Poolside bar

Reviews of Freehand Los Angeles

4 out of 5
Freehand Los Angeles
416 W 8th St, Los Angeles, CA

Reviews

8.2

Very good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 799 out of 1508 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 317 out of 1508 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 157 out of 1508 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 99 out of 1508 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 136 out of 1508 reviews" "

8.6/10

Cleanliness

8.6/10

Staff & service

8.0/10

Amenities

8.4/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.4/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Dennis

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great location. Great rooftop deck and bar. Great lobby bar. Lots of places to walk to from the hotel. Easy Uber access to Union train station
Stayed 2 nights in May 2024

8/10 Good

Alfredo

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
It was a pretty cool place overall. My biggest complaint is the private quad room not having a refrigerator. I understand it not having one for the other guest quads, but if I'm sharing this with friends and ppl I can trust, I don't see a reason why there isn't a fridge to store drinks/food. A microwave would be nice, too. The area is expensive as it is, so it'd be nice to just microwave my own food. Another thing was the sink flooding on it's own. It was incredibly weird. Water would not go down and it ended up bringing up a bunch of dirt. It partially flooded the bathroom floor at one point.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2024

6/10 Okay

Herman

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The staff are very friendly. Unless you get a room away from the main street, it is very noise. Food trucks with BRIGHT flashing lights are parked in front of the hotel until late at night. Motorists speed past the entrance and the noise carries up the side of the building. Parking is expensive! Don't use the valet. Park a block away to save $20-$40 per night.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2024

10/10 Excellent

Helena

Liked: Property conditions & facilities
Loved it!
Stayed 5 nights in May 2024

10/10 Excellent

Laura

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in May 2024

10/10 Excellent

Jerry

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Roof top pool and bar/restaurant
Stayed 3 nights in May 2024

10/10 Excellent

Simon

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in May 2024
Response from Mark on 25 May 2024
Appreciate it Simon. Thank you for the review and staying at the Freehand Los Angeles.

10/10 Excellent

Fredy

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 7 nights in May 2024
Response from Mark on 25 May 2024
Thank you Fredy!

10/10 Excellent

Timothy

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great place to stay for LA Marathon!
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024
Response from Mark on 24 May 2024
Glad you had a great stay with us. We hope to see you soon or see you next year for the LA marathon. Thank you Timothy!

10/10 Excellent

Aaron, Alpharetta

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Loved: - beautiful art-deco building retrofit into hotel, especially the lobby and elevator - minimalist room design - great view of downtown skyscrapers from room - rooftop pool, view - walkable to convention center Not a fan: - bed very low, hard, like a futon - rooftop restaurant food quality poor - ground floor restaurant never open - area near hotel very heavy with homeless people (less panhandling, more crazy and yelling)
Stayed 3 nights in May 2024
Response from Mark on 24 May 2024
Thank you Aaron. Apologies for any of the inconveniences. I hope this will not stop you from coming back.

10/10 Excellent

Richard

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
This was my first hostel stay for work in the area. The rooms are cleaned very well each day. Amenities such as towels readily available. Not the hostel experience I was expecting. The communal areas, lobby and door top pool are very nice. Drinks are a bit pricey.
Stayed 17 nights in May 2024
Response from Mark on 24 May 2024
Thank you Richard! Glad you had a great experience staying in our hostel room. Our hostel accommodation is the best in DTLA. We hope to see you soon again.

2/10 Terrible

Nicole

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I asked several times to move rooms because of how rude and dirty and loud the guests were ans they never moved me and didnt care that i felt extremely uncomfortable. I stayed for 2 nights and slept 0. The bathrooms were dirty and muggy. The sinks smelled like rotton eggs. Pot smoke everywhere. There were tiny little fly bugs in the bedroom.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2024
Response from Mark on 23 May 2024
Apologies Nicole for the bad experience. We always accommodate guest to move to a different room. Unless, you request it in the evening or late night and there is no room available. But, we will accommodate the request the next day. Thank you.

8/10 Good

Ivaylo

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great hotel but downtown LA is very dirty and a bit unsafe
Stayed 3 nights in May 2024
Response from Mark on 23 May 2024
Thank you Ivaylo. We hope to see you soon again.

4/10 Poor

mike

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
The quad was the smallest room I have every seen. And for $300? What a joke
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from Mark on 24 May 2024
Apologies if you didn't like your room. You booked one of our hostel room privately. Hostel rooms are not the same as a regular hotel rooms specially in the room size. For the price you paid and 4 people can sleep in one room in a hotel, it's very reasonable. Once again, apologies if you didn't have a good stay with us. Thank you for staying with us.

10/10 Excellent

Jakob

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Pretty good
Stayed 5 nights in May 2024
Response from Mark on 22 May 2024
Appreciate it Jakob!

2/10 Terrible

Lorena

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The bed was horrible to sleep on. Made noise every single time I moved. I was not comfortable at all.
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024
Response from Mark on 21 May 2024
Apologies Lorena if you didn't have a great stay. We could have moved you to a different room if you reported it to us. We will look into the issue internally and fix it.

10/10 Excellent

Miguel

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great place to spend the night after a long day at the Just Like Heaven festival. It’s a few blocks from the Metro. Checked in almost around 1am. I was in a room of six with half of the beds taken. Bed was just big enough for me to fit but was super comfortable. Bathroom, sink and shower were super clean. Each person is assigned a locker in the room so that was very convenient. People at the front desk were fabulous. They are at there 24hrs a day. I would come here again!
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from Mark on 21 May 2024
Appreciate the review Miguel. Thank you.

10/10 Excellent

Aubrey, St. Petersburg

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Really great environment.
Stayed 4 nights in May 2024
Response from Mark on 21 May 2024
Glad you had a great time with us. We hope to see you soon again. Thank you Aubrey.

10/10 Excellent

Lanae

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We love the entire ambiance of the hotel and the area. Staff and valet were always friendly and we wilk definitely be back
Stayed 4 nights in May 2024
Response from Mark on 21 May 2024
Thank you Lanae. We can't wait to have you back at Freehand Los Angeles.

6/10 Okay

Zeeshan

Liked: Staff & service
Stayed 4 nights in May 2024
Response from Mark on 22 May 2024
Thank you Zeeshan for staying with us.

10/10 Excellent

Darcy, La Mirada

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great staff, though I asked for a couple extra towels at check in and they never came… Would stay again, fer sure! Love the rooftop pool and bar!!!
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from Mark on 21 May 2024
Thank you and apologies for not getting the extra towels requested. I will follow up internally but glad to know overall you had a great stay.

10/10 Excellent

Catherine

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Amazing place and staff
Stayed 3 nights in May 2024
Response from Mark on 21 May 2024
Appreciate it Catherine!

8/10 Good

Marie McLaverty

Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2024
Response from Mark on 21 May 2024
Thank you Marie.

10/10 Excellent

Rachel

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The Freehand has such a cool vibe. The staff is amazing… so friendly and helpful. The Exchange has great food and the Shaker is a great pool bar. Lobby bar with jazz quartet INCREDIBLE. I’m a local but I’ll be staying at the Freemont to stay lay!
Stayed 2 nights in May 2024
Response from Mark on 21 May 2024
Thank you Rachel. We hope to see you soon again and have another amazing time with us.

8/10 Good

NABY

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Recommendable
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024
Response from Mark on 21 May 2024
Thank you Naby.

10/10 Excellent

Jerome

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This hotel is beautiful on the inside! So historic. The room was comfortable, clean and looked exactly as it did online. The area is downtown so it is a rough neighborhood. A lot of emergency vehicle response so it was loud.
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from Mark on 21 May 2024
Thank you for the review Jerome. Apologies for the noise, we have earplugs available for your next visit.

8/10 Good

Prasad, Ladera Ranch

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in May 2024
Response from Mark on 18 May 2024
Appreciate it Prasad! We hope to see you again.

2/10 Terrible

William

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The overall experience was terrible. Never again.I submitted a complete report regarding the Freehand hotel experience.
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from ro on 15 May 2024
Hello Wiliam. Our sincere apologies for your overall experience. We are following up internally regarding your comments.

10/10 Excellent

Erpin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
I spent 2 days in LA and this place is good to stay
Stayed 2 nights in May 2024
Response from ro on 15 May 2024
Nice! Thank you, Erpin!

10/10 Excellent

Scarlett

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Nah
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from ro on 14 May 2024
Yah.

10/10 Excellent

Amanda

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I was so amazed that this option existed! Great clean room for an amazing price! The staff were super attentive. I just wish there were better dining options.
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from ro on 13 May 2024
Thank you, Amanda! Glad to see that, overall, you enjoyed your visit! Nice to see you had a good experience with our staff as well. For dining we have the Cafe Integral for to go breakfast, coffee and pastries, The Exchange for lunch and dinner and Broken Shaker for lunch and dinner (pool menu items).

10/10 Excellent

Ernest

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Liz, Tony, Enen, Jason, Maria, Jose, and all of the staff from the front desk to the Management on duty were very professional and went out of their way to accommodate me. I love my Room and it is because of all the staff and particularly, the ones I mentioned above, I extended my stay and additional week. The only problem I had is the method of pay. my account was compromised and my bank could not issue me a card in time for my trip and Freehand only accepts credit cards. This policy needs to change to accommodate problems with credit cards beyond my control.
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from ro on 13 May 2024
Thank you, Ernest. We appreciate you extending your visit with us and are thrilled the front office team made such a positive impression. Our sincere apologies that we only accept credit cards for room stays.

8/10 Good

Connor

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Don’t book through Expedia they charged me $300 more than the hotel would have
Stayed 7 nights in May 2024
Response from ro on 13 May 2024
So sorry, Conner...you should call Expedia.

10/10 Excellent

andreas

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Close to many things
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from ro on 13 May 2024
Thank you!

10/10 Excellent

William F

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great place Great location.
Stayed 5 nights in May 2024
Response from ro on 13 May 2024
We are very happy you enjoyed your recent stay with us!

10/10 Excellent

Ishmael

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Excellent Stay. Met great people
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from ro on 13 May 2024
Awesome! Thank you, Ishmael!

10/10 Excellent

Brian

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The golden gopher across the street was great.
Stayed 3 nights in Mar 2024
Response from ro on 10 May 2024
Hope you had a chance to visit our rooftop pool/bar, Broken Shaker, as well!

10/10 Excellent

Alex

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This property is great for a group trip with a couple of friends! We stayed in a private quad room and it was perfect for the weekend. Having individual bunk beds for everyone worked out well and we loved that there were outlets on each bunk. The rooftop bar was the best part of our entire trip. Drinks were amazing, they had live music (not guaranteed every night), ambient lighting, and the view of downtown LA was the ultimate vibe. The lobby decor is classy, yet casual, the coffee shop downstairs had good coffee and breakfast options, and the valet driver was super friendly. The only thing I would say that could be better is thicker blankets for the beds. We made the mistake of leaving the AC on all night and we woke up freezing. Can’t say anything about the non-hostel style rooms, but after a long day at theme parks and hanging out all night at the rooftop, the beds definitely did their job. 10/10 would recommend for a boys/girls trip or even a weekend getaway for a couple. Will definitely return with my wife.
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from ro on 10 May 2024
Great review...thank you, Alex! Nice to see our Private Quad worked out well for you guys. Excellent to see you took nice advantage of our facilities as well. Sorry in regard to the cold room. Thank you for the recommendation and please do come back with your wife!

10/10 Excellent

Begimai

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
.
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from ro on 10 May 2024
Appreciate it.

8/10 Good

Josephine

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
My overall stay at Freehand LA was good. The staff were kind and helpful, there were a lot of things to do (eat, explore, transpo) within walking distance, and the overall hotel vibe is edgy at an affordable price. However, there are some things that didn't quite work for me, which are as follows: 1) worn out & thin beddings 2) dim light 3) really slow elevator 4) rooftop wasn't available for sunrise watch 5) lobby event music was loud even after 10pm 6) lounge area outlets weren't working and 7) there are no windows in the gym and lounge area which can feel claustrophobic and stuffy. In spite of all these observations, I still recommend Freehand LA if you are a budget traveller who likes to stay within the DTLA area.
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from ro on 8 May 2024
Hi Josephine. Thanks for the detailed feedback. Though we are very happy to see that you recommend Freehand LA, we are very disappointed to see all of the issues your experienced. We are looking at these items internally and apologize once again.

6/10 Okay

Rylan

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from ro on 10 May 2024
Thanks.

10/10 Excellent

Nikhil

Stayed 1 night in May 2024

4/10 Poor

Shin, La Mirada

Liked: Property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Staff & service
Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from ro on 6 May 2024
Very sorry you did not enjoy.

10/10 Excellent

Yolanda

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in May 2024
Response from ro on 6 May 2024
Thank you very much.

10/10 Excellent

Kaleigh

Travelled with family and small children, Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The staff were great, esp valet! Everyone was friendly, helpful & kind. We stayed on the 13th floor below the rooftop pool & it was so quiet in our room. Loved the view. The rooftop pool was great, including the bar, even though we did bring a toddler to the pool & no one said anything that’s clearly not the vibe. The cafe downstairs had an amazing ‘spicy chai’ tea with pistachio milk. I loved it. Overall this was somewhere I’d stay again.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2024
Response from ro on 6 May 2024
What a great review! Thank you, Kaleigh! Appreciate you staying with your family and hope you come back soon!

10/10 Excellent

Stany, Sherwood Forest

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Parking sucks
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024
Response from ro on 6 May 2024
Sorry for any issue. We do have 24-hour valet parking at the hotel, or one can choose to self-park at the off-site garage directly next door (not affiliated with the hotel).

10/10 Excellent

Gregory

Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2024
Response from ro on 6 May 2024
Thank you.

2/10 Terrible

Jose Juan

Stayed 1 night in May 2024
Response from Mark on 23 May 2024
Thank you Juan. Apologies if you didn't have a good experience during your stay. We just hope that you informed us the issue so we can make it better.

10/10 Excellent

Bryan

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
If you have to travel by bus or train, this place is well located. It also has an amazing view on the rooftop. Completely safe if you want to have some drinks.
Stayed 5 nights in Apr 2024
Response from ro on 3 May 2024
Thank you Bryan! Happy you like our location and were able to enjoy Broken Shaker on our rooftop.

2/10 Terrible

Tsedale

Business traveller
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Bedding is terrible
Stayed 7 nights in Apr 2024
Response from ro on 3 May 2024
Sincere apologies you did not like the bedding in your shared dorm accommodation. We are always happy tom bring more sheets and blankets if needed.