I stayed at the Viceroy Hotel from September 24 to September 28.
I am Korean, and I understand that the Viceroy is considered a relatively expensive hotel. When I pay a premium price for a hotel, I expect to receive a high level of service and to stay in a well-maintained, comfortable room. Unfortunately, my experience at the Viceroy was very disappointing, and the attitude of some of the staff made our entire stay unpleasant.
On our first day, I believe we arrived and checked in sometime between 5 and 6 p.m. After completing the check-in process, we were shown where the elevator was. The way it was communicated to us was quite unpleasant. The staff member simply pointed with his chin and said, “Back there,” without saying whether we should go left or right. We could not find the elevator and ended up walking toward the left side first. When we still could not find it, we had to ask another male staff member for help. Unfortunately, his attitude was not particularly welcoming either.
At other hotels we have stayed at, staff members have been kind enough to guide guests to the elevator, especially when they have just arrived with several pieces of luggage. I am not saying that someone has to personally escort every guest, but there was absolutely no sense that the staff wanted to make our arrival comfortable or welcoming. This was our first impression of the hotel.
The second incident happened on what I believe was our second evening. After spending the day sightseeing, we returned to the hotel and sat near the outdoor pool to relax. I went to the outdoor bar to order a beer.
There were two local men and one woman sitting at the bar. After waiting for quite some time, it was finally my turn. I started explaining that I wanted to order a bottled beer and that I was staying at the hotel, but I was not sure how payment worked.
While I was speaking, one of the male guests interrupted me and placed another order for himself.
What shocked me was the bartender’s response. Instead of saying something like, “I’m sorry,” or “Excuse me,” the bartender simply turned away from me while I was still speaking and went over to take the other guest’s order.
I was extremely upset by this.
What made the situation even more uncomfortable was that one of the woman’s friends actually noticed what had happened. She said something along the lines of, “Oh my gosh, my friend interrupted you. You must be upset.” The man then explained that he had only interrupted because he had been hidden from view by a pillar and had not realized I was already being helped.
Regardless of why he interrupted, what bothered me most was the bartender’s behavior. He did not apologize or acknowledge me at all. Even after that, I had to wait a long time again before my order was finally taken.
After these experiences, I could not help but feel that the way we were treated may have been influenced by our being Asian.
Experiencing discrimination or feeling unwelcome is upsetting in any situation. But when you are paying a significant amount of money for a hotel and expect a certain level of service, being treated this way is especially disappointing. It can affect the entire travel experience.
We stayed for four nights and five days, and unfortunately, these experiences left a very negative impression on us throughout our stay. This is not a budget hotel where I would expect to overlook poor service because of the price. For the amount we paid, I expected much better hospitality and professionalism.
We will probably not travel to the Los Angeles area again, but if we do, we will certainly not choose this hotel again.
To other Asian travelers considering staying here, I would encourage you to think carefully before booking. Based on our experience, we did not feel particularly welcomed or comfortable during our stay.
