Renaissance Hollywood Hotel

In the 1990s, Hollywood was not a nice place to visit. Tourists to the iconic Manns Chinese Theatre would rarely spend any longer in the surrounding area rife with tramps, pushers and tattoo parlours.

To combat this trend it was decided in 2001 to flatten a whole city block next to the famous tehatre and build the 'Hollywood and Highland Center' This complex, centred around a replica of the vast archway from DW Griffith's 1916 epic 'Intolerance', contains mall-friendly shops (think Virgin and Gap), food outlets, the Kodak Theatre (the new home of the Academy Awards) and the Renaissance Hotel.

This 24-floor hotel has 640 rooms including 33 suites ranging in size up to a 2,000 sq.ft panoramic Presidential Suite. This suite, and the hotel's "rooftop" (actually situated off the n-th floor and level with the top of the neighbouring 'Intolerance' archway) pool, can be seen in the british film 'Calendar Girls' where the heroines stay during their trip to LA.

Unlike other nearby hotels - the Magic Castle, the iconic Roosevelt - there is nothing especially 'Hollywood' about this hotel. Part of the Marriot chain, the hotel has all the usual amenities expected from a city hotel - fitness and business centres, numerous conference facilities, the previously mentioned pool which is designed more ofr lounging in the accompanying cabanas than swimming, an up-market restaurant with prices to match.

For the non-millionaire, however, the hotel's facilities are nothing special. Standard rooms are of an average size and cold be in any generic hotel chain in the western world. The romantic ideal of looking out onto the Hollywood Sign is possible but you are more likely to be looking tpwards downtown or, if as unlucky as I was, straight into the hotel's air-conditioning units !

Visitors need to remember to add on 'extars' to the basic cost of the rooms : breakfasts are expensive and better value fare is available at the famous 'Mel's Diner' nearby and parking underneath the hotel is $29/day.

Since this is LA we're talking about, a car is pretty much an essential for any serious visit. However, and here we come to the hotel's greatest asset, the Renaissance is a central LA hotel where you can stay and spend days WITHOUT DRIVING !

The hotel has entrances within the Hollywood and Highland complex meaning that shopping and restaurants are close to hand. The Kodak Theatre runs behind the scenes tours when rehersals and performances are not scheduled. In the run-up to the Oscars a free exhibition is held in the complex which includes a real - guarded - Oscar you can pose with and take photos. Mann's Chinese Theatre is next door and is a staring point for numerous organised tours (of varying quality - check the web for previous guests recommendations).

Beneath the complex is one of LA's underused subway stations - more similar to London's Underground rather than NYC's. From here it is only two stops to the Universal Studios theme park. Another day avoiding the LA traffic.

In summary, the Renaissance is an OK hotel in a superb location.

Location

Price. Soul-less