Kimpton Hotel Wilshire Review
We had the opportunity to do a one-night stay at the Kimpton Hotel Wilshire in Los Angeles, CA. The Kimpton Hotel Wilshire turned out to be a great location for a meeting in Beverly Hills and a quick day-trip to the beach. Like many of its Kimpton counterparts we’ve stayed at, the room was an average size, the service was great, and the amenities made for a great stay.
We have been favoring Kimpton properties as of late. While they don’t have the appearance of ultra-luxury hotels, experience certainly beats any hotel that would be slightly less expensive. Add on top of that our IHG Platinum Elite benefits, and it makes it any easy decision for us to stay at Kimpton properties.
Booking the Kimpton Hotel Wilshire
We booked this as a cash stay on a Wednesday night. Erika had a work event about a mile away in Beverly Hills, and this was one of the most reasonably priced options. Sometimes you can find Kimpton properties through the American Express hotel collection, but since this was a one-night stay, we booked directly through Kimpton.
Booking directly through Kimpton and using our IHG One Premier Rewards credit card we got some added benefits:
26x points earning - in this case 8,990
Possible complimentary upgrade - didn’t happen this time, as they said the hotel was fully booked?
Welcome amenity - the Kimpton Hotel Wilshire gave us a $10 raid-the-minibar credit
Free wine social hour from 5-6pm
Late checkout - 2pm
For this stay, the biggest perk ends up being the extra points. Since we burned an absurd number of points for an upcoming trip to Spain in July, it’ll feel good to start re-loading our points balance.
Kimpton Hotel Wilshire Location
The Kimpton Hotel Wilshire is located at 6317 Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles, CA. This places the hotel in a very central location for all of the sights in west Los Angeles. The hotel is right around the corner from the Peterson Automotive Museum, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, and the LA County Museum of Art.
This also means that all of the shopping of Beverly Hills and Beverly Grove are a short drive away. Likewise, the restaurants and night clubs of the Sunset Strip are a short drive as well.
Checkin and Lobby at the Kimpton Hotel Wilshire
The Kimpton Hotel Wilshire has a small lobby, facing Wilshire Blvd. When we arrived to checkin around 3pm, the lobby was filled with at least 10 people. While this made the space feel cramped, the agents quickly moved through the line. Five minutes later, they had the lobby cleared, and had us checked in. The agent explained our amenities and fees:
$50 for overnight valet - with in/out privileges
$15 credit for the Videre rooftop restaurant & bar
$10 raid-the-minibar credit as IHG Platinum Elite members
Kimpton Hotel Wilshire 1 King Room
Since the hotel was fully booked, and maybe because we had the desire to checkin at 3pm, we did not receive an upgrade as Platinum Elite members. This was the first time in awhile where this has happened. Therefore, we were given the most basic 1 King Room on the 3rd floor.
The room is 300 sq. feet, but doesn’t feel too small.
In the entry way there is a small dresser with a minifridge, snacks, and a small closet. Inside the closet were two robes and a suitcase stand.
The 1 King Room at the Kimpton Hotel Wilshire has a very comfortable king bed. There is also a large, flat-screen tv. Underneath the tv, there is a small desk fit into the space. In the corner of the room was a small chair and table, which are always useful.
Unfortunately, the view from the room was simply the neighboring office building and parking structure.
The bathroom was exactly what one would expect from a Kimpton. A nice big shower and vanity. Everything in the bathroom was well lit.
Videre Restaurant & Bar on the Kimpton Hotel Wilshire Rooftop
Who doesn’t love a wonderful rooftop bar, especially in Los Angeles. At first, we had a hard time finding our way up to the bar, as it requires taking a separate elevator. However, the directions are clearly printed on the back of the $15 bar credit slip they give you at checkin.
Once we made it up to the bar, we checked out the beautiful views of the Hollywood Hills and the beautiful pool. The bar has an extensive cocktail menu, and everything sounded amazing. It was nice to have $15 to cover part of our bar tab.
Coffee and Tea at the Kimpton Hotel Wilshire
On the 2nd floor of the hotel is a little lounge area with a 24hr coffee and tea area. There’s an extensive layout of teas to choose from. There is also a Nespresso espresso machine that we’ve started seeing in a lot of places. We used this to make a couple of americanos. That being said, the real standout is the Groundwork Coffee nitro cold brew on tap. Absolutely delicious.
Conclusion
Overall, we had a wonderful stay at the Kimpton Hotel Wilshire. Its location was perfect for everything we needed to do that day in Los Angeles. The rooftop bar provided a great place for us to unwind during happy hour, after a busy day in traffic. Likewise, the staff was exceedingly friendly and provided excellent service.
This stay fit the bill for almost all of our other Kimpton stays. It served as further reinforcement of our feeling that when there is a Kimpton available where we are traveling, it’s going to be our first choice.
