Andaz West Hollywood Review

Here’s a hotel I stay at a ton but haven’t reviewed for years, so it’s about time.

The Andaz West Hollywood is located on iconic Sunset Boulevard, basically right between Hollywood and Beverly Hills. It’s not an especially walkable area, but I do absolutely love the location, as there are tons of great restaurants in the area, great views of the Hollywood Hills, and lots of fun stuff to do within a 15-20 minute drive.

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The Andaz has sort of become my second home. And while I love the Andaz brand as a whole, I especially love the Andaz West Hollywood.

Weekend rates (which are peak times here, since lots of people spend weekends in West Hollywood) tend to hover around $250-300 per night, depending on whether you’re looking at a pre-paid or flexible rate. And since there aren’t many other discounts to be had at this hotel, I find the Citi Prestige Card fourth night free benefit to be extremely valuable, as it basically knocks the rate of a four night stay down to about $200 per night.

During my most recent stay at the Andaz West Hollywood I used one of my Gold Passport Diamond Suite Upgrades, which can be used to confirm an upgrade to an Andaz Suite at the time of booking. This hotel has quite a few suites, so I’ve never had issues confirming an upgrade here.

The Andaz has a pretty modern exterior, especially in comparison to a lot of the other charmingly past their prime buildings in the area. That makes sense, given that it was renovated in 2009. Previously it was the Riot House, which has a ton of entertainment history.

Andaz West Hollywood exterior

The Andaz’s lobby is cute and spacious. As is the norm with Andaz properties, there’s not a “formal” front desk, but rather there’s a desk which the “hosts” are stationed at, and then they come up to you with an iPad to check you in as you enter the hotel. I love how personalized the Andaz check-in process is. At check-in you’re also offered a drink, which is a nice touch.

Andaz West Hollywood lobby

Andaz West Hollywood lobby

I really can’t say enough good things about the people that work here, so I might as well start now. As a general rule of thumb I find West Hollywood isn’t an area known for customer service. That’s because so many people in the service industry have aspirations other than the hospitality industry, so in general I find service is more disinterested in LA/West Hollywood than elsewhere.

Which is why the level of service at this hotel is so damn impressive. A special shout out to Dean and Walter, who are awesome. Though really all the hosts/front office staff are.

Andaz West Hollywood lobby

In this case I was assigned room 1105. The hotel has guest rooms through the 12th floor, and then there’s a rooftop pool on the “penthouse” level. While the layout is identical on each floor, in general you’ll want a room on a higher floor if possible, since you’ll have better views and less noise from Sunset Boulevard.

Upon existing the elevator, room 1105 was at the far end, down the hallway to the right.

Andaz West Hollywood hallway

Andaz West Hollywood room entrance

The rooms either face Sunset Boulevard or the Hollywood Hills. In the case of the suites, the living rooms face Sunset Boulevard, while the bedrooms have a side view of Sunset and the Hollywood Hills.

Andaz West Hollywood floorplan

The standard suite at this hotel is the Andaz King Suite, which is roughly 800 square feet. That’s pretty huge for a “standard” suite which a Diamond Suite Upgrade confirms into.

Upon entering the door is the living room.

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite entrance

The living room is huge and well designed. It features a desk with rolling chair next to the flat screen TV.

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite living room

Then there’s a high-top table with four chairs, underneath a chandelier.

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite living room

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite living room

Then there’s a three person couch by the window with a large lamp above it.

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite living room

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite living room couch

Then next to the desk is the rather quirky orange dog, which can be found in all guest rooms.

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite living room dog

Possibly my favorite feature of rooms at the Andaz are the sunrooms, which are available in most guest rooms. In the suites they feature two chairs with ottomans.

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite living room sunroom

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite living room sunroom

All-in-all the living room is great for entertaining.

Why do I love this area so much? Because of the view. I know I’m probably in the minority, but I love the Los Angeles skyline. It’s so sprawling and anti-climactic, which I realize probably doesn’t appeal to most people. For me there’s no better place from which to work than a chair with an ottoman overlooking Sunset Boulevard, the Sunset Tower, and downtown Los Angeles in the distance.

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite living room view

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite living room view

Anyway, back next to the desk is the minibar. A nice feature of all Andaz properties is that soft drinks and snacks are free. The minibar is replenished daily. It is nice to have a Diet Coke, some still and sparkling water, etc., always at your disposal.

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite minibar

In terms of snacks they have Pop Chips, trail mix, and a granola bar.

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite minibar snacks

Back near the entrance is the guest bathroom. It’s fairly simple though functional.

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite living room

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite guest bathroom

The shower is partitioned off from the rest of the bathroom with a glass shield, and I do appreciate that the shower head is both mounted to the wall and can also be removed and held. The water pressure and temperature control are excellent, and the nozzle twists so that you can have different types of water “streams.”

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite guest bathroom

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite bathroom

Toiletries are “Lather” branded, which I’m surprisingly impressed with. I really quite like them.

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite toiletries

Anyway, there’s a door leading to the bedroom, which is also quite spacious. The bedroom features an extremely comfortable king bed. Extremely comfortable. I actually prefer it to the Westin Heavenly Bed and Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed. The mattress is plush, but there aren’t quite as many unnecessary sheets you’ll end up getting tangled in.

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite bedroom

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite bedroom

Then there’s also a chair with ottoman facing a flat screen TV.

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite bedroom seating

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite bedroom TV

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite bedroom TV

One thing odd about the suite is that there’s another bathroom in the bedroom, which is almost identical to the one in the living room. And the bathrooms are literally next to one another. So in theory they could have blown out the wall and made one big bathroom instead.

But I actually sort of prefer the current setup, as you have two functional, full bathrooms. That’s especially great if you’re traveling with someone.

Andaz West Hollywood Andaz Suite bathroom in bedroom

Beyond the “obvious” things about the suite, there are two other things to note. First of all, Wi-Fi is free for all guests, and is legitimately high speed. And second of all, the rooms at this hotel are all actually intelligently designed. In other words, there are outlets where you’d expect/want them, which I can’t say about some other hotels.

Hyatt in general has the best elite breakfast perk, as Diamond members receive complimentary full breakfast daily. But the Andaz has an especially good breakfast, in my opinion.

Breakfast is served daily from 6:30AM until 11AM in the Riot House Restaurant, which is located just off the lobby. It’s a beautiful space physically, with a good number of tables.

Andaz West Hollywood Riot House Restaurant

I especially like the seating located across from the bar, where you have nice window views.

Andaz West Hollywood Riot House Restaurant

The breakfast menu reads as follows:

Truth be told I’m not sure what specifically the Diamond breakfast benefit is. What I can say is that I’ve never been charged an overage for breakfast. Some days I go with the “breakfast table” option, while other days I order a la carte.

The way the breakfast table works is that you get coffee, juice, anything from the buffet, and eggs how you want them prepared.

The buffet isn’t really intended to be a “full” spread, but rather logically supplements an omelet or whatever.

The breakfast table consists of an area with mostly cold options, including cereal, pastries, muffins, bread, fruit, greek yogurt, etc.

Andaz West Hollywood Riot House Restaurant breakfast table

Andaz West Hollywood Riot House Restaurant breakfast table

Andaz West Hollywood Riot House Restaurant breakfast table

Andaz West Hollywood Riot House Restaurant breakfast table

Andaz West Hollywood Riot House Restaurant breakfast table

Then there’s an area with some meat and cheese.

Andaz West Hollywood Riot House Restaurant breakfast table

And then there’s a rotating hot selection with sausage, bacon, breakfast potatoes, waffles, etc.

Andaz West Hollywood Riot House Restaurant breakfast table

I usually just do the breakfast table and then a veggie egg white omelet with avocado.

Andaz West Hollywood Riot House Restaurant breakfast egg white omelet

Or sometimes I just select the greek yogurt parfait and a smoothie, which are excellent as well.

Andaz West Hollywood Riot House Restaurant breakfast greek yogurt parfait

Service in the restaurant is also excellent. A special shout out to Andrew and Gasper, who are especially awesome.

In terms of other features of the hotel, there is also a rooftop pool. As is the case with most pools in LA, it’s not actually intended for people to swim, but rather a place for people to show off their abs or implants while just dipping their toes in the water. Personally I like the covered daybeds they have on the right side of the deck, as they’re a great place to relax and get some work done.

Andaz West Hollywood rooftop pool

Then on the second floor the hotel has a functional gym with modern equipment. It’s not the most expansive gym you’ll ever find, but it does the trick.

Andaz West Hollywood gym

All Andaz properties offer complimentary coffee in the morning and then some offer a wine reception in the evening. Even though I have breakfast included as a Diamond benefit, I usually go down and grab some coffee at 6AM, and then have breakfast substantially later. In addition to coffee they usually have some pound cake as well.

Andaz West Hollywood coffee in the morning

Andaz West Hollywood bottom line

In case it’s not obvious, I really do love the Andaz West Hollywood. The staff are awesome, the rooms are beautiful and well designed, and the location is great. It’s my go to hotel when staying in the LA area.

I’d say the closest chain hotel competition for the Andaz is the SLS Beverly Hills. While it’s a quirky hotel, I can’t say that I prefer it to the Andaz. And given that rates are considerably more expensive at the SLS, I can’t really justify choosing to stay there unless I had a compelling reason to. It’s the Andaz all the way for me.

Have you stayed at the Andaz WeHo? If so, how was your experience?