The American Hotel 303 South Hewitt Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013

"I chose this hotel purely for its location, as it was near where I needed to be. And while it was clean, it was truly bare bones and the room I received did not match the description of what I booked. For example, I booked a room with bunk beds and a queen bed, and received one with a sleeper sofa, which was not ideal. In addition, the smoke alarm in my room started chirping and saying "low battery" every 15 minutes at 2 a.m. on our first night. It went on all night, and since there is no staff on site after a certain time, we had to just deal with it. (the alarm was too high for me to reach). When I notified the front desk the following day, they said they would "try to get to it." It just needed a battery changed. When I returned to my room that evening, after the front desk staff were gone for the night, the alarm was STILL chirping and saying "Low battery." I could hear it all the way down the hall from my room. It had to have been bothering other guests, too. I had to go find a 9 volt battery on my own and replace it. Luckily, the corner store downstairs had one, which I didn't expect (since they sell beer and wine and snacks). I also thought that the community baths would somehow be secure -- like that the shower would lock or the bathroom door would lock, but it doesn't, so bring a buddy if you need to shower."

"Very cool location in heart of the arts district. Good vibe. Staff was reasonably decent and kind. It's shared bathrooms but they were clean and I had no trouble accessing shower. Cool spot if you are looking for a little but different experience."

"The rooms were clean and well kept for the price, and the shared bathrooms were very clean too. I never actually saw anyone else in the men's bathroom during my stay. The staff were really helpful and friendly too. The hotel is well located for exploring LA via the Metro. The area it is in is nice, as is Little Tokyo nearby, but you'd need to be careful where you wander at night."

"The hotel was as expected for a room with shared bathrooms. It was clean, and the staff was friendly. It was located near where we needed to be. My only complaint was the noise. People seemed to gather outside of our room. At one point, my partner had to ask someone to stop leaning on our door so he could get into my room. It is a beautiful building. And the rooms are very well kept."

"This place has AMAZING staff who are super helpful and friendly. However the hotel itself is just not great. There is no elevator, you need to use shared bathrooms (which at one point during my stay the bathroom was covered in feces), and the people who stay here are also very scary. Constant weed smell in the halls and people screaming profanities, not to mention the one guy who left the door open while swinging around his genitals. I booked a stay for a group of 8 women and was worried the entire time for their safety. The area this hotel is in is also not amazing, just know that it is a block or two from skid row. Stay East and visit little Tokyo as it is beautiful! They have a passcode to get into the building which is nice but this place is not accessible, doesn't have so much as an ice machine or personal sinks, and is just not the best. If you need to stay here for the price as we did, just prepare yourself going in and know that the staff will be there to help you because as I said they are SUPER kind and helpful."