Custom Hotel

WORSE PLACE EVER.
This hotel is creepy and scary at the same time. The blanket pattern is full of different types of ugly dogs. The elevator has weird people faces.
Overall, it is just a terrible terrible hotel. Staying far away would be the best for your sanity.

There is nothing else you will find on this level for this price. We paid only $ 92 for a double room. The aesthetic of the hotel is fantastic… clean and contemporary without being purely utilitarian. The front desk receptionists were very helpful, and our room was lovely. We spent a while laughing at the very unique bedspreads.
I’ve stayed at many hotels that call themselves boutique hotels, but are really overrated. Good furniture doesn’t make a nice hotel… it has to have the whole package, and this place definitely does.
The only downside (which wasn’t a big deal) was our night’s stay came with a continental breakfast. When we came downstairs the kitchen really had no idea what that was. They were willing to accommodate us and make us breakfast on the house, but it wasn’t ready and we were in a rush. I work in the service industry however, and realized that since I booked the hotel through a 3^rd party website it may have been outdated information.
This is the best bang for your buck you’ll get in the LA area, just know that it’s a ways away from downtown LA.

Very Sparse and just seemed to be missing the mark of a boutique hotel. Bathroom was tiny and no robe. — heater was loud and billowed louder every 30 min. waking me up. Alarm clock was set 6am and I was hoping to sleep in. Bed was comfy but placed in the middle of the room.. Parking $ 22 for an $ 80 dollar room? Staff was friendly though

their website says, «Custom Hotel offers stylish boutique accommodations that are fun and whimsical, yet modestly priced, providing hotel guests with a uniquely L.A. experience.»
ok, whimsical? try TRULY CREEPY.
the 2 women who helped us check in were very nice, very personable. the lobby – well, they’ve said they’re going to redo the lobby, so I won’t comment on the weirdness of it.
our room, right off the elevators. mistake #1. we opened the door and the light switch turned on a 10 watt bulb in the entry way. did nothing to illuminate the really dark gray walls. no closet, just a metal rack. the bathroom? stark white, i could unscrew the faucet with my hands. there were deep gouges in the wall next to the bathroom door. my friend said she thought someone was trying mighty hard to claw their way out of there.
the beds were comfortable but about 6″ off the ground. who wants to be that close to a hotel room carpet? ew.
all in all, i won’t be staying there again.

Custom overcharged our card for $ 500+ for NO reason, charged me $ 30 after I got home, and no one, not even the manager could explain what the amount was for, why, and who charged it from the hotel.
When we told them about the additional $ 500 they charged us on our first night’s stay, no one could give us answers on what the charge was for and who charged it. All they said was that the charge would drop in a day or two. If I already paid for 3 nights stay, why do I get a separate charge for more than 3 nights stay? Who has a day or two to wait for $ 500 to get put back in their account on VACATION? Its not like it is just $ 40, it is $ 500!
Front desk said they would call the manager and then call us that same day and give us more information. We never got a call. The next morning we go back to front desk and told them the funds had not been placed back into our account and have no money to do anything, our trip was ruined. Waiting a day and a half (out of your 4 day vacation) for $ 500+ to be placed back in your account is RIDICULOUS!
They gave us a complimentary breakfast in their restaurant for the inconvenience of taking all of our money. The breakfast buffet was good, yet the customer service was TERRIBLE. The waiter was rude and dry, no smile, no greeting, just told asked us what we would like to drink.
While eating, my husband and I witnessed something else DISTURBING. A man staying in the hotel came in the restaurant and asked for a cup of coffee to go. The same rude waiter asked him for his hotel number and looked it up. The waiter told the man, «You are not on the list.» The man was very confused and said, «Breakfast comes with my room, that is why I stayed in this hotel.» The waiter again said dryly, «Your room number is not on my list.» The man walked out upset.
My husband and I could not understand how the waiter could not simply call the front desk and clear it up so the man could enjoy his breakfast. I mean, the man had a room key in his hand, why does he have to be treated so badly? He obviously PAID for a hotel room, why can’t he get a coffee?
Upon arriving back home, I checked my account and they had charged me $ 30 my last day at the hotel. I called the hotel and once again no one could tell me what the charge was for, why they charged me, and when it would drop off. I asked if they had charged me for the complimentary breakfast the morning we were waiting for answers and they said, «I don’t think it was breakfast.» Well, what was it for?
My husband called the manager an hour ago and she couldn’t give us answers. She did offer us a voucher for a free night at the hotel. Why would I want to stay there again?
The hotel is modern and retro (IKEA-​ish), but not worth the hassle. Save your vacation and stay somewhere else.

I almost canceled my trip here when I read some of the reviews.
(Sometimes I think Unilocal is an anagram for Snark.)
But when I checked in, all was lovely. Valets are very attentive, desk staff was fast and fun, hotel is very interesting, in some ways reminding me of Ian Schrager’s Paramount in NYC, although the rooms at the Custom are MUCH nicer. Bought a suite, 10^th floor, great layout. I’ll wait and see how the food and bars are, but the place looks like a ton of fun. Oh, and wi-​fi is free, which is one of my hot buttons with hotels. If you can deal with a little offbeat style, this hotel is what travel is all about.

I love pool parties. Gives you a reason to dance and drink all before the sun goes down.
I came here on Sunday for «Drenched». We got here a little before 3PM. It wasn’t very crowded although I had some friends who came the day before and that party was a packed house.
We parked on Loyola for free and walked throught he Ralphs parking lot. The entrance to the pool party is separate from the interior of the hotel, so no worries heres. :)
The pool is fairly small and very shallow. 5 feet max I believe. I’d say the pool is smaller the most average private home pools.
They have some concrete «bleachers» where it is wide enough you can put your towel down (towel service is available) and sit on it with your legs out infront of you. You have to lay side ways on the bleacher if you want to lay all the way down.
We got their «custom» drinks which all were ~ $ 10. All the drinks were made with top shelf or medium shelf liquors. To get shitfaced, get the Custom Sidecar. Henny, Chambord with a twist of lime. I was FEELING GOOD! They had pitcher specials of some sort of fruity drink. I took a sip of my friends and it tasted like medicine, yuck. The custom kiss and custom margarita were on the weak side.
Ugh, but it was cheap so I guess that is the pay off. They offer finger foods like fried chicken tenders, fried potatos, etc. ~ $ 12-​$ 20 for food.
Everyone was on guestlist so I’m not sure what the cover was. just try to get on a list :)

Ok so I live in the area, so I’ve never stayed at the hotel, but I do go there over the summer for the Sunday pool parties, and those are really fun! The pool is small, but they have a great tanning area set up and cabanas. The parties feature different DJs and drink specials each week. The drinks are still in the $ 10 range, but at least they’re good!
If you are local, try out one of the Sunday pool parties… you won’t be disappointed.

My friend and I stayed here for 5 nights during our trip to LA and all in all I was pleased with the service and hotel. I found it to be a good deal with good proximity to what we were looking for. We had a deluxe room facing the pool and yes there were 2 nights that the bar had parties but if you don’t like the music (we did) you can close the windows and it will soundproof the noise.
Also, I noticed a lot of people complaining about the décor of the hotel… honestly get over it, you are there to rest your head and explore LA. The lobby was modern and nicely decorated and although the walls in hallways are black who cares, you aren’t sleeping in the hallway.
Crowd was a mix of Europeans, young professionals, and a sprinkling of Southerners.
I’ll break it down into pros & cons.
Pros:
front desk staff was very friendly and accommodating
close to Ralph’s
easy to find street parking so don’t do valet and save your $$$ (Loyola Blvd. will be your best friend)
free wifi
good location to Venice, Santa Monica, Bev Hills, etc, about 1 hr to OC/​Laguna Beach
Cons:
pool closed at 8pm every night and was super teeny
no free breakfast
no mini fridge in room. We had to keep our drinks on ice with buckets in room

This place is a terrible business.
1) Poor business practices:
My friends and I booked two rooms for a weekend getaway, to arrive from a 4-​hour red eye flight, to find out that our second room was «cancelled» because of a «system glitch.» Basically they said that the room that we booked was not supposed to be available through the website but somehow it slipped through so we were out of luck.
So they put about 6 of us into a suite. which was sort of nice, but more tacky, I agree with the reviews of it being a posher Super 8.
The next day, they wanted us to move because they had a party coming in?!
2) Poor customer service: — because of them giving us the suite instead of our 2^nd room for 6 people, they kept calling us throughout the day trying to get us to move our stuff out when we were in town for an important all-​day meeting. When we tried to call back, the manager was «away.» It beats me how this place remains in business.
3) Ridiculous VALET PARKING. It’s $ 22/​night, and there are NO other options. This is purely deceitful, I’ve never heard of valet parking at a MOTEL, which it basically is, so if you want to stay here, make sure to factor this in to their «low prices.»
In summary, customer service is absolutely terrible– they are really understaffed. their business practices are questionable, and their amenities are pretty poor. If I could do it again, I would definitely look for a place with better service, after all this is what a hotel ultimately is for. Custom seeks to try to pose as something it’s not, while treating its customers like nitwits to be humored. My advice: stay elsewhere.

Eight of my friends and I made reservations at this hotel for two double rooms for a graduation trip. However, when we got there, the front desk told us that they had overbooked the hotel and proceeded to cancel one of the rooms (otherwise, we would have been charged a fee). They moved us into a suite with one full bed and two couches, and we ended up having to scramble around to find friends in the area to stay with, since it was not possible for eight girls to fit in only one suite. That night, two people had to sleep on couches and one person even had to sleep on the floor. They didn’t even have extra cots for people to sleep on.
The next morning, the person at the front desk mentioned that they needed the suite that night because there was supposed to be some party there. We told them that we had activities planned throughout the day and would not return to the hotel until night. We were reassured that our things would not be touched and that we could move into another room when we returned. However, when we did come back, the keys to our suite didn’t work anymore. We went back down to the front desk, who told us that they had already moved us into another room without asking us. The person at the front desk condescendingly told us, «That suite is $ 200 a night,» as if we couldn’t afford it. He was extremely rude. It was only after we explained the situation and expressed how angry we were at all the miscommunication that he found us another double and let us keep the suite to fit all eight of us.
Horrible experience at this hotel. Also, there is no free parking and we had to pay $ 20+ a day for valet parking.

I’m a frequent guest of Custom Hotel when I am in LA for business or pleasure. Unfortunately my experiences there have been all over the map. I’ve had wonderous stays there and disasterous stays there. First off, the rates are excellent and if you find street parking or park in the Ralph’s lot next door, you won’t have to pay the $ 22 to $ 25 for parking. Secondly, use
for the best rates or simply call and ask the hotel itself for a good rate. I think they are rarely full and they’re always willing to cut you a deal if you are not a jackass. Finally, spin the wheel of chance and pray you get a good room.
Hotel is modern and light, with some sweet and lowkey design elements. Linens are good and beds generally nice. Solid bathrooms and plumbing. Active lobby and bar scene with lots of Eastern Europeans and LMU students. Cozy bathrooms. Interesting vending machines on each floor full of everything from handcuffs to Doritos to condoms to raccoon masks. I’m just sayin.
The internet connection quality varies wildly. Sometimes I could not get even get a signal, other times it seemed like the server was right in the room.
The hit and miss comes with the staff. I’ve been treated like both a King and a mosquito on my visits. It must suck to work the desk at a hotel near the airport but don’t take it out on me. Make sure you find a way to single out the people here who treat you right because they deserve their jobs while the a-​holes who treat you like an annoyance to be swatted away need to go work somewhere where they don’t have to deal with the public.
I will stay here again, especially if I have business in the South Bay but will go in the door with fingers crossed, spinning the Custom Hotel roulette wheel.

We visited here for 3 nights after seeing the website of the hotel and reading some reviews. We got a great rate which made us very happy to stay here. It is a bit of a trip from most things in LA but then again, being in LA, it is hard to be central to everything. The hotel itself is nice, modern and basic, nothing fancy. Everything is very clean though. Parking is expensive being $ 22 per day but you can find street parking if you don’t mind walking a block or two.
The front desk staff is not very helpful and they often seem like you are being a bother when asking for something. We asked for something in our room to be repaired at the front desk and they told us to go up to our room and call down. We did that and they said they will send someone right up. That was last night and our safe and our bathroom fan (both which were broken) have not been fixed nor looked at.
So overall a good value but don’t expect good service.

This was the weirdest stay I’ve had to date.
The Custom Hotel is truly the strangest…
the talking elevators (take the middle one), the appearing/​disappearing herd of sheep in the lobby area, the rooms wall painted a dark charcoal color (til the lights go on then it’s a type of teal/​midnight blue mix), the bar clears out way before 2am…
…and then there’s the vending machines… everything from candy, soda pop, condoms… etc…surprised they weren’t selling Jeans like the french do… but hey, it’s been a while since i’ve been there…
Parking…this is tricky… but sneaky is the way, right… you can park in the 24-​hrs Ralphs Supermarket next door… go in and purchase something (maybe something you didnt see in the vending machines), and then leave your car there overnight… there is an entrance to the hotel from the back parking lot… If you do park here, make sure you park in the ‘back parking lot’ of the Ralphs… there’s a ton more spaces there… the front can be limited and there is a guard… fyi…otherwise it’s $ 27 a night to park at the hotel.
I don’t know if i’d ever go back… but for the $ 75 a night, it wouldnt be a bad place if you ever get stuck near LAX and don’t want to go to some shady MOTEL near there… good thing it was comp’d…the place is a boutique hotel… if that helps…
By the Way… LAX is maybe a 5 min drive from there… so the taxi fare should be super reasonable…

I’ve only been to Hopscotch, the outdoor pool/​bar area. There is some night where it is 2 for 1 beer night, I think it’s Tuesdays… all of a sudden, it becomes some big, sloppy LMU hookup junction. Not to say I don’t mind, I usually don’t pay for a single drink that night, but it’s not so much my style. I’ve had a few really weird experiences here, from somebody attempting to scoop me up in some bizarre sugar-​daddy situation (waggling 100 dollar bills in my face and everything) to girls in the bathroom acting like complete lunatics (blowing their hair out with the hand dryers so it looks «like they just had sex.» ummm who wants to look like they just got banged in the custom bathroom?)
Anyhoo, if that’s what you’re all about, you should go on Tuesday nights. If you’re normal, maybe you should try a different day.

I stayed here a few weeks ago even though I live in Santa Monica.
I helped plan a conference and we had our after party at Hopscotch, which is the pool bar at the Custom.
The employees at the Custom are friendly and were super helpful with getting rates for our out of town guests and drink specials for our party.
The décor is trying a little too hard to be modern.
Not so much in the down stairs lobby but very much so in the rooms. I am not quite sure what is going on with the dog themed rooms or the rooster tables but I found it all to be a little weird. The bathroom was decent size, the shower could stand to higher on the wall, and the bed was comfortable.
The breakfast food down stairs was yummy, perfect for my hangover.
Huge plus is they provide to-​go cups for your coffee when requested.
I would stay here again and hold another party at the pool.
The out of towners found the sheep and rooster table amusing.

There’s nothing custom about the Custom Hotel.
It’s fine… small rooms, not too expensive. Pool area is so-​so and there’s a lack of food except during certain hours.
However, if you cross the street and can walk anywhere between 30 yards and a half mile, you’ve got some low-​key bars, restaraunts, Taco Bell, a Subway and a bowling alley at your disposal.
Furniture is lacking. There’s a desk/​bench and one chair in my room, along with a flat panel TV mounted next to the bed. One coat rack, no dresser or anywhere to hide dirty clothes or gear you don’t want to hang up.
Valet parking only. Freaky photos in the elevators.
Lack of any sort of vending machines is a total bummer too.

I felt like I stepped into an episode of the Twilight Zone.
This hotel tries its best to display a trendy, modern décor, yet there is so much randomness to it, like the randomly placed family of stuffed sheep in the lobby that disappear every evening. At night the place is glowing red with a mass of red lanterns hanging from the parking lot ceiling, as if it is advertising itself as the red light district. Either that, or Redrum Hotel. (Hmmmm.Custom.Motsuc? Eh… nevermind.)
The elevators are pretty freaky. Usually when you step into an elevator the wall is either painted or mirrored. But not the case at Custom. When these doors slide open, you’re startled by a huge head shot of some random person staring right at you. Very unexpected and kinda creepy. Makes you feel like someone’s watching you. Then as soon as the door closes, the elevator begins to laugh, a soft, low spooky laugh… no joke.
I have to say the beds, surprisingly, are incredibly comfortable. The location was convenient for us too. It’s close to LAX but far enough that you don’t hear the planes.
But as soon as we checked out, I couldn’t help feeling like this place would disappear into thin air, as if it never existed…
cue the twilight music…

I thought this place was rad for an under $ 100/​night hotel. Talking elevators, hilarious weird stuff in the vending machines like costumes, sex toys, and ant candy, cool interior design, all the normal things you like at hotels like blowdryers (not that I use those), pool, gym, etc. It’s adjacent to a grocery store so you can get any food/​snacks/​liquor you need there and ignore the minibar. Staff was friendly enough to me… seemed like half the hotel wanted to compliment my hair. I liked the ihome alarm clock to charge my ipod/​iphone & play music via speakers.
My sole gripe was that our room faced the pool and there were no blinds. We were up late and by early morning the sun was streaming very brightly into the room and the thin sheet-​curtains did nothing. I took the advice of previous Unilocalers and parked around back and ignored the existence of valet parking.
I rarely stay in hotels, preferring to hit up
or the kindness of random internet friends. If I ever needed to stay in one near LA again, though, I’d go back to the Custom.

Worst hotel EVAR!
Really crappy rooms
Overpriced crappy rooms (did I mention the rooms suck?)
Overpriced restaurant/​bar with so/​so food
Really cool décor if you like spending $$$$ to look at décor
The stupidest idea for a restroom EVAR! You might like it if you are into wierd shit (no pun intended LOL)
Techno bar next door… up to you if you think that is cool or not. If you’re trying to «hook up» with wanna be skanks… you’ll love it! Otherwise it just keeps you up all night and fills your hotel with skanky chicks that can give you crabs just by looking at you.
Avoid this place at all costs unless you REALLY want some sort of random VD or don’t mind sleeping in tiny rooms with bedbugs! Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww… seriously! Bedbugs! OMG so nasty!