Freehand Los Angeles

I had the king premium room and it was spacious and clean and had a desk, which I needed. It’s hard to find desks in hotel rooms anymore so that was really great. Room was quiet, staff was friendly and kind. But I found it hard that the morning coffee and breakfast for everyone in the hotel had to pass to us through a single barista, despite a large and beautiful restaurant that I never saw open once. I was there for a conference and it just seemed like a tremendous inconvenience. I’ve loved my stays in the NYC Freehand, and had hoped for the same standard of hospitality. That location has several great ways to get a guest breakfast or coffee. The roof bar here was great though the pool isn’t really equipped for a proper swim. But it is beautiful at night and the bar staff was a lot of fun. It’s hard to have a work trip where the breakfast throws you off. Even one other barista would have made a huge difference.

Amenities, like pool, are open to non-guests making it super difficult to find a place for guests. Definitely will not be staying here again.

Staff was friendly and the lobby was nice. Rooms were average. It was a fun boutique hotel. Parking was outrageous at $61. Ouch.

There was a food truck located outside and good breakfast and coffee in the morning at the coffee bar. Gym was well equipped. It smelled good when we first walked in and overall gave a comfy atmosphere

The posted price is deceptive because they will charge $35 a day for facility-free maintenance at the time of checking in. The rooftop pool and bar are not open until 12 noon and the pool is outdoor and only open until sunset. I stayed there for 5 nights total, but I never saw the rooftop facility during my stay because it was never open. There is no free breakfast. There is no tea or coffee maker, and no electric kettle in the room. So sad. There were 2 disposable caps. We just liked the shower very much.

The parking at the hotel is crazy high. Just park up the street and get it for 20 dollars overnight or 12 for daily. Other than that, what can I say. Freehand is mostly a hostel, but as far as hostels go, it's one of the best hostels I've stayed in. There's a rooftop pool and bar. There's a bar on the ground as well. There are food options and other bars right across the street. Overall the stay exceeded my expectations.

Decent hipster hotel in good proximity to the dtla hot spots. My big gripe is the pool/rooftop doesn’t open til 12 noon but checkin is at 3pm and checkout is 12 noon, so if you’re only staying one night you have virtually zero access to the pool. Good value for hostel accommodations but for a solo room it’s not much cheaper than most better hotels in the area.

I loved the hotel, the rooftop pool, the staff, the walkability but I did not like the food at all onsite I wanted to but just couldn’t get with it. I’m from the south and the food is amazing. Restaurants that I went to nearby were pretty decent but onsite food and drinks were not.

The location was very convenient for my visit. Surprisingly, the room was very big, and the shower with hot water was very nice. However, there is nothing in the room except 2 plastic cups. No coffee maker, no tea, or bottled water. There was a hair dryer, which I needed. I wish there was a blanket because the cover was thin. For your information, the hotel will charge you a "facility fee" because Hotel.com does not collect it. I believe it is used to maintain the pool on top of the roof. I tried to get there at least 3 times, but it was closed every single time I visited. And it said it will be closed at sunset. In other words, if you are out in the city, most probably, you are not able to use the facility you paid for. I paid more than $90 for 3-night stays. This was very disappointing because I brought my swimsuit. Other than that, I liked the room and I will stay there again.

Did not know card hold was so much did not even say here plus 60 dollars to park and I was planning to stay there no way that should be a Thing

The room smelled like sewage and old carpet. The lights kept turning on randomly throughout the night.

Place was unique carpet was dirty. Walls were dirty. Bed was uncomfortable. The employees were nice.

Overall I don't like this property because was dirty under the bed.

I side the facility was very nice and clean. The staff was friendly and helpful. The bed was clean and comfortable. The bathrooms and showers were clean and well kept.

I saw one Cockroach in the wash room during the 3 nights I was there… everywhere you walk outside smells like pee, other than that the bed was clean, I hope… visually at least, not all outlets in the beds were working. You get a mattress cover a sheet and a itchy blanket…

Safe and clean shared room

The location is great, the lobby area and coffee bar are lovely, the rooms however are sad, very basic and dirty. The floor of our quad room was so filthy we had to get extra towels to lay on them. There was also blood on the bunk bed frame.

I booked a shared room in a bunk bed and have stayed in several hostel style situations similar to this one. However, I found Freehands’ shared hostel room to be not very clean and I could smell the other people and their body odor lingering in the room. I don’t feel like the room was cleaned properly between each cleaning, and the linens still felt sort of icky and I don’t feel like the cleaners paid that much attention to detail either.

Dirty, horrible bed, no amenities. Couldn't even get an extra pillow. No microwave, no coffee. Restaurant with terrible hours.

Extremely misleading stay and very disgusting and not clean what so ever

The staff were very friendly. The building was beautiful, room was huge and clean. A little on the pricey side for min amenities, but conveniently located for downtown events.

It was an old refurbished building that has problems with the elevators. I had to carry my luggage up 5 flights of stairways. You can hear all outside noise from the bar & the traffic. Pool on top was great with the bar.

Great hotel in an ideal DTLA location. The room was comfy and chic, the rooftop pool bar was to die for. My one quibble was that the internet just did not work for us. They said they were having trouble the Friday we checked in, but the problem persisted the whole time we were there. Hopefully, it's not usually like this and it wasn't a big enough problem to deter us from staying there again.

It had a nice size room for a LA hotel. It is an old building that’s been renovated and has lots of charm. The bed is a little close to the floor. The bathroom is pretty good size. The thing that stood out for me the most, was the shower. It had the best shower of any hotel I have ever stayed at. The nozzle was high enough I didn’t have to bend over. The hot water came very quickly and stayed the temperature it was set on, and the pressure was amazing!! Worth the stay just for the shower…

Nearly a third of the loungers and seating is unusable as they've been "reserved". I was there for approximately 5 hours and I didn't see one being used, all whist people were sitting in the floor. The shared rooms are nice however they require the privacy curtains to be reattached onto the front of the beds.

I enjoyed the vibe of the hotel. My only gripe is the auto lights everywhere in the room and bathroom. The lights would start to turn off while I was in the shower and I had to open the curtain and wave in time to get them to stay on. Last would be they don’t have water for purchase or complimentary which most hotels do

Private rooms were nice although whole building has a musty smokey smell. Bed was comfortable, shower was great with awesome water pressure. Only real complaint is paper thin walls where he had to to listen to a couple break up for 6 hours.

There was a lot of places that you can walk to from the hotel. The bed was comfortable but could be not so low to the ground

We really liked our Corner Suite, which was on the 9th floor. It was spacious with a nice bathroom that had great water pressure in the spacious (room for two) shower. The bed was comfortable and there are blackout curtains for the windows. The only complaint we had, which is the reason for our rating, is that the windows are single pane, which means we heard literally every single thing happening on the street below us. This is downtown L.A. It was busy all night long. I bought ear buds and used them for our second night. Slept like a baby, but my wife said it was really loud. Only other comment is to be aware that if you drive to the hotel, parking is $59/day. You can take a chance with other options in the area. We didn't and are happy we didn't. The service was good, but factor that into the cost. Also, the roof pool is only open for 7 hours per day, and not until 12:00 noon. Kind of a bummer. Otherwise, we really like the hotel!

Nice spot for the money... Enjoyed the service, and the room, while being a bit outdated, was comfortable and with great water pressure in the shower. The hotel is in a central location, easy walking to many places as well as the Metro.

Great and friendly staff who are willing to help.

We love this location and have stayed several times. The rooms are great, rooftop pool cool, and location walkable to the Orpheum where we are normally planning to see a concert. The best part though is easily the staff. They are friendly, accommodating, knowledgeable. Thanks!

The staff as always is amazing!

This place was probably the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed at. One, the staff were rude and very unhelpful. They complained about how we asked for towels late at night (9pm), when housekeeping literally said *very rudely “You can’t ask us for that stuff ask front desk” Housekeeping came didn’t do the beds, didn’t take or replace the dirty towels. How did we know they came in the room in the first place? Well, probably because of their cleaning supplies that they left in the shower. Mind this, the room wasn’t even attempted to be cleaned until our 4 night there. Yes, we put the sign on the door “come on in”. Yeah, come on in and eat our snacks — oh did I not mention the box of cheezits incident? Yeah it was left closed on the unmade bed except we returned to unmade bed with an open cheezits box on the side table— on top of that leave your supplies in the shower. Now two, to the cleanliness side! I’ve got three words for you: dirty, stinky, and gross. Wait no 5 words if you add BED BUGS. Yes! The A/C works great in the lobby!! Wooohooo yeah in the room? No, that’s a luxury for the rude front desk workers who hate guests that ask for basic things! Anyways, the eye catching amenity the rooftop pool…. Yeah we pushed through the terrible week without visiting the pool once. It’s a two hour limit per day per guest? And it closes at 7pm. Which means if you’re visiting LA you’re not going to the pool. Anyways to say at least one good thing about the hotel. ( )

Check-in & out was very easy. Mike was notably professional, friendly and helpful, and the room cleaners were sweet ladies, quick and efficient. I would stay there again because it’s such easy access from there to the metro rails and everything I like to see & do, taco trucks right outside the door, Whole Foods on the corner, etc. Downsides are the noise of the street it’s on. I got very little sleep my entire stay (I managed, though. Others might not.) The blinds don’t block enough light out, either. The water takes a long, long time to cool down. It stays scalding hot for a while. Our room was very cute, but bare bones, e.g. I had to go downstairs and ask for a PEN. Lastly, the elevators are temperamental. Often refused to take us to our floor many days, forcing us to take the stairs with all our things in hand. Kinda sucked! Value was good, though. I can live with these things just because I love being in LA so much.

We absolutely love staying at this property. It’s been a joy every time. Mike at the front desk is absolutely top-notch. Excellent customer service.

I never got to stay because I forgot my id. That’s not the main problem though, I asked for a refund online and in person because I booked for the hotel within the hour of me arriving there and I never got it. I want my money back please.

Great stay! Everything was perfect, the staff was friendly and helpful. Thank you!

Rude service

At 11am as I was waiting for my room at FREEHAND where I have stayed countless times. The room was to being cleaned as I was waiting exhausted from a New York flight,in the lobby. A rude security guard questioned me in GESTAPO-like style. He was boisterous not caring patrons were just off long haul flights just wanting to check in and insulted listening to his laughing and ridiculous jokes. The front desk clerk seemed unable to deal with thls security guards recklessness and unprofessionalism and was quite pleasant as he gave me my room at 12 noon. This security guard should be fired since he gives FREEHAND a bad reputation and is not good for the paying guests of this hotel

This is a hard hotel to review because it's an excellent value and in a way, is what it is. The lobby area and staff are great. Definitely hip vibes. And it's surrounded in DTLA by nice quick service options like Sweetgreen, Calif Chicken Cafe, Starbucks, a nice french pastry shop, Whole Foods, etc. BUT it is still DTLA, which means it's gritty and colorful and a bit stinky. Just how that part of the city is. And in the Freehand itself, you can't escape that it's an upscale hostel, with people walking through the hallway with dop kits and semi-prison vibes in the upstairs hallways. My corner king room was huge and an EXCELLENT value. But it's definitely has an urban hostel vibe and more like an Ace Hotel than anywhere else I've stay in its military minimalism. I'd stay there in a pinch on a budget again, for sure. But would not bring my family.

This is my go-to DTLA hotel. Friendly helpful staff, easy check-in/checkout, the room is always clean & comfortable! Quiet safe neighborhood. The hotel has a lot of charm & stands out from other places in the area. Easy walk to LA Live & other restaurants, stores, etc. The bar across the street is so fun; the oldest in DTLA! I'll definitely stay here again.

The location is walking distance of a lot of places

This is downtown LA. Don’t walk around by yourself at night

Great stay, lots of restaurants and bars nearby. Would stay here again.

The location was safe, very convenient! Close to major train lines and lots of city buses. The hotel was beautiful and the staff was nice and helpful! Plus they have little music events at night, and you get to go for free if you’re staying at the hotel. Overall a nice stay!

This has become my preferred place to stay in Los Angeles. The front desk has always been friendly. The full rooms are quite nice. The rooftop pool and bar is a nice little oasis. And, most importantly for me, it's very close to a host of theaters on Broadway. I'm often in LA for a concert in one of these theaters, and being within 5-10 minutes walking distance (at most) is very convenient.

What a cool little place. It balanced chic and the 1940s LA vibe. Spacious room. Great shower. Tons of restaurants within a block or two. Easy half mile walk to the arena. Easy walk to Jewelry District too.

The hotel itself was a wonderful boutique hotel with a great aesthetic and lovely staff. My only issues were with the area around the hotel, it isn’t close to many things and there are a lot of homeless people downtown so walking to any of the nearby restaurants or shops it was hard to feel safe.

Nice spot for the money... Enjoyed the service, and the room, while being a bit outdated, was comfortable and with great water pressure in the shower. The hotel is in a central location, easy walking to many places as well as the Metro.

I had the king premium room and it was spacious and clean and had a desk, which I needed. It’s hard to find desks in hotel rooms anymore so that was really great. Room was quiet, staff was friendly and kind. But I found it hard that the morning coffee and breakfast for everyone in the hotel had to pass to us through a single barista, despite a large and beautiful restaurant that I never saw open once. I was there for a conference and it just seemed like a tremendous inconvenience. I’ve loved my stays in the NYC Freehand, and had hoped for the same standard of hospitality. That location has several great ways to get a guest breakfast or coffee. The roof bar here was great though the pool isn’t really equipped for a proper swim. But it is beautiful at night and the bar staff was a lot of fun. It’s hard to have a work trip where the breakfast throws you off. Even one other barista would have made a huge difference.

Very fun, aesthetically pleasing LOVE the salmon bagel. 11/10 recommend

non-existent breakfast as advertised

I was having an extremely difficult time finding a property for my LA stay as I felt every place had bad reviews. However, I gave Freehand a chance and OMG! Amazing service and wonderful property! The rooftop restaurant and bar is delicious but I wish the rooftop pool was a little deeper and larger! I didn't even know the hotel was having a pride pool party which made us feel even more welcomed! The location was perfect for our weekend trip and near all of the necessary venues! The decor and vibe is 10/10! All in all, I would stay here again!

No breakfast

I loved the hotel, the rooftop pool, the staff, the walkability but I did not like the food at all onsite I wanted to but just couldn’t get with it. I’m from the south and the food is amazing. Restaurants that I went to nearby were pretty decent but onsite food and drinks were not.

No free breakfast but there is a cafe in the lobby.

Rooftop bar self tip on my credit card 50%

Excellent food and staff on the rooftop!

The hotel was adorable, the coffee great, the Room large and clean. The bed was just ok but the pillows were excellent. The roof top bar had a great view and the shrimp cocktail