Since I started checking the hotel guest reviews on TripAdvisor.com, I am taking into consideration the cleanliness of the hotel, the friendliness of the staff, as well as the location, price, and amenities.

In September of '78, my father, my brother, and I stayed at the Holiday Inn in Santa Monica. The location was just perfect: right across the street from the Santa Monica Pier, Palisades Park,and the beach. There was also a bus line that stopped right by the hotel that took you inton West Los Angeles, Westwood, Beverly Hills, and downtown Los Angeles. At the time that I stayed there, the room was clean and the staff wasn't that bad.

I am considering a visit to Los Angeles later on this year. Inreading the more recent guest reviews of this same hotel, I am not so sure I even want to stay there. The prices are way too high and there's been some mixed reviews. Some of rooms there are clean; some of them aren't. Some of them have complained of bedbugs and unfriendly staff; some of them have also been the opposite.

I really love Santa Monica, and it's my favorite spot in all of Los Angeles. But the hotels along the beach are just simply way too expensive, and some of the cheaper ones may not be of good quality. In fact, TripAdvisor.com just named the Pacific Sands Motel there as one of the Ten Dirtiest Hotels in the U.S. Right next door to it is the Santa Monica Beach Travelodge, where the guests there have complained of dirty filthy rooms and unprofessional staff.

In 1981, I stayed in Hollywood, and if at all possible, I don't want to stay there again. Hollywood is very decrepit, worn down, and full of drug addicts, prostitutes, and porno shops. If it was filthy 25-30 years ago; it's probably still filty today.

Except for perhaps the Hollywood Roosevelt and the Hollywood Renaissance, most of the hotels there in Hollywood are nothing but fleabags. As much as I don't even want to talk about it, when I was last there in 1983, I stayed at this rundown fleabag hotel on Vine Street; right up the street from the Capitol Records building and the theater where Merv Griffin used to tape his shows. There were roaches and the rooms weren't cleaned every day.

Besides location, price, cleanliness, and a friendly staff, I also want to make sure that it's located on a bus route, as well as near a Catholic church. I may be on vacation, but to me, there is no vacation from God.

I will continue to check the reviews on TripAdvisor.com and make my decision based on that information.

Learn more about this author, Lisa Fagan.
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