Ginosi FiGaro Apartel

It was peaceful on my end of the floor, but there were plenty of problems. The room wasn’t fully clean, the floor was dirty, my son’s room had nose dripping on the wall, and his tub was clogged. They charge a 160.00 cleaning fee. My ironing board was broken, and we were given only two towels, two wash cloths, and two hand towels, which we had to wash ourselves even though we asked for more. Don’t lose the key, either, because replacement costs 150.00. The room cost more than customer service first told me: the woman rushed to get my credit card details without mentioning parking was 30.00 a night. Taxes and fees made the total about 200.00 more than she’d quoted. It’s better than some hotels I’ve stayed at, but I’ll look somewhere else next time.

The woman at the office was kind and helpful, but getting there was a hassle: we could barely find the office in a hole in Los Angeles, and it turned out the keys had to be picked up at a completely different place. Then came the extra parking charge, which made the total more than a good hotel with free parking. I’d been drawn in by the low price after paying for the reservation as usual. When we arrived, we saw an apartment with a huge 17" hole in its door, and I imagined the police had broken in to arrest a murderer or drug dealer. Our own apartment was okay, but smelled of cigarette smoke. Next time I’ll be more cautious.

The advertised apartment rates look ridiculously low, but then they add a $160 Property Service Charge, more than the room rate itself. They don’t disclose it until just before you give your credit card details, or in my case, right after. It feels like a scam to get people to book. The cancellation policy effectively makes you pay the full amount even for a short booking. It’s not worth it. You won’t get a decent place in DTLA for under $300, so don’t be fooled by these rates.

The internet kept dropping out about every 15 minutes, management didn’t seem to care, and the kitchen was barely equipped for cooking. We left two days earlier than planned because the ants wouldn’t go away, nobody seemed concerned, and none of us were sleeping. At night there was a stomping toddler upstairs and a couple who started screaming like clockwork at 8pm. Construction right outside my room started at 6am, six days a week. The place we were moved to in the main building was badly run down, with large holes in the walls, ants in the bathroom, broken single beds, and stained carpet and duvet. I reported the holes on arrival and was told they’d be fixed straight away, but nobody came. We’d booked 10days because the photos looked nice and there was a pool. The first apartment they put us in was in one of their newer complexes across the other side of LA, and its pool wasn’t opening until September. The manager knocked the next day accusing us of not being checked in, even though you can’t get anywhere in that building without the security swipe given at check-in. He was rude and mean, so I complained to management. Within an hour they accused us of smoking, though we’re non-smokers. I explained again what he’d done, and they agreed it seemed like retaliation. They said they’d look into it and move us back to the main building; that part went smoothly. The beds were lumpy and old. The blinds weren’t, the kitchen wasn’t, and the noise wasn’t, anything we could live with. Do yourself a favor and stay somewhere else.