The Standard Hollywood — Hotel Review Rating: 3.5 Pearls

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Oyster Hotel Review

Reporter: Corina Z.
Updated: November 18, 2009

 Scene

When hotelier Andre Balazs opened this first Standard back in 1999, he tried to do for boutique hotels what Ikea did for furniture: offer style on a budget. Targeted at the fashion-conscious but cash-strapped, this hotel proved that even without $300 bucks to drop on a hotel room, this underserved market could get it all: a hiply designed lobby and rooms that cheekily mix vintage décor from the '50s, '60s, and '70s; an affordable restaurant that stays open 24 hours for 2 a.m. post-clubbing meals; a convenient location (the nightlife-centric Sunset Strip); and DJs spinning in the lobby and at the hotel's Purple Lounge.

Ten years later, the Standard Hollywood still holds up -- for the most part. The rooms with their silver beanbag chairs, Warhol flower-print curtains, and orange showers and sinks look fairly fresh. The concierge/front desk receptionist can suggest French music festivals and hip hop nights in the same sentence, and any toiletries you're missing can be delivered up to your room, free of charge. While better maintained than the downtown Standard, this Hollywood branch has started to show its age in a few spots -- the paddles for the pingpong table have seen better days, the elevator doors are chipped, and some of the hallway carpets are stained. In the glass box behind the front desk, the mysterious, silver-painted woman is long gone, dispatched for what looks like a bored college coed in her shorts surfing Facebook.

Still, it’s hard to lodge at a stylish place on the Strip that offers this much (a pool, nightlife, cheap and good 24-hour dining) for this low a price -- and affordable style remains the Standard’s primary sell. While the nearby Mondrian and London West Hollywood (with equally choice Strip or just-off-the-Strip locations) have more richly furnished rooms and on-site fitness centers, they usually go for a bit more. If affordable, hip, and on the Strip are your key wishes, welcome to the Standard Hollywood.

 Service

Expect service at the Standard to be casual and usually helpful -- but it stops short of the attentive formality at the Sunset Towers next door (turndown service, addressing guests by name) or the no-request-is-too-big concierge at the London. The front desk receptionists, doubling as concierges, are particularly knowledgeable when it comes to nightlife and restaurant ideas in the area, suggesting just-this-weekend French music festivals and hip hop nights in the same sentence.

• $29 overnight valet parking
• Extra toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrush, razor) provided upon request
• Poolside food and drink service
• 24-hour room service ($2.50 delivery charge plus 18 percent gratuity)
• In-room massages ($120 an hour)

 Location

Located at Sunset and Sweetzer Avenue, the Standard sits on the famous Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, the edgier section of tourist friendly Hollywood. The Sunset Strip, which has long been known for clubs like the House of Blues, the Roxy, Viper Room, and Whisky a Go-Go, has gotten significantly more upscale than its strip-club-and-head-shop days in the '70s and '80s. While its days of infamy are long gone, it's still home to some fun bars and restaurants, most with outdoor seating.

In the eastern part of Sunset Strip, the Standard is just a few-block walk from the House of Blues and the Saddle Ranch restaurant (famous for its mechanical bull), as well as the Mondrian and the Sunset Towers hotels (nearest full-service spa). The Whiskey, Roxy, and Viper Room are a little farther west -- walkable, but you still might want to drive the two minutes to avoid the Sunset traffic whizzing by.

• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is a half-hour drive (but up to one and a half hours in traffic).
• The heart of the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Grauman's Theater is about a five-minute drive.
• Universal Studios, about a 20-minute drive
• Santa Monica beach, 25- to 40-minutes away
• Luxury boutiques of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills are 10- to 15-minutes away.

 Rooms

The bright blue rooms with contrasting orange-tiled bathrooms are furnished in a '50s-meets-'60s style, with silver Austin Powers-like beanbag chairs and Warhol flower-print curtains. Cute, fun, but not as big or richly decorated as the rooms with looking-glass/flat-screen TVs at the Mondrian or the standard suites at the London, which have marble desks and a Waterworks bath with two showerheads and a soaking tub.

• Guest rooms run from 295 square feet to 500 square feet; the suite is 615 square feet.
• Rooms vary mostly by size and view, with the cheapest rooms (Budget, Sunset) facing Sunset Boulevard, and the pricier and quieter ones (Medium, Large, X-Large, Suite) facing south, with a view of the pool or the city.
• Quietest rooms are the Medium and X-Large rooms, which are located the farthest from the Strip.
• Large king-size platform bed in all rooms (except the Large room, with two doubles) provides a comfortable-enough but not amazing sleep. Thin mattress topped with good quality (Fili D'oro) Italian sheets, but a pilled wool blanket. No down duvet.
• Budget rooms have only showers; and most Sunset rooms just have showers (although a few have full bathtubs with showerheads -- request one). All other rooms have full bathtubs with showerheads.
• Budget rooms don't have balconies; most, but not all, Sunset rooms do; and all rooms above Sunset do.
• My bathroom, with a simple white toilet, orange-tiled shower with good water pressure, and orange sink and counter, was in good shape, although the metal soap holder in the shower was corroded, and there was only one towel hook.
• Excellent, all-natural Kiss My Face toiletries, the same as at other Standards: sage-scented shower gel, cardamom-scented shampoo and conditioner, honey-scented lotion. Basic no-name cotton towels and thin polyester/cotton blend waffle robe.
• The 32-inch LG flat-screen offers 47 cable channels, including free HBO. Pay-per-movies run $15.99 for recent releases, $11.99 to $14.99 for regular movies; $14.99 to $17.99 for adult entertainment; and $2.99 to $4.99 for just-missed TV episodes.
• Standard hotels have some of the best minibars, period, and this one doesn't disappoint: three types of bottled water; sake; medium-size bottles of Patron, Maker's Mark, and Ketel One; condoms; umbrellas; flip-flops; and retro snacks like Good n Plenty, animal crackers and gummy bears (see the whole list here).

 Features

The Standard lacks a fitness center, giving the Mondrian and London West Hollywood one distinct advantage over this hotel. But the Standard also has Rudy's, the lobby hair salon where locals go for supercheap hipster cuts.

• Open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., the automated business center isn't free or cheap. Hefty charges for using the single iMac or PC for surfing or printing (69 cents to 99 cents a minute); the printer (even with your own laptop, 99 cents a minute); or fax/copier ($1.49 a minute).
• No fitness center -- guests must walk two blocks to the nearest Crunch, which they can use for $16 a day.
• No spa, just Rudy's, the hair salon in the lobby frequented by locals looking for hip but cheap haircuts (men's cuts start at $24; women's, $30).
• Doing double time as the hotel gift shop, Rudy's sells design and style magazines, Havaianas flip-flops, high-end Malin+Goetz toiletries, over-the-counter meds, and, for some reason, $100-plus Comme des Garcons leather wallets.
• Free Wi-Fi throughout hotel

 Pool

The hotel's outdoor pool with its hard-to-miss, bright blue Astroturf deck remains a huge draw for both guests and private events. It helps that the poolside wait service runs until midnight, turning the deck into a popular evening as well as daytime hangout.

• Open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. (longer hours than the pool at the Mondrian). Poolside food and drink service from 9 a.m. to midnight
• Lounge chairs with free towels
• A free pingpong table with very worn paddles and telescopes for spying on the city
• No lifeguard

 Pet-Friendly

Dogs weighing less than 25 pounds are welcome. The hotel charges a nonrefundable fee of $100 a stay -- but doesn't provide any dog bowls, food, or other pet amenities.

 Family

Although occasionally you will find hip moms playing with their kids on the Astroturf pool deck, the Standard Hollywood feels more like a party hotel than a pit stop on the family vacation. Still, if families don't mind the noise of the Strip or DJs spinning music in the lobby at night, they should enjoy the hotel's cheap kid-friendly food, pool with a pingpong table, and affordable rooms spacious enough to fit cribs and cots with ease. For a considerably more family-friendly atmosphere, try the Magic Castle in Hollywood or the Loews downtown.

• No separate kids' menu, but kid-friendly cuisine at reasonable prices: $5 mac and cheese, $10 mini cheeseburgers, $12 pizzas
• No lifeguard at pool
• Families should consider the 340-square-foot Large room, which has two double beds, or the 500-square-foot X-Large room with a futon (sleeps three instead of the usual two). Skip the low-end Budget and Sunset rooms, both of which face the loud Strip.
• Rollaways $50 a night; cribs free

 Food

At the Standard Hollywood, guests eat for cheap with entrees that cost just $12 to $15 and cheap snacks like macaroni and cheese, guacamole, and fries for $3 to $5. (Compare that to the Mondrian's pricey Asia de Cuba or the London's Gordon Ramsey restaurant.) It may not be fine dining, but the casual American-style fare is available round the clock at the Standard's 24-hour, diner-style restaurant or through room service. Even poolside food service runs until midnight.

• Same menu at 24/7 restaurant, Cactus Lounge, or poolside
• Casual American-style cuisine with some Mexican and Pan-Asian dishes. Appetizers ($7 to $10) include shrimp cocktail, sliders, sushi; salads ($8 to $14); pizza $12 to $14; sandwiches and burgers ($10 to $16); entrees ($12 to $15) include fish tacos, pasta, omelets.
• Extensive cocktail menu available not only at restaurant and pool, but also room service: specialty cocktails, Bloody Marys, mojitos, and margaritas ($10 to $11 a glass, $40 to $44 a pitcher)
• 24-hour room service charges: 18 percent gratuity with $2.50 delivery

 Cleanliness

Although older, the Standard Hollywood's rooms seem to be in better shape (or better maintained, at least) than those of its downtown sister property. No dust in the bedroom and little wear in the bathroom, other than a corroded metal soap dish. The chipped paint on the elevator door and stained carpets in the hallways reveal the hotel's age, though -- as do the extremely worn pingpong paddles.

 Bottom Line

This 137-room hip boutique offers stylish lodgings and a prime Sunset Strip location for lower rates than the Mondrian (but with less luxurious rooms). Scuffed-up hallways and elevators, but you won't get this much (cool pool, cheap 24-hour restaurant, great nightlife) for this little elsewhere on the Strip.