Intercontinental Los Angeles Downtown Review

The Intercontinental Los Angeles Downtown is located on the western edge of L.A. Downtown just a two blocks from the JW Marriott. The building is currently the tallest in Los Angeles and can easily be spotted from most parts of the city (unless there is bad smog).

The reception is at the 70 floor, the third highest floor of the building) with marvelous views - however it requires you to always take two elevators up and down when coming/ going to your room.















Check-in was professional and somewhat friendly. There clearly was plenty of attitude but it was always kept professional and the staff hit the right tone and seemed very experienced. The hotel was 100% full at the time of my arrival with a major conference in town.

I did not love the room too much - while it came in the perfect understated IC colors and was appointed well it reeked of smoke (though this was supposedly a non-smoking room) and the freeway was quite audible at night.















However it was spacious and the bathroom was a delight in form and design. The management called a few minutes later and apologized but no other rooms were available late at night at 100% occupancy that night.

What I liked was the inaudible air conditioning that worked perfectly and the rather fast Internet. The whole room felt more like an Intercontinental in Asia (with often the highest room standards) than in the US.

During the next day I stopped by the front desk and my new room was ready - indeed the management had left a note that was picked up by an agent. The new room was airy - had an even better view and no smoke smell. It was also turned a bit more away from the freeway and at a higher floor making it quiet. Wonderful!















I wanted to try the pool which I found disappointing and windy (it also wasn't the warmest day in L.A.) and the gym. The gym is enormous and occupies half a floor of the tower. It has any conceivable workout equipment and plenty of water and towels. The bad news? It is open to external memberships which often makes it loud and rowdy - it wasn't bad that day but I can see that being a problem at times.

I dressed up and put on some nice shoes ready to photograph the sunset from the roof top terrace. I was sent away (even as a hotel guest) since I have a 'professional camera' - no protest would be heard and the hotel management wasn't giving into my pleas. Photography with an iPhone is ok but better lenses are required to grab the sunset over the ocean. Oh well.







In sum I felt the Intercontinental Los Angeles Downtown is a solid hotel with brand new hardware, excellent rooms and wonderful views. The staff was professional was excellent at surveillance and rule making instead of customer service. I'd come back.

Paid rates were around $250 plus taxes and fees for my stay dates.