It seems recently that I've been on a trend of starting my international trips from LAX. I'm still on the hunt for a good hotel around the LAX airport that doesn't smell or seem run down. My last stay was at the Hyatt Regency LAX, and currently it's my most favorite. However, I think I found a contender for a good LAX hotel.
Booking
This booking was apart of a larger trip to New Zealand and I was simply on a layover before the inaugural Delta flight to Auckland. A few weeks prior to my trip I found a decent cash rate of $159 for the night, which isn't the worst but with all the mandatory fees came out to $200.
It seems that's as good as it gets lately in California, with hotels charging lots of junk fees I haven't been able to get a hotel under $200 for the last few times that I've tried to stay around the airport. I do acknowledge that I pay a premium for staying around the airport and if I was able to stay further away I would, hotel rates do get cheaper if you can stay further away from the airport.
Location
Just like with the Hyatt, the Marriott is located perfectly on Century Blvd an easy shuttle ride from the airport takes less than 10 minutes. However, being four blocks further away from the airport it isn't as walkable as the Hyatt is to the airport and if you wanted to go to the In-n-Out. If you happen to get an airport facing room, it's a great view to the southern runways
The shuttle to get to the hotel is pretty fast and makes two stops, not only do they stop at the Marriott but they also stop at the Renaissance down the street, if you're in a hurry to the airport build in some extra time for the shuttle to make an additional stop. It is pretty quick but adds at least 5-10 minutes to the route while they pickup and drop off passengers and the extra time to drive in the backstreets to the airport.
Check-In
The lobby area of the Marriott is fairly large, there is a lot of seating open for use as well as a Starbucks and a restaurant occupying most of the space. The check-in area was well staffed and most guests didn't have to wait more than a few minutes in line while others were getting checked in. It's also nice to see a dedicated elite check-in line for ease of access, as a Titanium Elite it's nice to see.
The process to check-in was pretty smooth, and I managed to even score a complimentary upgrade to a larger King room with a view which was nice.
The Room
My upgraded room is marketed as a "larger" corner king room with sofa bed. The extra space was nice, but for a pretty standard layover hotel there wasn't anything to wow about for the room.
I did appreciate there was a small area before you entered the bathroom where you could setup your luggage on the counter directly opposite the built in storage. The bathroom had a large vanity and step in shower. The shower head produced a pleasantly powerful stream of water which can't go overlooked.
In general the living area of the room seemed pretty bare, two of the three walls seemed very bare. Both of the walls could have at least had a simple painting on them to break up the large space to make the room seem less like a plain space.
The sofa bed was pretty comfortable to sit on while I did some work, and the bed was very comfortable. I usually struggle a bit to sleep in hotel rooms and with the planes taking off and landing outside I didn't have much of an issue and slept soundly. The sound proofed windows did help to isolate the room from the airplanes outside.
Food
There are three places to eat at the LAX Marriott, a steakhouse, a grab a go quick service, and a more casual dining room called Hangar 18 Bar + Kitchen. I ended up eating at the last one. The food was fairly decent, albeit a bit overpriced. I ended up having a chicken sandwich with fries and a drink, my total with tip came to $38.
The place was packed on that night, and it seemed the ratio of servers to diners was skewed and it took awhile for me to get refills on my drink and the food to come.
Service
Overall the staff was nice and friendly. Unlike with my Hyatt stay I didn't feel like the shuttle driver was going to throw me out of my seat. And the staff was very accommodating at allowing me late checkout because my flight to New Zealand left near midnight! I have to commend my server who looked like he was running around the entire night and making the best of being understaffed while giving great service.
Final Thoughts
I think I found another contender for a decent LAX airport hotel. It will be on my list to stay again if I'm on a layover for another trip. Although a little further away by shuttle to the airport, and on the more expensive side due to all the fees added to the base rate. I would still prefer this hotel over any other simply due to the location and my preferred hotel loyalty is still Marriott.
