Los Angeles Airport Marriott Raises the Bar in Airport Adjacent Accommodations
You’re a brand loyal business traveler, preferring established international brands, because you find comfort in knowing what to expect, no matter where in the world you go. You’ve also learned to make the rewards program really work for you, to the extent that advantages such as exclusive member rates, not having to worry about blackout dates, dedicated reservation lines, late check out prioritizing, and free upgrades are convenient perks you can’t imagine traveling without. However, you’re not blind in your loyalty. You have high standards you expect to be met in exchange for your loyalty. However, you weren’t prepared for just how high the newly renovated Los Angeles Airport Marriott, would raise the bar.
Arriving by complimentary shuttle to the palm-lined entrance, you’re welcomed by the familiar sight of one of Marriott’s flagship properties, located adjacent to LAX. However, when you walk into the large open lobby, you realize that the hotel looks nothing like you remember, thanks to the $44-million top-to-bottom renovation that the hotel completed in 2018. In a word, it's spectacular.
The friendly welcome from the concierge is par for the course at the hotel. With its ultra-modern design, it seems impossible the hotel has been open since 1973. The interior is all whites, blues, and silvers, giving an ultra-cosmopolitan, almost futuristic vibe.
You’re so busy admiring the complete makeover, that you’re sure you must have misheard the concierge when they told you that there’s a brand new 4,000 square-foot M Club Lounge on the 18th floor. Did they really just say that it was open 24 hours a day for your convenience and enjoyment as an elite rewards member? That it had private workstations, and a bar? They sure did.
In fact, they tell you that you’re invited to enjoy complimentary hors d’oeuvres this evening, or a full breakfast buffet in the morning. But M Club is just one option for snacking - there are three incredible newly imagined options for dinner, and a full-service onsite Starbucks for the morning.
Opening the door to your King Guest Room, you find that the lobby was just the tip of the revitalization iceberg at the LAX Marriott. The room has a color palette similar to the lobby, giving it a crisp and contemporary aura. The sleek desk, wall-mounted 55” flat screen, and ergonomic chair will keep you comfortable while you take care of some business. However, it’s the gorgeous view of your private balcony and the completely renovated pool from your floor-to-ceiling windows that catch your eye.
The pool is softly lit at dusk, but there’s no mistaking how the entire pool area has been transformed to look like a coastal resort. Along with towering palms and other trees providing natural shade, there are lounge chairs, sofas, and an impressive whirlpool. The result is a veritable oasis that feels more like you’re on Maui than adjacent to the airport.
Back inside you notice the bathroom boasts a lighted vanity mirror, plush bathrobe and all natural Thann bath products. Reaching for a complimentary bottle of water, you flop down onto your down comforter-covered King bed and smile. This renovation is no mere cosmetic upgrade. The Los Angeles Airport Marriott is serious about maintaining your loyalty.
It’s getting close to dinner time, but you decide you’ve got time for a quick workout. In the new fitness center, you find that the upgrades just keep coming. You find brand new Peloton Bikes, Woodway Treadmills, a WaterRower, TRX, medicine balls, exercise balls, free weights and resistance bands, all yours for the taking.
At the reinvented JW’s Steakhouse, the first thing you notice is the Wine Spectator award-winning wine list, followed immediately by the open kitchen atmosphere. Your server recommends that you start with the Heirloom Tomato & Burrata, drizzled with aged balsamic; followed by the 21-day dry-aged New York steak, which you customize by adding the Morel Mushroom Sauce. It's all the brainchild of Executive Chef Thomas O’Keefe, who has prepared meals for dignitaries including Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, and President Gerald Ford over the course of his esteemed 25+ year career. Your server definitely steered you in the right direction - your dinner is luscious.
Because you can’t get enough of this completely transformed hotel, you end your evening with a drink at Hangar 18 Bar + Kitchen (formerly Champions Bar and Grill). Since you have an early morning, you opt for a craft beer and enjoy a friendly chat with the bartender.
The bartender confirms that the breakfast buffet in the M Club is a solid choice, but you may want to try out the new Social Market & Eatery, which Executive Chef Victor Miguel has designed as a tribute to LA’s numerous farmer’s markets, using local ingredients to create authentic California dishes such as the Breakfast Flatbread (fried eggs, andouille sausage, onion, jalapenos, tomato, and mozzarella) and the Quinoa Breakfast Bowl (fried egg, potatoes, tomato, spinach, and summer squash). You set your alarm a bit early to take advantage in the morning.
Back in your room, you take a final evening look at the tropical pool area awash in light, before drawing the drapes and snuggling into your bed. It all feels so familiar, yet so wonderfully brand new, that you can’t help but smile thinking that your brand loyalty to Marriott has paid off a hundredfold.
Los Angeles Airport Marriott
5855 W Century Blvd, Los Angeles 90045
310-641-5700
