ERTH INN by AGA Los Angeles

You can see the hospital from the window, and the central location is great. The bed was okay, and the clean linens and towels were the main thing for me. But the upstairs neighbor was pretty loud. The floors were the last straw: I dropped a few crumbs and went to clean them up, then saw how dirty they were. We kept our shoes on and didn’t shower.

The surroundings felt rough and unsafe, especially at night. Even walking to the nearest 7-11 for essentials was uncomfortable, with people wandering around and approaching passersby. We also felt uneasy because there was no proper reception area. Anyone could use the elevator without a keycard, and one night we heard someone running and shouting in the hallway. It felt as if someone could get into our room while we slept. The elevator was disgusting toward the end of our stay, reeking of urine with a wet floor. Staff tried to mask the smell with air freshener the next day, which only made it worse. We couldn’t reach anyone either. The phone in the room didn’t work no matter which button I pressed, and calling the number on the website got no response. Closing the windows didn’t block the traffic noise, so our sleep was disrupted. The heater and fan smelled like burning plastic and couldn’t be used, leaving the room stuffy. The towels and sheets were stained. We asked for more towels, but those smelled strongly of bleach and had makeup stains and dirt too. We can’t recommend this hotel because of the unsafe surroundings and lack of security, and we left concerned for our safety.

For a budget stay in LA, this place works if all you need is a comfortable bed, free parking, and a minifridge. If you’re after lots of four- or five-star amenities, you should spend five times as much somewhere else. I’ve stayed here several times while visiting LA to look for a home, and now that I live here, it’s where I suggest visitors stay. The neighborhood is sketchy. The first time my Uber dropped me off, I was a little freaked out, though I wasn’t stepping over homeless people to reach the check-in Window and I’ve never felt unsafe. I wouldn’t walk around after dark in almost any part of LA, so use common sense. Downtown can feel even worse at night for homelessness, despite its multimillion-dollar condos and five-star hotels. I’m not sure what people expect for under $200 a night in LA, and after reading some recent reviews, I wanted to share my experience with a friend who’d raised concerns.

The room was clean and well managed, and the front desk staff were friendly. There’s plenty of free parking, too. A great budget option right across from the USC medical center.