Decoy Lounge - North Hollywood

My husband did quite a bit of research in finding a hotel for our trip to Universal Studios. The hotel was nice AND they offer a complimentary shuttle to Universal Studios/City Walk. They charge a daily valet fee at the hotel. But they also charge similar at Universal lol. I like that they offer the shuttle so we don 't have to pay for parking twice. We arrived around 8am, Crystal said our room was ready but we had to pay a bit of a steep early check-in fee, or, we could wait till it was check-in time. She waited a bit to see what we would pick between the two options and then her colleague jumped in and said if we waited a few hours, then we could be let in, no charge. Then she was like, yeah, you can do that too. Umm..why didn 't Crystal offer this to us as a 3rd option? That would 've been the kind customer service friendly thing to do. So that 's what we did and hung out in the lobby while we worked remote. They let us use the free Wifi but anyone can login even if you 're not a guest. And it was the best decision ever to hang out in the lobby because it just so happened that some of the ladies from The Golden Bachelor were ALSO staying at this hotel for the weekend for the final season finale in LA later that evening!!!! and we ran into them in the lobby while we were working. My husband and I watched the show so we were extra excited to see them there at our hotel! We ran into them on a few occasions over the weekend and April was sooo kind and sweet and offered to take a selfie with us : While we worked at a table in the lobby, I observed that Crystal and her colleague were always welcoming the guests and saying Good Morning w/a smile as they would leave for the day and just very cheerful. I liked that. However, when we finally were able to check-in with Crystal, her mood changed with us and was not the welcoming person she seemed to be. Her colleague however was helping another guest check-out and asked them how their stay was. When we checked-out, Crystal was there again and she did not ask us how our stay was, or how was everything. So the customer service was lacking from her part on both interactions. Our room was a decent size. king bed. clean. plenty of towels. I didn 't quite like the spout design in the sink because water went everywhere, every. single. time. The TV remote didn 't always work and had to move it to different spots to maybe get it to change the channel. So that was a bit frustrating. maybe it needed new batteries. There was a nice pool and plenty of lounge chairs. We didn 't try the pool but it looked fun. We did try the bar one night. It 's a small bar but there 's also outside seating where they can also bring you drinks. The gal who helped us was sooo friendly, I wish I got her name. It was quite cold that evening so we decided to just sit at the bar and be warm and then there was a different bartender there. It 's a small place and suddenly got super full with a family who was being extra loud and quite annoying. So my husband and I moved to the lobby area, got cozy on the comfy couch with our drinks and it was a much better vibe and ambiance away from the loud family. The manager came over and was very kind and asked us how everything was and if we needed anything. That was much appreciated. I then noticed their little signs on the coffee table that said no drinks in that area. Ooops! but he didn 't say anything to us and let us enjoy our drinks. Perhaps b/c he also noticed the bar was crowded w/the family? I don 't know, but thank you sir for being kind and letting us enjoy the evening! The complimentary trolley, so we got passes to enter Universal Studios 1 hour early before the park opened this day at 9AM. Their first shuttle left at 8AM and it 's a 10 minute ride to the park. We figured we 'd have an hour to kill till 9am. NOPE. lol. we got dropped off shortly after 8am and there was already long lines formed for all the early ticket people like us. lol. There was a restaurant next to the hotel. I believe it belongs to the hotel b/c we were asked if we were guests at the Garland and if we wanted to charge the meal to our room. There wasn 't much within walking distance of the hotel like a pharmacy or grocery store. That would be nice. There was a cute boutique shop next to the hotel for all your California souvenirs. The valet guy was friendly and welcomed us our first day. He was also there on our last day when we checked-out : Overall, it 's a nice hotel and I would stay here again if I ever return to Universal Studios.

If you are looking for a nice, clean, affordable hotel with the BEST customer service, I highly recommend the Garland Hotel. Every single employee we encountered (bartender, hotel manager, front desk clerk, housekeeper, trolley driver), treated our family like celebrities! They always provided top-notch, unbeatable service. My son is autistic and some people don't possess the patience it requires to interact with him, but the staff was amazing! I love that the front desk clerks manager remembered my name and would speak whenever I walked through the lobby. The bartender sat at our table with us and told him about the kid-friendly drinks he could make and told him he'd make his drink extra special and wanted some feedback on his skills lol. They have a trolly that goes to/from universal/city walk. It drops you off right outside of Tilly's (near the entrance of universal). We used the trolly a handful of times, and it was never full. In fact, it was just my family two of the times. I am someone who travels with Lysol and cleans the room after checkin, so when I say the room was clean, please believe it was impecable. I ordered some groceries from Walmart and had them delivered so we could have items to snack on and could grab a quick bite for breakfast before heading to universal. A couple days before check in, I called and had them clear out the mini fridge because I knew I would purchase snacks drinks and need that space. They don't offer free breakfast or free parking FYI. They have an outdoor heated pool, gym, and a laundry facility with free detergent.

Yummy food! Good ambience Friendly staff Cute grounds... If you're in the area and hungry, this is a good spot I will say the only bummer is they didn't have a spot where you could chill out and work outside of your room

Wow I don't even know where to start this review because I was thoroughly impressed with The Garland from the moment we pulled into the property. The property is absolutely gorgeous down to every detail leaving no stone unturned. The front desk staff were so sweet and welcoming. The rooms were clean and well appointed. The decor is styled to absolute perfection. I could go on and on but I'll just leave the pictures for your eyes to feast on! I cannot wait to visit again when I have more time in the LA area!

We just stayed for 1 night yesterday and wished we could stay longer. Fabulous hotel, service, vibe, maintained just overall top notch! Loved everything about it and can't wait to come back. It's definitely like a set out of Mad Men.