Review: Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City

Right next to Universal Studios Hollywood, the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City is in a convenient location if you’re going to Universal, but otherwise offers very little to guests.

Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City

This stay occurred in November 2023.

Booking

I have the Hilton Aspire credit card and annually it offers a free night certificate that can be used at any Hilton property when there are standard points awards available. While I normally attempt to stay somewhere valuable with the free night, my travel patterns in the past year didn’t allow me much chance to plan around a more aspirational use of the certificate. A week before the certificate expired, I booked a stay at Hilton Universal City.

Free nights here typically max out at 80,000 Hilton points per night. If paying cash, you’ll find rates generally hovering between $200 and $300 per night. Frankly, for those cash rates, I would recommend saving your points for something better. But there’s still decent value if you’re using a free night certificate, especially if it’s about to expire (points are easy to extend their life).

Earning Hilton Points

While there are multiple ways to earn Hilton points, I’m only going to focus on two main methods to acquire the points.

Signing up for credit cards can be a cost-effective way to earn points. American Express offers several cards at various price points, but it’s best to go with a card that gives great benefits if you plan on staying at Hilton hotels with any regularity. The Hilton Aspire card (not an affiliate link) is single-handedly one of the best cards out there, offering a free night on renewal, a $400 annual resort credit ($200 each half year) that can be used on room rate or room charges at certain resorts, Diamond status, and a $200 airline fee credit ($50 per quarter). Currently, there is also a sign-up bonus of 175,000 Hilton Honors points, making it a quick way to earn points.

The other option is to simply buy Hilton points. Hilton has frequent “sales” that allow the purchase of points for half a cent each. Since Hilton uses a dynamic structure for award prices, it won’t be possible to find deals for most hotels. But there is an implicit points cap for each hotel. That means you could find some deals by buying points to stay at some of the most expensive hotels (think the Maldives). For this hotel, a cost of 80,000 points at half a cent each translates to $400/night room rate. Better to save your points for a different, more expensive hotel.

Arrival and First Impressions

We spent the day at neighboring Universal Studios and then afterwards moved over to the Hilton. While we could have just walked over, we had our car with us and couldn’t leave it overnight at Universal Studios. I had checked in using the Hilton app on my phone before arriving at the hotel, and thankfully was able to use my phone key to access the Hilton self-parking lot before showing up at the front desk. I have to say that when technology works, it’s a thing of beauty. At the time, self-parking is $40/day, and valet is $50/day.

We made our way over to the front desk, where we were quickly assisted. The agent noted my Hilton Diamond status and let us know we could use our $36 daily food and beverage credit at any of the venues at the hotel. But sadly, that’s about the extent of what Hilton Diamond will get you. The hotel clearly noted that late checkout requests (beyond 11:30am) will result in a $75 charge. Ouch.

I mentioned to the front desk that I used my phone to access the parking lot. She then printed out a proper parking key card. I didn’t think it was necessary but she insisted and explained that if you use the Hilton app to access the parking lot, you can only stay in the structure until you check out. But if you have the parking key card, you can remain in the lot until 6pm — much more useful if visiting the park. Make sure you get that card if visiting the park the day you check out!

Hilton signage
Hotel entrance
Main lobby
Front desk

The Room

We arrived at our room for this stay (1553). The vibe of the hotel felt very much like a typical Hilton, which is to say it’s not bad but a bit past its prime.

Our room for this stay

The kids on the other hand were excited for yet another stay, especially right after a full day at Universal Studios (and before another full day).

Excited kids

The beds were firm enough but I found the pillows a bit floppy and the bed sheets were paper thin. If you’re someone who likes to leave the room a bit on the colder side and then snuggle up warm in the sheets, as is my wont, this is not going to be the place for you.

Two queen beds

The TV in the room was a bit on the smaller side given the overall size of the room. And unfortunately, it didn’t allow for pairing with our mobile devices.

TV and bench

Just under the TV stand is a mini-fridge.

Mini-fridge

In the corner of the room is the desk. It would have been nicer if the desk faced the views from the room, since you can’t view the TV from the location anyways. Two complimentary water bottles were placed at the desk.

Desk

Next to the bed was a small table and chair. The kids ended up eating breakfast here, but otherwise I’m not sure what else to use the table for.

Table and chair

The bathroom was functional, but had a bit of a dated feel to it (like much of the hotel). At the very least, they at least put four towels in the room, removing the need for us to call down to housekeeping.

Bathroom
Vanity

The designers of the shower really should have staggered the tiles on the wall to create more of a dynamic look. As it is, it feels very blocky. To go with it, the water pressure in the shower is fairly weak, and the tub cannot hold water (the stopper in our room was broken).

Shower/tub

Toiletries were by Crabtree & Evelyn, a decent choice.

Toiletries by Crabtree & Evelyn

We didn’t have any views of the theme park from our room. Instead, we had a view of the freeway and the In-N-Out across the way (not walkable from the hotel).

View from the room

Breakfast at Coffee Corner

Given the lack of a true free breakfast, we decided to go with the cheapest option to make our credit go further, which was Coffee Corner. You’ll be excused if you thought of this as a Starbucks given the prominent signage, but this is just a place that serves their coffee. I had to wait about thirty minutes from the time I showed up to the time I got my food given the popularity of the place and the speed of the workers.

The prices here were still quite high, and we quickly hit the limit getting just one breakfast croissant, a bagel, and two pastries. Our preferred items were sold out, so we had to settle. The breakfast croissant was dry and the pastries didn’t taste freshly made. I wouldn’t be happy with the price paid for the experience if I paid with cash. And even with the food and beverage credits on top, I can’t say I got a good deal.

Coffee Corner
Menu and prices
Eating in the room

Odds and Ends

The hotel has an outdoor pool. I didn’t get a chance to go down to view it, but I could see it from my room. It looks fine and would be open to taking the kids here, but our schedule just didn’t work out on this trip.

Swimming pool

You could walk to Universal Studios from the hotel. The video screens in the lobby help show the route, but it’s a quick stroll just across the street. Depending on where you normally park to access the theme park, this might be quicker getting to the front entrance than the lots at City Walk.

Map to Universal Studios Hollywood

If you’re here for an extended period of time, the hotel has you covered with a couple of laundry machines and a cute (but cramped) waiting area. It’s also nice that you can just pay for the wash with your phone rather than needing to go track down quarters… though, you’ll still need those quarters for the laundry detergent.

Laundry machines
Waiting area and detergent

The gym was on the smaller side, but there are exercise machines and free weights here. They also have a machine that gives drinking water, which was the only one I recall seeing in the whole hotel. Just remember the general rule of thumb — if you get thirsty and you can’t find water anywhere else, head to the gym.

Fitness center
Fitness center
Fitness center
Fitness center

Recommendation: Only if you’re going to Universal

The main thing the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City has going for it is its proximity to Universal Studios Hollywood. If you’re coming to the theme park, the choice is either between the Hilton or the nearby Sheraton.

If it weren’t for its location, I’d say there isn’t much memorable about the hotel. It’s not a good value when using points and the price of food at its venues leaves something to be desired. If you have a car, it’s worth the trip across the freeway to go to In-N-Out for dinner.

Have you stayed at the Hilton before? What are your thoughts?

Leave a comment