Sportsmen's Lodge

Not really for familys

Hotel was easy to get to,approx.1 mile from 405.Very clean nice pool.I would not reccomend eating or drinking at the hotel$$$$$$.I was there for 4 nights with my wife and 2 children,i think i saw 1 other child.Seemed like a place where alot of buisness was being conducted.Also alot of single men,take that for what its worth.Staff very friendly.

Good Value

If you are planning on spending time at Universal Studios or other San Fernando Valley destinations, I recommend this hotel. We are there for business meetings often and always get a great rate. We like exploring the neighborhood restaurants.

Sportsmen’s Lodge offers space and comfort

Not far from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood, the Sportsmen’s Lodge on Ventura offers a spacious, quiet and comfortable place to stay. We had a room overlooking the pool--which is huge and heated--and palm trees. The housekeeping staff was excellent. The room was clean and the beds very comfy. The only drawback was there is no free Internet. Hope they change that since most hotels offer this feature. We learned the hotel has a bit of history. Robert F. Kennedy stayed there on the fifth floor the night before he was killed in Los Angeles. We also heard several movies were shot there and celebrities, mostly older ones, have stopped by. A few black and white photos line a lobby hallway showing its famous visitors. It’s an older hotel, but it’s kept up. We loved the location and just drove a few miles to Hollywood where we visited our daughter. We recommend the hotel and give it five stars out of five.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

This is close to Universal City and Hollywood. Also close to the studios in Burbank, such as Warners Brothers and NBC. It’s along a street with many shops and restaurants. We walked every day to Coffee Bean for Internet and coffee!

Clean, complete and convenient, all at a good price.

The Sportsmen’s Lodge is a hidden gem at the edge of the San Fernando Valley. Offering a ton of services, even a beauty parlor, the staff was friendly and helpful. Food in the dining room was okay; not outstanding and not cheap but not unreasonable. And there are many good restaurants along Ventura Blvd. Close to Hwy 101 and to Universal Studios.. this was a good location for our visit.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

Less than 10 min. from Universal Studios and City Walk.

Older hotel but good for the price

Sportsmen’s Lodge probably had its heyday in the 40’s and 50’s; I’m sure there is a lot of history. The lobby was a little run down but clean, and the clerk was friendly at check-in. The room was spacious, clean and the bed was very comfortable. I was at the back of the hotel; it was pretty noisy with a lot of trucks moving around in the parking lot. With the balcony door closed it was plenty quiet. Turns out the trucks were there to film a movie in the morning! All in all, for the money, it was nice and close to freeways.

Very pleasant stay

The hotel was very comfortable and the scenery was very pleasant. The balcony was an unexpected plus

Location, Location....

I’ve stayed here a number of times. The staff and grounds are decent and the location is good. There are surcharges on internet and parking, something that many comparable hotels in the area have free of charge. Figure an additional $20 on top of whatever price you can book. There is regularly filming at this hotel so either you’ll like this and find it interesting or find it an incredible pain in the....I suspect that when the staff claimed the internet service was down, they were actually letting the film/ TV crew use up all of the bandwidth since there’s no way a bunch of twittering celebs could do without while us lowly hotel guests...well, you can figure that one out.

Convenient hotel

We chose this hotel because it was within 15 miles of everything we wanted to do. We visited the La Brea Tar Pits and Griffith Observatory before seeing a concert at the Greek Theater. The next day we spent the day at the Getty before flying home. The Sportsman Lodge had a breakfast cafe that was adequate and okay appetizers at the very nice pool before dinner. Jerry’s Diner is within walking distance and it’s an LA icon with exceptional food. Access to the hotel was fine, and there was plenty of parking. I hate paying for wi-fi, but I guess you have to.

I love this place

I was afraid that Sportsmen’s would have deteriorated since it was sold, but that has not happened. Some of the redecorating in common areas did not float my boat, but the basic ambience and amenities are still there, along with Sportsmen’s customary good service. There are nice new bed linens and the wall art has been updated. The only thing I didn’t appreciate was having to pay for overnight parking, and being charged separately for Wi-Fi access.

On my A list

This is a very impressive hotel that is not "right in the action" but not too far. The rooms are very clean: my reason for describing the place as impressive. The pool, with a pool-side bar makes the place enjoyable. The bar in the lobby was never open, however.

Comfy beds

The rooms are a little dated and the airconditoner didnt work to well but the room was clean and had very comfortable beds. All the staff was helpful and friendly. My children enjoyed the pool. It was nice to have the free shuttle to Universal Studios.

If you have a car drive down to McDonalds. There is really no place to eat cheap.

heart of the valley

Great location in the centre of the San Fernando valley, close to freeway and just over the hill from Beverly Hills. Coffee shop is terrific, good food, nicely priced. Rooms are a bit old and tired, but clean and efficient--you only sleep there. Only negative is that they charge for overnight parking.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

Sportsmens is close to Universal Studios, and freeways for other SoCal attractions (Disneyland, etc) and less than 45 minutes from Camarillo Outlet Mall, lots of very nice restaurants within a few minutes drive

An Oasis in the Urban Desert

You’d never know you were in the city, what with a courtyard setup overlooking an Olympic size swimming pool. We had a spacious outdoor balcony overlooking the pool and an attentive staff which provided us with our own corkscrew when we couldn’t open a bottle of wine in our room. Downsides were minor: a long walk and a flight of stairs to the ice machine. The wonderful Patio Cafe is no longer open for dinner and the Blue plate special has gone the way of blue plate specials. The remodeled lobby has lost the old Hollywood cowboy atmosphere of the past and been replaced by white leather. There are "events" most evenings, some of them quite noisy, but they seemed to end by 11pm. Nevertheless, we highly recommend the place, a unique boutique hotel with plenty of character, almost a private resort but without the glitz.

Traveler's tip on dining

Try Jerry’s Deli, a 24/7 New York style eatery with full bar and outstanding food, a short walk away down Ventura Blvd.

Great Family Hotel & Excellent Value

My wife, three kids and I had two rooms, 1st floor pool side, for 10 days at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City (LA) and were very pleased. The hotel is located relatively close to L.A.’s major attractions and very close to Universal Studios. The biggest plus for us was having the Olympic size (heated) swimming pool right outside our door. There is an additional charge for first floor pool side but we found it well worth the cost. They were shooting an episode of the TV show "The Cleaner" at the hotel which was exciting for the kids. As an extra bonus, we met Benjamin Bratt while going in the back door. It was a brief encounter but he was very friendly and took 30 seconds to say hi to all of us. If you are willing to pay a lot more, you can certainly find "better" hotels. However, I don’t think you will find a better value anywhere in L.A. We would highly recommend Sportsmen’s Lodge to anyone.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

The cost for the five of us to eat out every night in Los Angeles would have busted our budget. Fortunately there was a Trader Joe’s right across the street. We stocked up on dry goods and a couple bottles of wine and had several meals on the patio outside our room.

Very Nice!

My husband, daughter and I recently stayed at the Sportsman’s Lodge for a week long vacation/business trip (for my husband). We found the hotel to be very nice. The rooms were very clean and nicely remodeled. The lobby may seem to some as a bit outdated but it was it seemed more like a "retro/woodsy" vibe thing to me. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. The only negative thing was that our room was not ready at 3pm for check in so therefore we had to leave (after a long cross county flight) and keep ourselves busy for another hour or so. But overall it was very nice and totally worth the money we spent to stay there. We would definitely stay there again!

They do have refrigerators in all their rooms even though I couldn’t find that information listed anywhere online.

good

The only drawback was that they had limited parking available for the guests because the motion picture studios were making a film on there property.

Hotel centrally located for our vist

Location is great Near all attractions that we visited. Older hotel, but we were gone most of the time except for sleep. All food/drinks locations close very early at the hotel

Exceeded my expectations and standards

Boy, did we luck out. This place was outstanding, primarily for these reasons: 1. Very comfortable room, exceptionally clean room, with especially clean, soft sheets, comforter, pillows. 2. Big pool and nearby hot-tub. The pool’s setting is lovely -- trees all around, with string lights at night. Many hotel’s pool are in depressing settings -- but you can’t tell this from the photos on their website. This pool was terrific. 3. Very friendly, helpful staff.

What an LA Hotel Should BE...

We really enjoyed the funky (in the best sense) historic atmosphere with 70’s furniture in the lobby, star and sportsmen photos. Riverstones make the front of the property special and the pool surrounded by palm treees was great. Hotel honored request for quiet with top floor room on back with view of the valley, very lovely. Beds were great and room comfortable, decor welcoming and restful. We really had a great time!

Traveler's tip

If you value quiet, you will probably want a room not facing the pool. This hotel is close to the Hollywood Bowl Ventura Shuttle which is much better than trying to park at the Bowl.

loved it!!

This hotel was great. I stayed in a room that had a beautiful pool view. The hotel was quiet, clean, and kid friendly. The food was good, but pricey. The pool was clean and there was always someone to assist you, whether it was for towels, food or otherwise. The hair salon was a plus. The only down side is that they do not have a resteraunt for dinner, just room service. But the hotel was in such a great location there where several places within walking distance. I will stay again.

Great Hotel, Great Location, Great Price

We traveled to the L.A. area for a family vacation recently. The Sportsmen’s Lodge fit our needs perfectly. The location was great as was the price. We would definitely stay there again.

Great service, comfortable and clean

My 8-y/o daughter and I stayed here for three nights and really enjoyed ourselves. The pool was large, clean and heated, and the hot tub was relaxing after a long day of lines at Universal Studios. The best thing was the staff. Everyone was friendly and helpful. We loved the free shuttle to Universal Studios. Comfortable beds. The room and sheets were clean. The pillows were huge (I like flat pillows) but no big deal. The price was right and there are some decent restaurants nearby (definitely get a chili dog from Carney’s down the street). Stay here, but don’t get the pizza from room service - not so good. We’ll be back and thanks Justino for the great service!

Hidden Gem in LA

Was looking for a nice place to stay without spending too much that had a bit of history and charm. The customer service was amazing and there is lots to do. I particularly enjoyed the pool table in the lobby and the balcony off the room

Would be a great place.

The hotel was a bit dated but not in a bad way. It felt old school, a hip throwback to the valley’s swankier days of the 60’s. Our room was clean and comfortable and the staff were friendly and helpful. The pool is really huge and the kids had a blast swimming in the evenings. We opted for this hotel because of its great rates and proximity to family. However, for future visits, I will probably choose another nearby big chain hotel for one main reason, they provide free internet access instead of charging a hefty daily rate. In my book, that’s so uncool.

Satisfactory, but could be better.

Very nice pool area with good bar service. Good breakfasts. Good location with easy access and parking. Rooms are adequate, but could be spruced up. Disappointing that the hotel’s main restaurant, once well know for its lakeside setting, is closed and has been for some time. There are plenty of alternatives nearby, but this is a "hotel" and even in Southern California there are times at the end of the day that you don’t want to get back into your car (or go for a hike) to find a "proper" dinner.