Stay on Main Reviews

Creepy history, Google Cecil Hotel. They really have changed the place. Looks a lot better.

This is a historical murder hotel. Bring your own water! Do some googleing!

awful. do not recommend i you have money go somewhere else

It was my first time in LA this is a place I wanted to visit. Since its a famous and older hotel. When I arrived the front doors were locked and I tried knocking no one showed up. I looked through the window there was dusty old furniture and it was dark inside. It looked abandoned. It only had a keypad for entry. I didnt see any staff and no one was answering the phone. It looked like it hasnt been used in a long time. I was looking forward to seeing the inside. Im not sure why they were closed and I waited for a little while at the front doors hoping someone would assist me. No staff or anyone appereared to be there. It was during the day.

This place barely deserves the one star I had to rate it. It's in a dangerous area in town; if you leave your window open you constantly hear shouting, hourly sirens from various emergency vehicles, and what I can only describe as the sound of gun shots. The parking is stupid expensive, but the valet workers were good.
When you first enter the lobby you will notice the nice design and almost...fancy...look to it. Well, I was staying on the 7th floor and when I got off the elevator it felt like I walked out of a portal to a different dimension. You almost feel like you entered a motel in a third world country. It was filthy and cramped. The hallways smelled like the inside of Porto-Pottys of the public bathrooms and questionable showers. Our room could barely fit our bed in it; we had to actually turn our be to the side to make space. There was no air conditioning; the ceiling fan barely kept us breathing. The plug in fan that was available made a heart-stopping screeching sound so we had to choose between not being able to sleep because of the sound or not being able to sleep because of the stifling heat. I wouldn't be surprised if the bed had bed bugs. I chose to sleep on the ground with my sleeping bag, but I don't recommend it. The room's shower was practically above the toilet; its curtain was pointless since no more than one person can fit in there at a time. We were given only one room key for 4 people and were provided more after inquiring. The front desk service was poor; they didn't seem to care at all. The breakfast was SHOCKINGLY okay and the shower SHOCKINGLY provided hot water. They provide free wifi but the connection is so slow it's practically nonexistent. We should have only payed about a third of the actual cost. I DO NOT RECOMMEND STAYING HERE UNLESS IT IS YOUR LAST OPTION. Unfortunately for us, it WAS our last option.

Better than i expeted!
The rooms are old but so is the building so you cant do much about that.
The service was very nice and helpful, the hotels has about 8 imacs down in the lobby. Breakfast was not bad and they even have a laundry room.
For the price, this hotel is great.
The only thing i didnt like was the fact the the hotel is located in a bad area of LA.
Thats it!

I know about the death of Elisa Lam, and about that, You didn't have to change the name of the hotel, all you had to do, was just admit to your crime, and just move on with your career, not start fresh. I stayed here, Nothing special. Just that the bathrooms were dirty.

Well I did go to check out the restaurant. The Stay on Main is an Historic Hotel and so I was pleased to see the old time design within the structure. I stopped in for lunch and it was fantastic.

When I stayed they scared me and pulled my feet and the water tastes strange like old blood

I get so tired of reading this. AHA Hotel was NOT based on the Cecil. It was based on a hotel in Chicago built by H. H. Holmes. I wish you little millennials would read something other than what one of you wrote.

Doors are chained closed so you can only peer into the lobby from outside. Nearby area is also not great (we were growled at by a personal under the influence while parking our car) so I wouldn't recommend this stop unless you'd be pleased with only seeing the building's exterior. Disappointed.

Perfectly adequate room and considering the beautiful and historic foyer I really feel like I got the last laugh on my friends who paid 3-4x to stay at the Standard and have a couple pieces of ikea looking furniture and a see through bathroom. On top of that the Standard staff act like they'd rather spit on you then treat you like a human compared to friendly security and front desk at the Cecil. I'm not fooling myself, it is a one-star though comparable to 2-stars i've stayed at in Paris and it's not fancy but if you're downtown for an event and need a place to crash look no further.

We stayed here for four nights. The rooms were good and the staff was friendly. It is right downtown and not far from a subway station. We especially liked the waffles for breakfast :) We would recommend this place to others.

Won't stay there again Americas best value inn is better

The "hotel" has neither heat nor air conditioning. They didn't have the room ready on time. It was an hour late. They then tried to charge me for cancelling the reservation. Oh yeah, security is terrible! Did I forget to mention the dead girl in the hotel's water tank. Hotel occupants showered in and drank that water!! Any site that list hotels like that will never get my business again.

Water tasted funny wouldn't recommend and Also the bedsheets has questionable stains...

I almost died there, I went there with my friends, everything was normal recording a video for my YouTube channel at 2 am I started to hear screams, I thought I was delirious, I woke up and saw the curtain full of blood, I ran to the elevator, the elevator wouldn't go, get out of the elevator and the elevator door moved, I ran down the stairs and slipped on a red thing, I thought it was ink but it was blood, I managed to get out of the hotel and canceled the night and I don't recommend it !!! !

A colleague and myself stayed for several days since we were participating in a conference at the convention center. It has a very 'interesting' history! The vibe of the place is very energetic. You'll see the sign from its former life as it's still hanging on the side of the building (Hotel Cecil). I love historic buildings and this one has amazing architecture!

Awesome hotel, friendly staff, simple rooms but everything you need is in the lobby. Great location, close to lots of cool bars and places to eat. Will stay here again absolutely

the reception gives you the feeling it is an hotel... the rooms are clean and the room service is amazing.

I stayed at this hotel in March with a friend, and immediately when we walked in the doors we felt uncomfortable. Sure, the staff was nice and all, but the rooms and super small and the bathrooms are outside in the hallway. My friend and I felt a presence as soon as we got to our floor and just weren't too sure about it. After being in the room for about 20 minutes we decided that the feeling we were having was too much to bear. I called a friend to let us stay at their place and we immediately checked out without even requesting a refund. Now it is September and I have found out that Stay On Main, or more commonly known as Cecil Hotel, is infamous for it's murders and suicides that have occurred there. I have also found that the American Horror Story: Hotel season was inspired by this eerie place. I would NOT recommend anyone stay there without knowing what they're getting into.

Stayed here while in LA to get married. Mentioned it to the them prior to arrival and had bottle of champaigne (cheap, but nice offering) brought to our door the first night of our stay. We stayed on the 15th floor corner suite. Slept with the window open in middle of July and I am from Louisiana and can't stand to sweat and didn't have a problem with the room temp. It is a great hostel/motel for the price. Now as for the neighborhood; I would not venture out after dark if not using a cab or other means of transportation. By no means would I walk after dark in this area, and I am from a sketchy part of New Orleans, LA The staff was very accomidating as I had to have Oxygen delivered prior to my arrival and it was well taken care of. I would definatly stay here again when visiting LA.

Our room which is a Queen bed without an attached restroom was of a decent size and had a sink, queen bed with clean linens, a new 32" Vizio Flatscreen TV on the wall and 2 sideboards with lamps. The closet was also pretty large. I think this hostel/motel idea would go great in New Orleans, would provide great cheap alternitive for your Mardi Gras visitors.

Another great tip, if using taxi service, download the Taxi Magic App and you are set for the entire LA area. I found this to be the most useful of all things I did while in LA. Cabs are very cost effective also compared to other larger cities. (I know I work in the taxi industry).

I heard that this was the hotel that American Horror Story was based on so I just had to go here!!!!

roaches its old building.they need to spray all the time.

Very rich spout water and the squishy but hot shower: v

They say we have internet but it is very limited and you can even never open your mail somehow.night it is kindof very noisy with poice cars or fire cars sounds.it is very old kind hotel too

Respect.Elisa.Lam. The water wasn't black. There wasn't low water pressure. And it didn't taste like something died in it. Stop lying and being disrespectful. How do you think Elisa's friends and family feel about this? All of this is just inappropriate and disrespectful.

I saw a ghost in my room, I swear it was a small child

Good service, very professional, clean room. However no airconditioning and small bathroom but those arent very big problems. overall very nice place to rest.

It's a nice hotel in the middle of downtown so there's a lot nearby. Decent price and the rooms look good.

seriously, never come. the workers are good, but all others are terrible. u probably heard about that chinese girl dead in water tank. and u may also know that the location is just near one of the worst neighbourhood in la. dont be mislead by the lobby.

After the mysterious death of Elisa Lam, the government or the owners themselves, should have closed down the hotel. Especially after the rest of the dark stories that follow the hotel's history.

Great place to stay if you are on a budget. Easy access to expressways. Cute little restaurant around the corner - can't remember the name and LA culture outside the door.

It really is what people are saying here "You get for what you pay." It's not the most luxurious place, so the rooms are pure crappy, I mean, at least you can sleep there, if sleep is your main purpose for you stay. You can find Internet More

Many people are saying the water tasted like someone died in it! it s very childish for me i would not stay in this hotel due to its past because i don t mess around with that stuff but it doesn t mean it s not a good hotel! Elisas death was a very sad experience for her parents So stop commenting stuff when you have never stayed in the hotel!

They have nice and very polite staff, I hope they can remodel their Restroom services with sensor activate and better AC

Hotel looks kind of fancy I stayed here 6 years ago, bathrooms were very dirty, many scary noises at night, water didn't look clean and tasted strong so I used bottled water to brush my teeth, and drink. I didn't know that this hotel was haunted. Scary place I didn't know that this place is now history. Looks like they changed the name. Would not recommend this hotel.

I arrived without knowing the history and I complained about the noise that was heard in the neighboring room, knocked on the doors of the rooms but they never answered me, I complained at reception and the rooms were not occupied. The hotel can be mysterious or complicate various activities that happened there. I found out later but without knowing my stay was a little disturbing.

Had a great time. Staff were all very helpful and friendly. Definitely somewhere I will stay again if/when I return to LA :)

A friend if mine lives in this SRO and it's literally a small apartment not tiny with a full kitchen a huge bathroom and walk in closet and an elevator and air conditioning... Just way too much drug users

Very chic entrance worthy of a luxury hotel and very nice staff! In addition, the rise of 15 floors of this building is done in no time, which is very impressive! What is a pity is that the rooms are quite mediocre (sink in the living room, little space ...) but I'm still pretty satisfied overall because it is well placed in the huge city of Los Angeles!

I have stayed at this place few years ago and still was straggling if I say a bad thing about this place to share my extreme disappointment or not. Such a horrible place. the only positive is location I guess as its very central downtown LA
Never again.

Great rooms water quality isn't great though. I give it 4 back daliahs out of 5. I feel almost 100 percent sure that this is the hotel that Hotel California was written about. On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
"This could be Heaven or this could be Hell"
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (Any time of year)
You can find it here

Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget

So I called up the Captain,
"Please bring me my wine"
He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine"
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say...

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
They livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)
Bring your alibis

Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice
And she said "We are all just prisoners here, of our own device"
And in the master's chambers,
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
"Relax, " said the night man,
"We are programmed to receive.
You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave! "

A great down town L.A. location a short walk from the Metro. Friendly staff and facilities as described. Be sure to explore the surrounding sites.

This is a great value-for-money place to stay. It's not super amazing, the bathrooms are small, there's no climate control, etc, it's basically like the best hostel you've ever stayed at- if you don't expect anything more, you won't be disappointed.

I think it is the most mysterious hotel since there are 2 famous killers stayed, many people committed suicide, 3 horrible murders and the case of elisa lam in 2013

You get what you pay for. No kitchen and no way to even boil water for an afternoon tea as we totals used to! Tish-pish!

TL;DR: Fairly minimal but cheap with friendly staff. Great location. Pretty good value for the buck.

First of all: when you enter the lobby, you'll definitely enjoy the view of the large entrance hall. The staff at the desk was very friendly and helpful.

The facilities downstairs were a bit minimal but free the table tennis table was fun to play on, but they do require a bit of an overpayment as insurance you'll bring your table tennis bat back (they asked my passport for that). The "cinema" was okay as well.

The rooms were minimal but nice and clean. Not much things like extra towels. The bathrooms, although shared, were decently clean, depending on when you used them.

The breakfast was also fairly sober but free and in a nice place above the lobby.

Location in the middle of downtown LA is a great pro.

We enjoyed our stay very much the staff is both helpful and friendly. The hotel it's self is beautiful!

first office building is in a rough neighborhood all the stores close down at 6 pm with steel doors over the entrance dont walk down the street you may get robbed or even murdered cant hang outside due to homeless begging you for everything there is no free parking it cost 15 bucks a day to park in a garage down the street from the inn there are 2 bathrooms/showers for you to share with the entire floor no ac/heat in the rooms our light didnt work no cable only had 3 channel had to go into hall way to get wifi asked staff for extra towels that never arrived only good thing is it is cheap for LA but i wouldnt go back there again would rather sleep in my car

It was the scariest hotel I have ever visited .... Supremely weird and paranormal things happened to me. I give it 3 stars because the service is good, the only thing that happens is that strange things happen.

Whatever you do....dont play the elevator game here and dont drink the water

Excellent hotel, great service. Water pressure in my shower was weak.

Myself , James and Nick stayed here many years ago. Apart from the serial killers, the blood curdling screams, demons and of course the blood eveywhere - it was a pleasant stay.

This place smells. You get what you pay for I guess. The two double bed room we got had twin size beds. It says it could fit 4. Lies. And bathrooms are shared between everyone. Co-Ed bathroom. Above the bathroom, there is a opening where someone could easily climbed over to the other stall/shower. My sisters and I kept a watch for each other while one use the restroom and shower. Stayed out first night and checked out for the rest of our one week booked vacation. Plus, the walls are super thin and the doors are just not safe. It is right downtown, very convenient to walking around but there were random people just hanging out in the lobby. A huge group of people hung out by the check in counter and just talked to the employee. Took him 15 mins to finally realize we were waiting to check in. Bad service. We had to always show our ID just to get up to our floor. We thought we'd stay here because the photos looked decent. But the rooms are so small. Don't waste money on this unless you're looking for a quick nap.

I stayed here for one night in mid August of 2014 I knew about the reputation this building had. The room was comfortable and clean, and I enjoyed the continental breakfast the next morning, the hotel was a short taxi cab ride to Union station. I paid extra for a private bathroom. People exaggerate about stories. I would stay here again.

The whole experience was terrible. Concierge was rude, I arrived at the hotel around 10am wasn't checked in yet but I dropped my luggage and asked where the bathroom was, I was questioned by concierge if I stayed there, I did see me talking to front desk and dropping my luggage. I didn't know that there was no AC. So it was hot, I slept with window open and at 6am in the morning I already heard noises from next door, it was terrible. The hotel is not near anything but Chinatown which was filthy and the whole jelwery district, 2 minutes walk from the hotel there were hundreds of homeless and the whole area stank so bad. There was at least one siren either police or ambulance per 5 minutes. Breakfast consisted of waffles, coffee, tea, orange juice fountain, cereal. I had a room with queen bed with bathroom inside and it was way too small.

The price is good but the rooms are so small. there are no bathrooms in your room unless you get it upgraded. Then when you upgrade the room the bathroom is so small that the shower and sink are connected. Then if you have friends that are visiting you for an hour security will kick them out. The free breakfast is only waffles(which were nasty) and cereal and the beverages they put out are warm as hell. The rooms are hot as hell. They only have 2 elevators which take forever and only 7 people can fit in them one time we waited 30 minutes for them. Did not enjoy the stay here. My recommendation is to spend a little bit more money for a better hotel. And the area is ghetto and you wil hear sirens 24/7 and it's not like you can close the window because the room is so hot and wifi was crap!

Stay on Main - great location - close to cheap and plentiful buses and trains, close to plentiful eateries from very cheap to not so much. Close to cool fashion boutiques - not the boring chain variety.
There are homeless but harmless homeless people downtown but do your research before getting all stewed up about it.
Stay on Main is a beautiful marble floored hotel with great service - more a hotel than a hostel. Breakfast, waffles included goes 7 days for 3 hours moorings.
I feel lucky I picked this hostel to stay at - it's been perfect.

Great location if you want to enjoy down
town LA nightclubs

WARNING This is the Same hotel Elisa Lam was found in the water tanks on the roof while all the hotel guests were drinking, showering, and brushing their teeth with her remains in 2013. Look up Elisa Lam! This is the same hotel where several murders, rapes, suicides, devil worshiping, and serial killer residents have happened throughout several years. This is on SKID ROW the filthiest, dirtiest darkest part of Los Angeles. This is the Cecil hotel, research the history. Please stay away from this place. They have rebranded this hotel as "Stay on main". Don't be fooled. Dirty filthy, sketchy area. Small dark rooms, Bad dark energy.

Had a great stay here, I left for a few days and came back, the rooms were cleaner than my suite in Vegas, rooms were cleaned everyday and the facilities are great especially the mini cinema and the freshly made waffles in the complimentary breakfast.
Best of all was the staff, for a first timer to LA the staff couldn't be more helpful, knowing the best ways to get to anywhere you asked, drawing maps and giving tips and recommendations. Nothing is too much trouble for them at any time day or night and they are always so positive and upbeat even the cleaning staff and security are so friendly.
Will be staying again for sure

the number seems to be out of service and i am sure its closed? trying to figure out when updates will be given out

WHY would anyone want to stay at this Hotel? a Name change doesn t change what happened ?
With the History of the Cecil Hotel, it should be demolished.

They say that this hotel is cursed. Elisa Lam was in it. Season 5 of American Horror Story is inspired by the curses of this hotel.