W Hotels-Los Angeles Westwood   

Beautiful - comfortable - luxury at it's best. I recommend the W hotel chain (www.whotels.com) highly. It is a little more expensive, but you are treated great and the beds are VERY comfortable. Everyone ( from the front desk to the reservations staff) are the most helpful and pleasant people around. They MADE my vacation!

A friend of mine (who is also the head of Security at W) recently implored me to visit LA's newest hot spot. The W Bar, located in the lobby of the Westwood Marquis has all of the components of a classic nightclub. It has the beautiful women, men with fast cars and a selective door policy. On the night I went, the wait reached one hour and forty-five minutes at its peak. So, will the W make it? If the bar's sisters in San Francisco and New York are any indication, this place has it made. But there is something missing at the LA location. It certainly isn't attitude. Nor is it high prices (in fact, I noticed the bar had a sliding scale- what cost you $5 the first time might cost you $6.50 the next). And a long wait for drinks isn't absent, either. To be fair, the bar was understaffed on the night I went. The official opening wasn't scheduled until mid-April, but the public was allowed to come for several weeks prior as a sort of sneak preview. Nevertheless, management could have foreseen large crowds and the need for more staff. What, then, is the missing element? I think there is certain emptiness to the place although it's packed to the rafters. The bar has no soul, yet it tries to trick you into believing it does. The music is entirely too loud for a venue that has no dance floor. And the bleached out 1980's castoffs look comically too old to be taking a stab at past glory. Finally, the location is just not hip enough. As I stood on the smoking patio, I couldn't help but notice that I was peering into what looked like a Depression-era tenement just five feet from the bar. Overall, I predict that W will have a glorious run. Unfortunately for the promoters, the run will be short lived.