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December 26th – 28th, 2020 Los Angeles, California
Loews Hollywood Hotel
Don’t even know where to start or end with this one. So many references and so many amazing things seen, did, experienced. I think I will just start here – I remember vividly, when I was 10 or so, watching the old VHS tapes of my father’s called That’s Entertainment. They were up on a shelf in the den next to Ben Hur, Gone with the Wind, and Yentl. I can hear the song now in my head, Hooray for Hollywood, bada bada bada bada Hollywood! My fascination with Los Angeles and movies and all that glitter started then and to be honest have never really lost it. Something about it makes me shiver in a good way. I chose the Dodgers as my new baseball team to follow, thinking of ways to move there, be there, be a part of the magic, be in a picture! I started practicing my Oscar acceptance speech, which I still do from time to time in the car. I remember Neil Diamond in the Jazz Singer moving from Brooklyn to LA, if he could do it, why not I. Music became a big part of my life and the Capitol Records building is such an iconic site, I had to go see it. I was fortunate enough to get there a while ago and it was everything I thought and had some West LA Fadeaways, and love the “Just Another Band from East LA”. Bright lights, lots of hubub, and so much glitter. It’s still that same city I remembered, and even though there are no record deals being made on Vine St. and the movies are all made on a camera the size of your finger, I thought it would be fun to show the rugrats what I grew up loving. Off to the left coast for about 2 weeks to visit the old folks, but not without a stop in LA. Mel’s diner, Canter’s Deli, Nate and Al’s, Sunset Blvd., Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood Blvd., The Getty Center, Getty Villa, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Dolby Theater, the Greek Theater, the observatory, the ocean, the hills. All those big city nights in those high rolling hills. We hit it all and man oh man, what a place. We even managed a Clippers game and I saw a concert at the famous Forum. So good, so good, so good except for sleep.
SET UP
The Mrs. and I in one king bed and the kids on a pull out sofa in the living area. The Loews Hollywood is really well located like literally on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. A nice big room overlooking the Hollywood sign, and the plenty of room for the 4 of us.
MATTRESS
Simmons Beautyrest. No pillowtop and plush what used to be firm……We are talking a bout a mattress that needed to be replaced 5 years ago. Horrible, just horrible. At one point through the middle of the night, the Mrs. turns and says to me, “whats that noise?” to which I reply, “that’s the springs in the bed, go back to sleep”. So horrible that I had to call down to the front desk and let them know. Unfortunately, they didn’t do anything for us, until I complained at checkout and kind enough to offer a free night in the future. Pppppffffff. I also noticed right away that I was too close to my wife in bed. I said to her this is narrower than a king, she of course laughed at me, and then I showed her the tag! BOOM! 72″ wide. Normal king is 76″ wide. I guess they wanted more space for side tables and whatnot. I have not encountered this in North America yet. Anyhoo, that was the least of our problems……
· 72″ x 80″ Manufactured in 2010
SLEEP
Not a ton because of the toss and turn all night. I couldn’t let it get me down, but a bit disappointed as the city has so much to offer and yet this experience was so not on par.
LINENS AND MORE
Lee Scratch Perry, Itchy and Scratchy, Scratch and Sniff, all of the aforementioned and the pillows were really too downey. You know when head becomes engulfed and the pillow goes up on both sides of your head and you can’t hear what anyone is saying, out of a Ben Stiller movie. Really funny actually. Not comfortable, not recommended stay for someone who want to sleep well.
OVERALL
Needless to say, we had such a great experience in 9 out of 10 aspects. The hotel was great, but the sleep was not. I don’t recommend this hotel if you need a good night’s sleep, otherwise it couldn’t overshadow the most fun we have had on a family vacation in a bit. Now off to the folks to sleep on that crappy mattress.
GREAT RELATED LINKS
EAT HERE!!