The Westin Bonaventure is a blast from the past, with architecture that not-so-subtly reminds its guests of the concrete heydays of the 1980s. The sterile lobby is impersonal, dark and disorganized. The noise from the water, which is everywhere, is grating. Stepping in the elevators, guests shoot up in pods on the outside of the structure, with views of the city below. The hotel is located downtown Los Angeles and has appeared in a number of movies, including Rain Man, Forget Paris, In the Line of Fire and others. We noticed all the posters on our way up from the valet parking.

But enough with the history lesson. We made it to the hotel in less than 30 minutes from LAX, a miracle if you're at all familiar with LA traffic. They were shooting a commercial outside the hotel on Figueroa, and the staff directed us around to the other side for parking. If there were signs, we didn't see them: we had to ask two people before we found the valet parking hidden in the bowels of the hotel. Valet service was done with a smile (no doubt derived from the high prices they were charging us). A maze of escalators stood between us and the hotel registration area, two floors up.

Check-in was quick, and done with a smile. As Starwood Gold, I was placed on the Starwood Preferred Guest floor in the Red tower. Yes, their towers are labeled by colour. The hotel is poorly laid out with at least four elevator shafts, each going to a different tower. Each tower is labeled by color, although that might not be apparent at first glance. You could tell the hotel had taken small steps to modernize the space -- walnut tables with simple yet beautiful flower arrangements. However, there's not much they could do to take the 1980s space-age environment out.

Since the towers are cylindrical, the rooms are an odd shape -- like pie slices, with the widest area near the windows. I had a great view of the city from my room on the 25th floor. There was no desk in the room, only a marble-slab table with stuffed chairs. These were a little low, resulting in a very uncomfortable typing position. The table sat in the middle of the room, against the windows, so I had to move it a bit so my laptop power cord could reach the outlet on the wall. The bed and shower were Heavenly and the amenties were the regular Westin amenities (crap, in my opinion, particularly compared to the great Bath & Body Works stuff that Marriott is rolling out). There was a complimentary bottle of Powerade Energy Drink, which I thought was a nice touch instead of the usual water. However, it was a nasty peach flavour. Overall, the room was clean but beginning to show its age.

The Westin Workout by Reebok gym was on the fourth floor and well-equipped: I was quite pleased. It had clearly been recently renovated and even included a small sitting area with brown leather chairs. There was a good selection of magazines, and all the exercise machines, including ellipticals, to your heart's content. Free weights were also available.

I did not dine at the hotel (but did eat at the California Pizza Kitchen about three blocks from the property). And my contact with staff was limited, but pleasant. If a staff member was in the elevator when I stepped in, they would greet me or ask how my stay was going. The housekeeping staff was equally friendly and respected the Do Not Disturb tag on my door. In the end, the stay was comfortable, and I would return to the hotel. However, there is a good selection of Starwood properties in Los Angeles that may be worth exploring if you are looking for a more refined or modern property.

Review by John P.

Posted at October 22, 2006 10:41 PM