‘My Favourite Hotel’ review – InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown

Today, our ‘My Favourite Hotel’ review is from 66 floors up in the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown.

We are currently running this reader-written feature to provide some positivity and inspiration to Head for Points.  You can find all of the ‘My Favourite Hotel’ reviews so far by clicking here.  This was scheduled to be a series of about 25 hotels, but a good response from readers means that we have commissioned another batch and are continuing the series.

Today’s hotel is the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown.

It is reader Katie and Darran’s favourite hotel and here is their review:

Overview

The InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown is situated in, as the name suggests, the downtown area of Los Angeles.  It’s a little out of your usual LA hotspots, but still perfectly placed for exploring the city.

The hotel building is relatively new (it opened in mid 2017) and is an impressive steel and glass sail-shaped construction.  73 stories high, it has some of the best views of the city and out to the Hollywood Hills and beyond.

Location

Situated on the corner of Wiltshire Boulevard and 7th St, InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown is just across the road from the 7th St. Metro Centre making it perfect to get around the city on the subway network. It’s easy to use and reasonably priced ($7 for a day pass) and can take you to all the main areas of LA, as well as out to Santa Monica.

If you like sightseeing on foot like we do and are prepared for a walk, the Arts District, Financial District and Chinatown are not too far away. The hotel can help with walking routes, or you can do some mapping yourself before you go – it’s a great way to see this part of the city.

And of course there are Ubers and Lyfts if that’s more your style!

Getting to InterContinental Los Angeles

We flew from London Heathrow to LAX direct on a BA flight.

The hotel is situated approximately 17 miles from LAX and is a comfortable Uber ride costing around $30. Depending on LA traffic which is renowned to be busy to say the least, it usually takes about 40 minutes. The journey approaching the downtown area is always one of my favourites as the hotel appears on the skyline.

Reception and check-In

We were greeted at the ground level by a light atrium with hotel porters directing you to the elevators which accelerated us (in 40 seconds to be precise!) to the 70th floor where the main Reception and check-in are located inside the Sky Lobby. When we stepped out of the elevators into the lobby we began to really get a feel for the hotel. As the Lobby Lounge bar is situated at the far end, it’s often a busy space.

The Sky Lobby is a modern light space with large windows looking out over LA. Check-in was efficient, courteous and welcoming on both of our stays at this hotel.

We were staying in an InterContinental Club room so were shown where the Club Lounge was and explained the other additional benefits.

Room

We stayed in room 6631, a Club King room, on the 66th floor, on each of our two stays. We are IHG Ambassador members and this was an upgrade on our first stay at the hotel but now there is no going back. It’s amazing and we will always request this room again for future stays!

There was fresh fruit and pastries in the room on arrival which was a lovely touch after a long flight.

Floor to ceiling windows on three sides of the room had views reaching out to the Hollywood Hills in front, across towards the airport and Santa Monica on one side and the Dodger Stadium on the other. You could also see the Hollywood sign on a clear day, adding to the wow factor.

The room was comfortable and spacious but not too big. There was a king-sized bed, which faced out towards the Hills. Carefully chosen Southern California art adorned the walls that weren’t windows.

A desk area and TV, and a small seating area with sofa, chair and coffee table allowed for some work time if you had to. The small bar had a coffee-machine, fridge and bottled water was replenished daily.

The bathroom had a full-sized bath, large shower, wash basin and vanity area with separate toilet. It was clean, well-appointed and always well stocked with plenty of fresh clean towels and toiletries.

The room was pretty quiet but there was occasionally some noise from the restaurant above with scraping chairs on the floor which could be heard in the room.  Other than that we weren’t bothered by traffic noise, or noise from any other areas of the hotel.

Facilities

The hotel has six restaurants and bars. La Boucherie (an American steakhouse), Dekkadance (international dining), Sora (sushi), Lobby Lounge (bar and bar snacks), Dive Bar (poolside cocktail bar) and Spire 73, the tallest open air bar in the western hemisphere, and not to be missed.

Spire 73 is located on the 73rd floor and usually has an entrance fee – but not for hotel guests. It is a must visit for the view, atmosphere of fire pits, music and good cocktails. If you want to sit at one of the tables next to the windows, you need to reserve in advance and there is a minimum spend requirement. They do get booked up quickly so it’s worth requesting them at check-in.

The Club Lounge, which was part of our stay, had the trademark hotel views, great service and a good selection of breakfast, afternoon snacks, and evening drinks and canapes.

The vibe in here and the food and hospitality have been so good on both stays we haven’t ventured to another restaurant at the hotel to eat. (We must do that next time though.) The Club Lounge is never too busy and overall great to relax in.

Other hotel facilities were a well equipped gym and fitness area with sauna and steam room and a decent sized rooftop pool area with cabanas, fire pits and a bar.

Conclusion

This is our go-to hotel in LA. It has the perfect mix of luxury, convenience, comfort and location. We would definitely recommend staying here irrespective of whether you’re visiting LA for the first time or are a returning visitor. The views are worth it on their own.

We can definitely recommend paying a little more for the Intercontinental Club Lounge as it certainly adds something special to the stay.

As I am sure you have gathered, we will be returning soon. The InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown is a little on the pricier side, especially as the location isn’t one of the most popular ones in LA, but with the subway opposite and an abundance of Ubers and Lyfts, it’s not a problem getting to where you want to go in this fabulous city!

If you want to find out more, the hotel’s website is here.

Booking

InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown is part of the IHG Luxury Collection.  This means that you receive extra benefits when you book through a luxury ‘preferred partner’ travel agent such as Emyr Thomas, with whom HFP partners.

Book via Emyr and you will receive:

• GUARANTEED 2pm late check-out
• Breakfast for two in the hotel restaurant
• $100 of hotel credit per stay
• One category upgrade, subject to availability on arrival
• Bottled water and fresh fruit or snacks in the room on arrival

The rate you pay is the room-only Best Available Rate showing on the IHG website.  You will receive IHG Rewards Club points as usual and you pay on departure.

You can get in touch with Emyr via the form on this page on this page of Head for Points.

You can find out more about IHG Luxury Collection in this article.

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IHG One Rewards update – January 2025:

Get bonus points: IHG is offering double base points on cash stays until 31st March 2025. This kicks in from your second cash stay during the offer period. Read more in our article here and click here to register.

New to IHG One Rewards?  Read our overview of IHG One Rewards here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on ‘What are IHG One Rewards points worth?’ is here.

Buy points: If you need additional IHG One Rewards points, you can buy them here.

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from IHG and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.