people’s choice

You all may have seen this review before, I posted it several weeks ago. But now the Custom Hotel would like to offer one lucky reader a 4 night stay in one of their 2 bedroom suites. Also included is free valet parking each night of your stay. That is a pretty big deal in Los Angeles! To enter this awesome giveaway please follow the instructions at the end of this post! Good luck!

Remember that whole People’s Choice Awards thing I did earlier in the year? Well I needed a place to stay while I was there. The Custom Hotel Los Angeles was the perfect place to crash and a place to see and be seen. The manager Tom, who works tirelessly to make his guests happy, was really excited to work with me and I now have another great friend in Los Angeles!

The Custom Hotel is close to the LAX airport but in the opposite direction as most of the other hotels. I liked this, it gave my stay a more neighborhood type feel. When I arrived the valet parked my car and I headed inside. The lobby is decked out in sleek lines and sheep. Yes, I said sheep. Big fluffy sheep standing there watching your every move. Yet somehow it isn’t creepy. There is also a table stuffed full of games in case you get bored waiting on your friends. A computer in the lobby is also available for quick directions or email checks.

Some of the quirky aspects of the hotel are the elevators, the bathroom peephole and the interior rooms of each floor. The Custom Hotel would not be the same without these oddities which give guests something to look out for.

The elevators have these full wall photographs of the original designers of the hotel. Apparently they used to whisper but the new manager decided that was creepy and instead now loops a movie through the speakers instead. While I was visiting the movie was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

The bathroom peephole sounds indecent but upon closer inspection, isn’t. In the wall in front of the restrooms is a peephole, look inside and you’ll see a movie playing. Most likely the same movie being looped through the speakers. But to passersby you may look like a peeping Tom.

If you have downtime while visiting the Custom Hotel I recommend checking out the interior room of each floor. Every floor houses an interesting room purely for your entertainment. I was on the 12th floor and our interior room was called Scribble. Scribble was set up with about 20 easels and all the art supplies you could imagine. The point was to relax and express yourself. It would be especially inviting to young children. On the 4th floor you’ll find the vending machines. But don’t expect food and drinks, instead you can purchase kitschy gifts like dog toys, mardi gras masks, vampire teeth and even money clips. I could have spent an hour just looking through all the vending machines.

My room was an amazing one bedroom suite. I had a panoramic view of the airport which was actually very neat. At night I watched the planes take off and during the day I usually just had my blinds closed. For a one bedroom suite it did have two bathrooms. For myself alone it was unnecessary but I did end up using both. The team at Custom had surely paid attention to my blog because I had requested a shower cap and when I arrived they had one laid out for me in purple! Purple, my signature color! Apparently that isn’t the norm.

My usual complaint with hotels wasn’t any different this time, the shower heads were awful. I made sure to inform Tom and he made an actual note of it at breakfast. The bed was one of the most comfortable beds I have ever slept in in my entire life. Both the mattress and the bedding were the perfect consistency and I slept really well for being away from home. The comforter has dogs on it. No joke, check my picture.

I had breakfast in their Bistrotek restaurant and it was delish. I ordered the french toast with strawberries and ate all of it. Tom sat with me and we had a great chat. I gave him a few opinions on the hotel and ways he could improve and ways he has exceeded other hotels I have visited. The wait staff was attentive and pleasant. If you live in the area you should check out their Sunday brunch.

Finally on my last night I went out to the pool bar. It is called Hopscotch. The room reminded me of a frat house but not in a bad way. It had a lot of entertainment going on in a small space. There was a foosball table and video games. It was very busy which leads me to believe it is quite the hangout on Friday nights for the college scene. The bartender was so nice and chatted me up when she noticed I was alone. I had one drink and then left. I barely drink alcohol and it wasn’t my scene. But if I had been with friends it would be a blast.

The Custom Hotel was a hotel I would pay to stay in again. Whether I was alone, with my husband or with the whole family it would be the perfect place to stay. The really great thing about Custom is that it is affordable. It also includes free Wifi though like most hotels you can’t expect anything too high speed however for checking your email or online browsing you’ll be fine. I highly recommend this hotel and if you do choose to stay here please ask for Tom and tell him Lee sent you! He’ll be happy to help you!

www.customhotel.com

To Enter (worth ONE mandatory entry):

Follow me via Email using the box on the upper left hand corner of the blog. Come back and tell me who you are. You must verify your follow to be eligible. Check your spam if you don’t see an email.

Extra Credit (worth ONE separate entry each you do):

1. Visit http://www.customhotel.com and come back here and tell me one thing you’d like to experience during your stay.

2. Become a fan of my new Facebook site by clicking here. Be sure to come back and tell me who you are.

3. Follow me on Twitter using the button on the left. Come back and tell me who you are.

4. Tweet “Win a 4 night stay at The Custom Hotel in LA @mysentiment http://tinyurl.com/yzr7kuu ” you can do this once a day.

This contest is open to both US and Canadian Residents ages 18+ only. Contest will end March 4th and travel has to be completed by the end of 2010. Winner has 48 hours to claim their prize.

*As always restrictions and blackout dates may apply.

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