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3.5
#128 of 369 hotels in Los Angeles
Location
Rooms
Value
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Sleep Quality
Housed in the historic Commercial Exchange building in Downtown Los Angeles, Freehand LA is truly one-of-a-kind, featuring suites, premium hotel rooms and shared accommodations with interiors designed by Roman & Williams. Home to the award-winning Broken Shaker Rooftop Pool & Bar, Freehand LA offers exceptional food & beverage with a strong sense of comfort and community. Conveniently located with close proximity to the Staples Center, Fashion, Finance and Arts Districts, Downtown Los Angles is home to world class attractions, unique restaurants and a thriving nightlife scene. Come see us here in LA!
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Historic Hotel
Trendy
Languages Spoken
English, Spanish
Location
416 W 8th St, Los Angeles, CA 90014-3002
Freehand Los Angeles
657 reviews
Getting there
Great for walkers
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At first glance it's a bit dark inside but all very relaxed and welcoming. We made a mistake on our booking and had a room with four bunk beds, on realising this the reception staff changed us to a very nice King room , without fuss and only small price difference. NB there is a resort tax added to your bill, ours was £25 per night, it's in the small print. There is nice tiling to admire near the lift area and the lifts have the historic dial above the door to show which floor it's on. Our room and bathroom very pleasant, nice tiling around shower etc. Plenty of hooks to hang clothes as well as small wardrobe . There is a bit of traffic noise if facing the road, even on 8th floor. If you have breakfast downstairs notice that filter coffee is free for all guests. Nice. Location is very good for downtown LA shops and restaurants. Underground metro also nearby. We enjoyed our stay here, the restaurant is a little too dark/loud/busy for us hence the four stars PS do check out top floor bar /pool , especially in the evening when all lit up.
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Date of stay: February 2020
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Room Tip:Rooms away from road might be quieter , double check what kind of bed arrangement you require...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rich Oken, General Manager at Freehand Los Angeles
Responded 23 Feb 2021
Thank you very much. Glad you had a nice visit. Hope to see you again in 2021!
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Another month, another convention, another unique place to stay.
I usually book shared room situations when traveling alone, but this time it was my guy and I going to LA for an event for which we packed some special outfits. Lucky for us, the Freehand had a 4 bed dorm available so we wouldn't have to proverbially fight over storage space or for the bathroom, which was in the room and shared between the four of us.
My favorite part about the room was this tiny shelf by the bedside lamp. It turned out to be an incredibly convenient place for toiletries and my phone while charging overnight. I suggest that you bring your own lock for your and your belongings' security. We didn't and, while the Freehand can sell them to guests, they didn't have any to sell us. Luckily, the other two guys in the room had stayed in hostels before and showed no interest in our stuff.
Our favorite feature of the hotel was the fitness center in the basement. It had the basics: treadmills, an elliptical trainer, a stationary bicycle, a rowing machine, a bench and a weight rack, as well as plenty of sanitized wipes and a water cooler with individually wrapped drinking cups. We would've liked to try the pool, but it's logistically bound to the rooftop bar, The Broken Shaker, and, on the day we wanted to go for a swim, we were informed there was a ~2 hour wait for a spot.
There are plenty of places to eat nearby, including Grand Central Market, which was a less than 10 minutes walk. The nearest metro station, 7th & Metro Center, is three blocks away and, for our purposes, the convention center was a 20 minute walk.
At the end of the day, unless you can afford one of their private rooms, expect to sleep in a twin size bed, need comfortable shoes and not spend so much money for a place downtown.
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Date of stay: May 2022
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rich Oken, General Manager at Freehand Los Angeles
Responded 23 May 2022
What a detailed and wondaful review. Thank you do very much! We are so happy we could meet your needs and that you enjoyed the hotel! Come back soon!
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Had a bit of an issue initially with the air conditioning being broken in our first room but were moved to a different room that provided an excellent stay. Hung out by the pool all day drinking tiki cocktails and snacking on modern Mexican food at Broken Shaker. Normally we’d get dinner at Exchange in the lobby but unfortunately they’re still closed (we’ll be back for a meal as soon as they open). The location of course is killer, right next to Whole Foods and within walking distance to everything a guest could need. Note that this hotel is located in the heart of downtown with no soundproofing on its vintage windows. You’ll get a very interrupted night’s sleep as the trade off for great location. I prefer to stay at Nomad because they have double sets sound proofing on every window but they’re still closed sadly. Not a bad alternative to stay at Freehand!
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: April 2021
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rich Oken, General Manager at Freehand Los Angeles
Responded 22 Apr 2021
Hello Chrissy, Thank you for the nice review. We are so sorry in regard to the initial issue with the AC in your room but very happy we could easily accommodate you in another room. Again, sorry for the inconvenience. We are very pleased to see that you were able to spend some quality time at our beautiful rooftop pool and bar; Broken Shaker! Thank you for noting our great, centralized location as well. Chrissy, we truly appreciate your patronage and do hope you stay with us again next time in LA!
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I was disappointed with my stay here because i was not provided with face towels or toiletries like shampoo and bathing soap. Also one of the guests in the room was noisy and kept playing his phone at a loud volume and having unnecessary conversations with other guests. I was charged a room deposit of $50 which has still not being refunded
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: September 2020
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rich Oken, General Manager at Freehand Los Angeles
Responded 23 Feb 2021
Hello. Our shared rooms come with very limited amenities. This is in line with the "dorm-type" concept of these rooms and allows us to sell the rooms at far below a normal hotel room. Sorry you were not aware and our apologies for any inconvenience. Deposits are returned the day after check-out. It all depends upon the bank as to when they release the funds back into your account.
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I would not recommend staying at Freehand. We booked on Airbnb and were not happy with the experience. Upon arrival we were informed that we had to pay additional hidden fees for “facility use and LA taxes” that were buried down deep in the airbnb listing. This already felt weird since I’ve been booking on Airbnb for years and I’ve never had to pay more in cash upon arriving to a hotel. The pool, which was the main reason why we chose this listing, was closed with no explanation. (ironically, the additional fees were for the “facility” use which included the pool) The photos of the listing were not accurate, we got a way smaller room. The staff at the front desk was super rude and the location is honestly not great for L.A. You can get a much better deal elsewhere.
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Date of stay: February 2020
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rich Oken, General Manager at Freehand Los Angeles
Responded 23 Feb 2021
We are very sorry you did not have a good visit early last year. We do hope you will try us again in 2021 and see the improvements we have made.
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Freehand LA operates hotel & hostel as well. But if you're budget travel who want to stay hostel, it might not a good choice. I stayed 4 bed female dorm. Actually, the room was fine and you can enjoy all the Freehand service (including cafe, restaurant, rooftop bar & pool) even though you're a hostel guest. That's very good point and this is the reason why this hostel is a bit expensive than other hostel in LA. And the location is good if you want to stay in downtown LA 'cause all the tour spots in downtown are not that far from here. There're Ralph's, cafes and many restaurants around here. But only one thing which I can't recommend it for budget traveler is the kitchen. There's no common kitchen & dining room. You cannot use fridge. I know this is very important for budget traveler who stay in hostel. So, keep in mind this.
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Date of stay: March 2020
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rich Oken, General Manager at Freehand Los Angeles
Responded 23 Feb 2021
Thank you for the review. Our Dorm rooms start at approximately $50 for a bed. We believe this to be a fair price for the hotel, amenities and location. We do hope you come back soon.
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Could easily be zero stars. Original room was 93 degrees upon check in, the air conditioning unit was poor by anyone's standard, we asked to switch rooms. They did not offer to come get our bags, or move us to a new room so we brought our luggage back down to the front desk. We were then given a second room. Again, no offer made to accompany us and see if the new room was up to standards. This room was 92 degrees upon entry. After a second phone call, they sent up staff to change the filters on the AC unit. That team told us the AC was functioning well and blowing cold air (it was blowing cold air as if you had a few ice cubes in your mouth and blew on my neck) and to use the blackout curtains (after a sort of condescending explanation of what blackout curtains do) and give it some time for the AC to work. We went out to dinner for about two hours and came back to a nice cool 87 degree room. We once again took our belongings back downstairs. We were then told by the front desk staff that since we booked a room with a king size bed all of those rooms faced the sun and would all have similar problems (why would that be an acceptable answer?) and they could do nothing more for us since they accommodated us once already. I had no idea their idea of accommodating someone was to put them in a room with the same problem that the previous room had but what do I know, I am not in the hospitality industry. We were then told that the hotel was completely booked so no further "accommodations" could be made. We asked for a refund and this is the first time they reacted with some conviction, they were happy to let us leave. Must be nice to be able to turn away business. At no time were there any apologies, any remorse, just matter-of-factly let us leave. My wife and I don't argue or yell, we never feel its worth it, but we left angry and hotel-less on a Saturday night in Los Angeles. We scrambled to find a new hotel but the damage was done, they took our entire Saturday away from us, which no refund could ever compensate for, they temporarily took our joy to be in town on our own as we are parents and do not get much time away. We did take our business elsewhere, to a Hilton, they seem to understand that to relax you need a room that is slightly cooler than a sauna. We were able to salvage the remaining days of our trip. Also the elevators at the Freehand are old (charming?) and constantly in use because of the rooftop bar so it took us waiting for a few packed elevators to get up and down to the hot AF rooms which probably added to our level of frustration. But it was mostly the Sahara like environment of the hot room. Did I mention the rooms were hot? Also maybe use a free hand to open a book on what hospitality looks like, I think your staff may be surprised. (see what I did there?)
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Date of stay: September 2022
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Room Tip:Book elsewhere
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rich Oken, General Manager at Freehand Los Angeles
Responded 7 Oct 2022
Hello and thank you for your candid feedback. Our sincere apologies you did not have a good experience at the hotel last month. We truly appreciate your candid feedback and are currently following up internally in regard to this situation. We are so sorry your Saturday was ruined and that you had to endure such poor accomodations and service.
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Prior to my arrival, I attempted to call the front desk multiple times and they never answered; not once. During my stay, I attempted to call here and there from the room and someone only answered one time. This left me on a position to either set aside my request / need or make the trip all the way downstairs to the lobby. It’s simply unacceptable.
In today’s climate and world of hotels it’s unimaginable to not have regular access to ice. When I inquired with the front desk as to where I can fill an ice bucket (of which there was no container in the room), I was told I would have to go to the rooftop restaurant and ask them to fill ice in what I needed. That’s absolutely crazy for so many reasons, what if I needed ice outside of their operating hours which most days was from 2-10pm...
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: February 2021
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rich Oken, General Manager at Freehand Los Angeles
Responded 2 Mar 2021
Hello Paula, We are very sorry for the inconveniences you endured. There is never an excuse for poor service and we are sincerely sorry. Though we succeed in ensuring our guests have a great visit on a consistent basis, in your case we obviously failed to meet your expectations. We have placed notes in your profile to ensure that, on your next stay, we exceed your expectations. We can only hope you choose to return so we can turn your perception around. Please call us directly on you next booking and we will refer to your profile notes and take amazing care of you! Paula, we do truly appreciate your patronage and hope to have you back with us.
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They can improve bathrooms. There was no light and light goes of immediately in the bathroom. Also there was no soap, shampoo etc. House keeper and a guy who comes and checks if you are leaving today was rude. They knock ones and open door invite themselves into room. And asking you if you are leaving. But you already extended your stay and paid the front desk. They have no idea. Later on they show up again to your. Asking same questions. It was so disorganized. I asked soap one gut told me I can’t get a soap cuz they don’t give soap to my room type. I said there is no soap. He was like there must be a liquid soap in the container. I said it’s empty. Jeez. I have to fight my soap and shampoo It was bazaar.
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: March 2021
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rich Oken, General Manager at Freehand Los Angeles
Responded 11 Mar 2021
Hello, We are very sorry for the inconveniences you experienced. There was some miscommunication we believe between our Room Attendant and yourself as we were attempting the service the other bed in your Shared Room; not trying to see if you were leaving. As well, the Shared Category Room does not come with bath amenities however the liquid soap dispenser should have been maintained better and our Front Desk staff could have been more empathetic in regard to the situation. Again, our sincere apologies. We truly appreciate your candid feedback and will use it to follow-up internally.
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I stayed at Freehand while attending a conference at the Crypto.com Arena. I walked the mile to and from the hotel each day for exercise, and buses were available if I did not feel up to it. [I logged more than my 10K steps for the most days I was at the conference, so it was great!] There are many mom-and-pop type restaurants within walking distance and the security of the hotel is fabulous, with a valet and secured entry and elevators. I felt completely safe while there.
My room was reasonably priced, since I chose a female quad. I just wish my roommates had been more respectful of each other by using the lockers to stow their items and keep the floor and seats uncluttered. Because I shared space with others who had different goals, I spent a lot of time in the lobby, which was fabulously outfitted, and the lighting is incredibly flattering! Even safety is enforced here because the desk representative came around to ensure everyone in the lobby was a registered guest.
I would stay at Freehand again!
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: January 2022
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Trip type: Travelled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rich Oken, General Manager at Freehand Los Angeles
Responded 21 Jan 2022
What a great review. Thank you so very much! We are so happy you had an enjoyable visit and lover the hotel and its location. Nice job on your "steps" by the way! We are so happy to see that you will be back as well! Thank you once again!
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There are more places to choose from in the Los Angeles area.
PRICE RANGE
AU$134 - AU$301 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
United StatesCaliforniaLos AngelesCentral L.A / Downtown
NUMBER OF ROOMS
227
Prices are provided by our partners, and reflect total costs of the stay, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
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