair and more power outlets and light switches.
Considering a stay at citizenM? There’s currently a Summer Sale going on where you can get up to 25% discount and members get free breakfast. Check the citizenM Summer Sale here!
The Bathroom
This hotel room is on the small side, but of course we’re staying in a ‘microtel’. The bathroom is divided in two. The washer is found in the hallway and the toilet and shower are in the bathroom. The shower features both a hand and a nice rain shower. There are several hooks to hang your towel.
Amenity wise the bathroom has not much to offer. The wash stand offers some hand soap. And in the shower you can find shampoo and shower gel. Just what you need I guess.
Room Comfort
Although the room is quite small, it’s still very comfortable. The designers of the room needed to be creative when it comes to storage space, and I honestly think they did a good job. The storage space under the bed and also the extra shelves really come in handy.
On the desk there’s a tablet which you can use to control some room features. You can use the tablet to switch on the mood lighting (including different colors), use the tv, operate the airconditioning and even close the curtains. The tablet is very responsive and works great!
It is quite easy to use the airconditioning with the tablet, but still I thought it was a bit too hot during the night.
Hotel Facilities
In this review of the citizenM Los Angeles Downtown we will also discuss the hotel facilities. Most of those are found in the fabulous spacious hotel lobby on the ground floor. The hotels tries to give a homey feeling with the lobby design, using a mix of modern and retro design elements. The lobby also features a business corner with a printer, a game area and a separate children’s play area. There are also some meeting rooms available (at a fee).
In the lobby there are art works and installations by local and international artists. On the ground floor you can also find the restaurant and bar called canteenM. You will read more about that later in this review.
If you want to stay fit during your stay you can go to the gym on the 10th floor. The fitness room features some of the latest generation equipment that even allows you to connect your smart watch. There’s also a nice view of the area and you can cool down on the adjacent terrace (which was unfortunately closed during my visit). In my experience the gym really is on the small side for this amount of hotel rooms. I stayed three days and on two days the gym was completely full. Instead, I opted for a nice run outside.
Some floors offer a separate ironing room, which I think is a smart additional facility for guests.
The hotel does not have their own parking area, but you can find many public and private spots around the hotel. The hotel staff can advise where to go. Finally, the hotel has free WiFi for both guests and visitors. This service is fast and reliable.
It’s good to be aware that the area around the hotel unfortunately has a lot of homeless people. To be fair, this is not unique to this area, you will find it in more places in LA. But it’s something to be aware of.
Restaurant and Bar canteenM
During our visit we used the breakfast buffet at canteenM. The buffet is available every day between 6 AM and 11 AM – quite generous breakfast times actually. The buffet is very good as there are lots of options to choose from. You can start with yoghurt with cereals and fresh fruit. And there’s a choice of bread, bagels, croissants and chocolate pastries. There are also two flavors of muffins. If you like, you can add ham, cheese, salmon and/or fresh avocado spread to your meal. For a hearty start of the day you can take scrambled eggs with bacon, potatoes and tomatoes. Vegan, vegetarian and lactose free options are available on request.
The breakfast is normally not included in the room rate. You pay $ 19.95 per person + tax.
Restaurant and bar canteenM is also open 24/7 for a drink or snack at the bar. One night we had some drinks here. The menu features softs drinks, wine and local beers. But you can also order cocktails and mocktails. I think the prices are on the high end.
Loyalty program citizenM
CitizenM has their own loyalty program called mycitizenM. The program has two types of memberships.
The regular membership is free. This gives you a best price guarantee, access to exclusive sale, refer a friend rewards and full access to the CitizenM mobile app. Next to that, you can get a 6% discount on the nightly rate.
For the paid mycitizenM membership you get a couple more perks. It costs $ 12 per month or $ 144 per year. With this paid membership you get 10% off the nightly rate (except for promotions), free late check-out and rooms with a better view (if available). Next to that, you have have guaranteed room availability of you book at least two days before arrival. You also get a 10% discount on food and drinks (except for the breakfast). I was not a member during my stay, so did not have any additional perks unfortunately. You can read all the details here on the citizenM website.
Pictures Review CitizenM Los Angeles Downtown: InsideFlyer – Christian
