Pros
- Attractive decor for a value price
- Grand lobby with historical details
- Rooms with colorful decor and quirky details
- Easy access to metro and bus
- Free shuttle to downtown Los Angeles hot spots
- Free continental breakfast and afternoon snack
- Flat-screen TVs and iPod docks
- 12-minute drive to Staple Center and LA Live Center
Cons
- Some street noise
- Some rooms share showers and bathrooms (not unusual for a hostel)
- Spotty Internet service
- No air-conditioning, though fans are provided
Bottom Line
When price is a priority, Stay on Main Hotel and Hostel delivers. Decor in the public spaces is attractive, particularly for the price. The 138-room high-rise offers a variety of accommodations from a single bed in a six-person dorm room to a private room either with either an en-suite or shared bathroom; most have colorful accents and quirky touches. Thrifty travelers looking for a downtown location with easy access to popular tourist destinations should be satisfied. The hotel does not have air-conditioning, though there are fans in every room. If that’s a deal-breaker, consider The Stillwater, which has 232 air-conditioned rooms and is a ten minute walk to the Nokia Theatre, Staples Center and LA Convention Center.
Amenities
- Internet
Oyster Awards
Scene
Old-world lobby; colorful, quirky dorm rooms; and a fun, upbeat, youthful vibe
The general atmosphere is mellow, and a majority of the travelers are international tourists, students and backpackers. It appeals to younger travelers with a variety of common areas creating a hip social scene. In the lobby, guests play ping-pong, munch free popcorn in the movie lounge and battle new acquaintances on free Xbox and Playstation games. The lobby is surprisingly grand (easily the grandest part of the hotel), with tile floors, stone columns, double-height ceilings, and a second-floor mezzanine with marble balustrade. The lobby lounge, on the other hand, is chic and modern.
Location
Not much within walking distance, but accessible to downtown hotspots and transportation
Located in a developing area of LA, there are a few places to eat, liquor stores, and coffee shops within walking distance. It takes about 12 minutes by bus to reach the Staples Center, Nokia Theatre and L.A. LIVE. Even if you're not attending a sporting event or concert,the L.A. Live campus is home to the Grammy Museum, night clubs, restaurants, a bowling alley, and movie theaters. Hollywood can be reached via a 10-minute walk to Pershing Square and a 15 minute metro ride. Free rides (modest tip to the driver expected) within downtown LA are offered by reservation. LAX is about 30 minutes away and cannot be reached by the free shuttle.
Rooms
Hip and cheery at a good price
Playful geometric prints, trendy colors, and whimsical furniture help disguise the flaws of an older building; small rooms, exposed pipes and little storage space. Most guests will need to keep their clothes in their suitcases as closets and dressers are typically lacking. As room rates increase, so does the room size, storage space, and amenities. Twin and Queen Rooms come with a choice of shared bath or private bath. Most rooms that share bathrooms have sinks in the room. Individual toilets and showers are in the hall. While public spaces are air-conditioned, rooms are not and have fans instead.
Features
Fun extras encourage guests to mingle
There are plenty of freebies here, including breakfast and a snack. When not out touring, guests can work out in the fitness nook, relax in the movie lounge, pick up a game of ping-pong, or surf the net on the lobby iMacs -- all free. Further entertainment choices include flat-screen TVs in rooms and common areas and no-charge rentals of DVD players and Wii consoles. Guests can prepare meals in the community kitchen or fold their clothes in the brightly lit laundry room. There's a modest fee for valet parking and free shuttle service, courtesy of Downtown Concierge, is available to points in downtown LA. Airport transportation can be arranged for a fee at front desk.
This Hotel Also Featured In
The Best Los Angeles Itinerary
Beach at Shutters on the Beach/Oyster The Hollywood sign, surfers on Venice Beach, and celebrity hands pressed into the sidewalk are about as American as apple pie, and they all come from the same place. Los Angeles is the second-largest city in the United States, but thanks to Hollywood’s film industry, it’s arguably the most…
Would You Stay at These 8 Hotels With Creepy Pasts?
Photo courtesy of rik-shaw via Flickr Hotels are a curious mix of public and private spaces. Yes, the room you paid for is all yours, but it was all someone else’s before you checked in. And, sometimes, those guests were up to no good. Historic hotels, especially, have had decades (sometimes a full century) for…
12 Spooky Spots to Visit This Halloween Season
It’s October and you know what that means — Halloween is approaching. With the holiday on the horizon, we are reminded of scary American legends, gruesome histories, thrilling horror films, ghost stories, and hair-raising events like haunted houses and hayrides. For the avid traveler and Halloween lover, we’ve put together a list of some of…
Hotels for $100/Night in 10 of the Most Expensive Hotel Cities Around the World
Last year, Bloomberg published a list of the world’s most expensive hotel cities and we were fairly surprised that San Francisco took the number one spot, even though we did know it’s one of the world’s most expensive cities to live in. As New Yorkers, paying some of the largest rents for the smallest spaces,…
10 Hostels You Actually Want to Stay In
If you see hostels as falling somewhere between dorm rooms and jail cells in terms of their chicness and comfort, these properties will elevate your opinion. Gone are the musty lounges with beanbag chairs; the rusty lockers of questionable security; the plain rooms with flimsy mass-produced furniture. In their place, you’ll find urban artwork, design-conscious…
Eight Hostels For When You're Too Old to Stay at a Hostel
Sure, college students and party animals may seek out hostels as an ideal way to meet other young travelers and save money on the road, but there comes a point in every traveler’s life when showering with flip-flops and playing drinking games with strangers becomes less appealing, and clean bedding and quiet at a reasonable…
Scene
Old-world lobby; colorful, quirky dorm rooms; and a fun, upbeat, youthful vibe
The general atmosphere is mellow, and a majority of the travelers are international tourists, students and backpackers. It appeals to younger travelers with a variety of common areas creating a hip social scene. In the lobby, guests play ping-pong, munch free popcorn in the movie lounge and battle new acquaintances on free Xbox and Playstation games. The lobby is surprisingly grand (easily the grandest part of the hotel), with tile floors, stone columns, double-height ceilings, and a second-floor mezzanine with marble balustrade. The lobby lounge, on the other hand, is chic and modern.
Location
Not much within walking distance, but accessible to downtown hotspots and transportation
Located in a developing area of LA, there are a few places to eat, liquor stores, and coffee shops within walking distance. It takes about 12 minutes by bus to reach the Staples Center, Nokia Theatre and L.A. LIVE. Even if you're not attending a sporting event or concert,the L.A. Live campus is home to the Grammy Museum, night clubs, restaurants, a bowling alley, and movie theaters. Hollywood can be reached via a 10-minute walk to Pershing Square and a 15 minute metro ride. Free rides (modest tip to the driver expected) within downtown LA are offered by reservation. LAX is about 30 minutes away and cannot be reached by the free shuttle.
Rooms
Hip and cheery at a good price
Playful geometric prints, trendy colors, and whimsical furniture help disguise the flaws of an older building; small rooms, exposed pipes and little storage space. Most guests will need to keep their clothes in their suitcases as closets and dressers are typically lacking. As room rates increase, so does the room size, storage space, and amenities. Twin and Queen Rooms come with a choice of shared bath or private bath. Most rooms that share bathrooms have sinks in the room. Individual toilets and showers are in the hall. While public spaces are air-conditioned, rooms are not and have fans instead.
Features
Fun extras encourage guests to mingle
There are plenty of freebies here, including breakfast and a snack. When not out touring, guests can work out in the fitness nook, relax in the movie lounge, pick up a game of ping-pong, or surf the net on the lobby iMacs -- all free. Further entertainment choices include flat-screen TVs in rooms and common areas and no-charge rentals of DVD players and Wii consoles. Guests can prepare meals in the community kitchen or fold their clothes in the brightly lit laundry room. There's a modest fee for valet parking and free shuttle service, courtesy of Downtown Concierge, is available to points in downtown LA. Airport transportation can be arranged for a fee at front desk.
Best Rates
Amenities
-
Air Conditioner
-
Airport Transportation
-
Cable
-
Internet
-
Kids Allowed
-
Separate Bedroom / Living Room Space
Disclaimer: This content was accurate at the time the hotel was reviewed. Please check our partner sites when booking to verify that details are still correct.