Mama Shelter Los Angeles 4 stars

We found Mama Shelter LA to be "as advertised" and better. Staff provided European feel of "while you're a guest here, you live here!" -- e.g. in the morning wander down to the lobby in sweats to get your coffee, and it's all genuine smiles and "Good Morning"s and you sit out front on the wicker benches with cast-iron tables under the California sun and the security and valet guys chat with you (and remember you). The lovely restaurant, and bar, comprise most of the compact lobby, as in many small European hotels, and again those bartenders and servers remember you with a smile. In contrast to the lovely quiet mornings and afternoons are the vibrant evenings; evidently Mama Shelter and its rooftop and lobby bars are quite the scene for a very diverse group of stylish young people. That's what we wanted - go all out - "yolo" experience in a fun hotel between Hollywood Blvd. and Sunset. Some reviewers here have carped about the music/crowd noise, but we found it an invigorating blast (and slept great on Friday & Saturday nights in our 4th floor room). ...Rooms-wise, ours was quirkily stylish (if a bit snug) with a lovely spa bathroom with big glass shower, but no chairs to sit in (just a funky wooden bench-thing). Super-comfortable bed. ...If you're researching for a trip, I'm pleased that this was a better choice than Dream or Tommie on the same street (from observing both). Also, Mama Shelter's new Valet parking service is great; well worth it. Mama Shelter is now one of my 2 favorite hotels in LA (along with Shore in Santa Monica - check it out). ...Finally, if you're researching, re the neighborhood: Yes, in Hollywood (much better than 20/30 years ago) there is a fair amount of homeless dudes. But Mama Shelter has numerous security guys (such as our new friend Illiyas from Chechnya, a great guy) always around the entrance to kindly make sure the street folk move on, so that is a zero factor for guests. ...But that's the tradeoff for being a block's walk from all the classic Hollywood Blvd stuff (and great bars like the Elbow Room on Cahuenga - great bartender, Olisya), and I found almost every homeless guy to be pretty mellow (special shout-out to my man Colville, originally from Detroit, my hometown). ...If you're looking to do the Hollywood thing, stay here at Mama Shelter LA! (PS: NOT AT ALL overpriced for a great experience in Hollywood compared to other nearby choices.)

Very cute hotel in a great part of the city. But that's all it has going for it. The bars on the ground floor and the roof can be heard very loudly all night. There was a constant squeaking in the wall near our bed (most likely from water pipes). And the traffic echoing through the alley was extremely loud. Do not expect a good night's sleep.

The Mama Shelter is a funky hotel not far from Hollywood Boulevard. The staff are friendly and helpful - so why is it such a low review? We stayed on a Saturday and Sunday night when they have 'events', basically the bar areas are turned into a nightclub. If you are under 35 and are hoping to be out clubbing until the small hours this place would be fine, but it was impossible to sleep until the noise died down at 3am. I fully understand the need to make money and diversifying into the events is a good way to do it, but it is disrespectful to hotel guests.

We found Mama Shelter online and it exceeded our expectations in every way. It has a silly funky vibe - fun decorations and quirks. For example they wrote a welcome message on the mirror in our room. The “breakfast included” was AMAZING! One of the nicest breakfasts anywhere. Every staff member went out of his or her way to greet us and make us feel at home. Tip: the downstairs and rooftop bars are noisy and the sound did reach our room on the 3rd floor. It didn’t bother us but it might be a dealbreaker for some people. Location: we don’t drive. Mama Shelter is walking distance to the Red Line and several bus lines. This made it very easy to get around LA to see tourist attractions (e. g. Universal Studios is two stops away on the Red Line). Mama Shelter will definitely be our go-to hotel on our next visit to LA.

It's one of the coolest and less busy rooftops in Hollywood. There is a restaurant when you enter, but you can head upstairs without reservations at the bar. If you wish to sit at a table reservations are required. I've been here a couple of times and both times I have gotten drinks. The drink prices are your average LA prices so nothing too pricey and the drinks itself aren't bad. You really come here for the views of Hollywood, LA and beyond.