The Garland

Stayed in The Garland for 6 nights following a cruise and to take advantage of the location to Universal and LA (Hollywood) itself. Check in was quick and easy and the guy was very polite and friendly. We arrived early as we had disembarked our Cruise quite early that morning and the guy even offered to push our room through so we could check in earlier than normal but we informed him it wasn't necessary as we planned to go straight to Universal so asked if we could just leave our bags somewhere which was no problem. The hotel runs a shuttle bus to universal everyday on the hour and then 15 past the hour on return from Universal except from 1pm and 1:15pm. When we returned from Universal that night, we then checked in fully and were allocated our room. We had a Premium King Room on the 5th floor. The room itself was spotless, loved the decor, great size, good Bathroom with walk in shower. The only negative about the room was the view. A massive tree in front of the window which kept lots of the light out and facing the car park. The Hotel also has a shop, restaurant and pool bar. We didn't use the restaurant as we mostly ate out but did eat at the pool bar one of the evenings and enjoyed the food. The pool is great, with comfy cushioned sunbeds, towels also provided. There are also two hot tubs one is for Adults only which is a great touch to have this separate. In the evening there are heaters turned on in the pool bar and the fire lighting at the pool area too. They also show movies around the pool on certain evenings. Now the shortfalls. . I already mentioned the lack of view. . Cleaning, Although the cleaners did a good job, 3 days out of the six we had to leave notes for the cleaner to leave extra loo paper and to refill the shower body wash as it ran out. . Life broken in our block for several days of our stay. . There was a member of staff behind the pool bar (sorry didnt get his name) who although was pleasant and polite, would throw empty bottles and cans towards the trash when he poured them into the glasses. When missing the bin every time he would just leave them on the floor. Not very professional in front of paying guests. . Rude member of staff at reception. On one of the evenings after we returned from Universal we ordered a drink at the bar. The hotel lobby also has an area with a fire lighting with a table and chairs next to it. There was a sign on the table stating no food in that particular area, so rather than just sit there with our drinks, I did the polite thing and asked at reception if it was ok to sit there as the sign stated no food but didn't mention drinks. Out of nowhere and quite bluntly this guy even though I wasn't even dealing with him and was asking the other guy on the desk, shouts, no you cant sit there, it says on the sign. I then bring the sign to this guy and point out to him exactly what it says and reiterate this is why I was asking because it clearly doesn't mention about drinks so tell him not to interfere again and to mind his own business next time. The polite guy who I was telling with says it is no problem and that we could sit there however, given the attitude of the other individual we decided not to bother and just took our drinks back to our room. . Check out - The day we checked out we had a bill to settle for food and drinks. My husband attempted to pay and was using cash. He was informed that he could only pay using the exact amount and that the hotel could not accept the extra 7 cents overpayment. He was asked to go to the hotel shop to see if they could break 25 cents so the exact payment could then be paid. He goes to the shop only for the girl in the shop to laugh in disbelief that my husband was asked to do this and she just gave him the 7 cent herself and said he could have it. Overall we had a good stay, the location is great for Universal but unfortunately we would chose somewhere else to stay if we returned to that area again. Read less

We are just coming to the end of our holiday in California, staying at the wonderful Garland hotel. From check-in to check-out our experience has been fantastic - all staff are so friendly, helpful & always ready for a chat! Our room was both comfortable & spacious, so clean with the bonus of a lovely view overlooking the hotel pool & gardens, seating area/dining area. Everywhere around the hotel is immaculate! Clean, tidy, very pretty. We must mention the free transport into Universal Studios/Universal citywalk........fantastic service & what made it so special, Jorge the driver who was always smiling, courteous, helpful.....perfect! 5 stars!!! Food was amazing too from the pool bar to The Front Yard restaurant. So thank you very much each & everyone for making our stay so special......we will be back! :-) Read less

This is a very nice hotel, and the only one out of three we visited this time to have coffee making facilities in the room. It’s well decorated with excellent facilities throughout although there was intermittent problems with the lift in the building our room was in. The movie shows by the pool were a highlight, as a selection of bar snacks could be purchased to eat whilst watching a classic 80’s family friendly movie. Most of the staff were friendly and helpful only let down by some of the reception staff. Read less

An amazing hotel from start to finish! Jazzy warmly welcomes us and throughout our stay nothing was too much trouble. Everyone you interact with is super positive and kind. We loved the location and felt like we saw the real LA. So many great food locations near by! Don't miss Heavy Handed burgers for one of the best burgers you've ever had! Super clean rooms. I would recommend hiking to the Hollywood sign, some beautiful countryside. Gym is great and well equipped. Food very nice. Ralph's near by for anything you might need. Great pool scene. Read less

I would stay here again in a heartbeat, and many of my family and friends have been asking about The Garland too since seeing all our travel posts. We were able to drop our bags off early and even secured an early check in. All the staff were really lovely and helpful. The room we were given was on the bottom floor where the balcony was hidden behind some bushes to give us some privacy from the courtyard, but meant we could still hear all the live music and goings on from the comfort of our room. The room itself was great, clean, up to date and spacious. The pool and bars were great too, as was The Front Yard. Friendly, helpful service and a fantastic menu to choose from. I don’t eat meat or dairy which can be limiting when eating out, but was fortunate enough to be faced with a difficult decision in choosing what to eat because there was so much on offer! I opted for the octopus starter and then the squash and waffles as a main that was just brilliant! We also took advantage of the free shuttle to Universal Studios and City Walk, which was a great perk and main reason for the location of our stay. Nearby was a supermarket and Starbucks, although Ubers to other restaurants, bars and landmarks were quite pricey from here. (We were over $50 for a return Uber trip to Griffith Observatory for example). Just something to keep in mind! We went to a restaurant near the Hollywood bowl one night, then to The Echoplex for a gig, but other than that we probably did less exploring than we would have liked due to the cost of Ubers. I would probably recommend hiring a car for any other tourists. The little shop was also great, and we picked up so many souvenirs that were actually very reasonably priced and different to what you can find in many other places. Only downside to be aware of is that if you start a tab at the bar, they will close this out with the extra charge when their shifts change and a new bartender takes over which happened shortly into our pool time. All in all, we had a great time at The Garland and highly recommend! Read less