More about The Grafton On Sunset
Nice place - good location
by A TripAdvisor Member
For the price, the Grafton on Sunset was a great place to stay for the weekend. The hotel employees were nice and very helpful. The rooms are a bit small, but surprisingly, large enough for THREE ladies getting ready to go out. Clean sheets, more towels at request, nice decor. Every destination was no more than a 10 minute drive. One thing: the hotel charges $20 per day for parking. However, the hotel has a complementary shuttle (for small parties). Would definitely stay there again.
The Great, the Not-So-Great and the Ugly
by TripAdvisor Member TESTER
Upon checking into the Grafton, we were immediately impressed with the pleasant valet, soothing lobby, super-accommodating and competent manager (Jeff) and cute and informative bellman (Daniel). Our room continued to impress. It was a nice size, even for 3, with a great view of the lush courtyard and pool area. The windows actually open, which was so nice. Great little amenities and reasonable room service prices added to our favorable impression and I am sure I will be back to the Grafton.
That said, be warned about a couple of things. This hotel is very laid back. If you are looking for quiet solitude, this is not the place. All of the rooms have CD players, and guests play their own soundtracks until late. This really didn't bother us, but I can see where if you didn't expect it it would be a complaint. Also, the daytime staff we dealt with were awful. J.R. could not care less about guests at the Grafton, nor could the sales manager whose name I forgot. The restaurant staff was also obnoxious and unfriendly, wanting to charge us $3 to bring a plastic fork to the room. When we offered to simply come and get it ourselves, they hung up on us. Thankfully, Jeff the Super-Manager took over the situation and we got our fork and an apology.
Over all, we LOVED this hotel. With a little more customer service training for some of the less charming employees, this place would be perfect. The rooms were clean and cute, breakfast room service was cheap and good, and the location was alot of fun. We hope to be back next year and see Jeff and Daniel again!
Great place
by A TripAdvisor Member
My partner and I stayed at the Grafton on 11th - 14th September 2004 and thought it was great. The room was clean and bright with fantastic air conditioning. The pool area was comfortable and never crowded. The complimentary coffee by the pool is fantastic. The vibe of this hotel is young, laid back and trendy - suited us down to the gound! The staff were helpful and friendly and we made full use of the free lifts in the hotel car to local destinations.
Overall, if I wanted to stay in LA again (which unfortunately is unlikely as I thought the hotel was the best thing about the place!), I would stay there.
An OK stay at the Grafton
by A TripAdvisor Member
I stayed at the Grafton for five days in September, 2004. My room wasn't ready when I arrived from the airport so I had a couple of nine dollar drinks in the bar while waiting. When the room was ready I was pleased with how it looked, but after a few minutes I realized there were a few problems. For one, there is a small closet but there are only two small drawers in which to unpack your clothes. I was traveling alone and there wasn't anyplace to put anything, so I lived out of my suitcase out of necessity. The Grafton looks nice, but it is an older building with some quirks -- such as a 24" doorway leading into the bathroom. I was in a hurry to get ready one night and stubbed my toe going into the bathroom so badly that my toe turned black and blue. I blamed myself for being clumsy, but a friend was in the room another evening before we went out and she tripped going into the bathroom. Luckily she had shoes on. The staff was very nice and helpful, the pool is very pretty, and having lived in L.A. for years I can say that at $111 a night the Grafton is a nice deal if you want the bustle and traffic of Sunset Strip -- but be careful going through those narrow doorways!
Great West Hollywood Location!
by A TripAdvisor Member
I recently stayed at the Grafton Oct. 7-10 and found the location to be one of the best in W. Hollywood. The Grafton delivered exactly what I expected. You're close enough to everything without the prices of nearby hotels. We enjoyed drinks next door at the Mondrian without paying $400 a night for their rooms. Would recommend this place for any short trip to LA.
My new L.A. home away from home
by A TripAdvisor Member
I made my reservation at the Grafton prior to my wife checking them out on this website and a few of the negative reviews had her worried but being in the hotel business, I understand that everyone has an off day and quite frequently guests tend to blow minor set backs out of proportion, so we decided to go ahead and give them a try and we couldn't be happier that we did. It turned out to be the perfect place to recharge our batteries, so to speak, after a busy summer season in Aspen. From the moment we hit the lobby the staff was warm and welcoming despite the crazy level of business going on at the front desk. When Dujuan was ready to check us in he made us feel as if we were the only ones in the lobby. Our room, located on the first floor, was spacious (and we had no problem getting through the bathroom door), deliciously decorated with black and whites of some of my favorite blues artists (how did they know?) and located just off the pool; relaxing in the sun with a cocktail couldn't have been made any easier. We ordered room service several times, always delivered by the same server and I regret that I do not remember his name (sorry honey, because you were too cute!) because he was brilliant, down to bringing me my drink where I was lounging on the bed. Is the place noisy? No, it is full of the energy,vitality and playfulness that one seeks when staying in West Hollywood. As hotelier I know that a hotel cannot be all things to all guests and if your looking for the quiet reserve of a Four Seasons or a Ritz-Carlton, then this isn't the place for you; but if you are looking for the cool and the hip (and really, why else would you choose West Hollywood as a destination?) then the Grafton is the perfect place. The only challenge we encountered was a small billing problem after our departure and JR handled it with the utmost professionalism and expediency possible. We have many friends in LA and visit frequently and have no plans of staying anywhere but the Grafton...our new home away from home!
Definitely will return to Grafton
by TripAdvisor Member Rantipole
I checked into the Grafton on two different occasions in early- and mid-November ’04. First of all, of course you have to praise the location. Right next to the Mondrian, easy access to everywhere. (Full disclosure: although I titled this review “definitely return to Grafton”, I did walk over to the Mondrian and took a look around, and if I have the budget, I will stay there. It was truly cool.) The lobby had a great design, and had some chill-out music playing. The desk staff were friendly for the most part. One had a bit of attitude, but just deal with it and you’ll be fine. I’m sure some of the reviewers below were intimidated, and let that ruin their trip. It probably resulted in the poor service they got afterwards as well.
The room was great. Good size, nice bed. The fitness center was a little small, and some of the equipment wasn’t in perfect working order, but I broke a sweat, which was all I needed. Nice touch to have water and iced tea next to the pool. The pool area was really nice, like an oasis.
Definitely ask for a room facing the pool courtyard. If you stay on a weekend, and don’t plan on partying until closing time, then also ask for the rooms on the opposite side from the Mondrian, if you can’t get a pool room, as one side of the hotel is right across from the SkyBar. (Couldn’t see in though, dammit!) The evening turn-down service provided an apple, which was nice.
I did not go into the restaurant (Boa, formerly known as Balboa), but I ate in the bar one night (same kitchen). The food was good, call it “nouvelle steak house”. The bar also had a good scene--and good design, which was good to see before it got packed later. The bartender himself was an amateur though. A place like that, affiliated with a top-notch restaurant, should have a good mixologist behind the bar.
If you enjoy sleep do not stay at The Grafton
by A TripAdvisor Member
This was the worst Hotel stay I have ever experienced. My fiance and I could not sleep at all due to the fact that our room was right underneath thier bar. Every single noise was coming through our ceiling. We heard music thumping, talking, high heels walking, and every other noise that is in a bar. It was worse than living in an apartment complex. These walls were paper thin. So of course I call up to the front desk to see if they would give us a different room, possibly further away from this bar. The girl up there was so rude!!! She basically said they would not give us another room and that earplugs were available if we needed some. i could not believe what she said!! So I decided to call the Hotel Manager. I left him a message and he never called us back. This Hotel does not care about it's guests. Pretty soon they will loose all of thier business and they will wish they would have handled things differently. I will never stay at this Hotel ever again and I will tell everyone I know about this experience. Next time I will save some money and stay at Motel 6.
my stay at the Grafton
by A TripAdvisor Member
I was there several weeks ago and like the decor of the hotel. When I got there I was greeted by valet guys (which were very nice and pleasant). Then I went to the front desk, I was greeted by Stacy (very nice, pleasant and professional). We checked in with her and needed some advice on what to do in the area. At that point another gentleman by the name of Fernando (knowledgeable, professional and friendly) assisted us and also made a reservation for us that night to eat at Katana (which was a great choice). He also gave us options on what to do in the day time. It came down to us leaving and that’s when I had a little problem. I was check out by JR which seemed he was upset, annoyed and not as friendly as the people I encounter when I checked in. I had a few questions about my bill and he made me feel very ignorant. He was the only one I really had a problem with. He was very rude, unprofessional and short in words. I think he may need a little bit more training in customer service.
Overall, may stay was okay and thanks to all of the nice and professional people I mentioned above.
