I needed a place to stay in town for a night while my apartment was dealing with construction, and…read moresince I've considered becoming a member of the Los Angeles Athletic Club, I figured this was a pretty good way to test-drive the place. The best part of staying at the hotel is that you get full access to the club, including the gym, pool, locker rooms, spa, sauna, and Jacuzzi. I used the locker room, sauna, and Jacuzzi and really enjoyed all of it. Very nice facilities and definitely the part of the experience that makes staying here different from a normal hotel. The locker room was a little confusing as a first-timer. I had no idea where I was supposed to get a locker or exactly how everything worked, and I happened to arrive at a very busy time. There seemed to be some assumed etiquette that everyone else already understood. A 30-second explanation at hotel check-in would go a long way. The hotel room itself was incredibly clean. Like, noticeably clean. Honestly cleaner than a lot of Marriott properties I've stayed at recently. Beyond that, though, the room is pretty no-frills. Mine was right near the elevator, so it was noisy, and despite being inside this grand historic athletic club, the actual hotel room experience somehow gives a little bit of motel energy. Clean motel energy, but still. Both the hotel staff and restaurant staff were very nice throughout my stay. For dinner I went to Invention, the club's lounge-style restaurant. Really nice atmosphere and a good place to hang out without having to leave the building. I ordered the steak frites and asparagus, plus a cocktail called Respect Your Elders, made with Buffalo Trace bourbon, St-Germain, Amaro Montenegro, and Angostura. Pretty good. Basically what would happen if an Old Fashioned developed a sweeter, slightly more herbal personality. I also had a Sangiovese, which really hit the spot after my recent trip to Italy. And then pecan pie for dessert. Yum. No notes. The steak came out a little more cooked than I would have preferred, but everything was very flavorful. For dinner entertainment, I happened to be sitting next to a couple on what appeared to be an exceptionally awkward first date. No reservation required for that show. The next morning I went to Famous Players coffee shop for breakfast. I had the California breakfast with eggs, avocado, and bacon, plus a latte. Solid breakfast, and more importantly, it was a nice place to wake up, open the laptop, and get some work done over coffee. I also appreciated the photos of USC football players on the walls. Fight On! Overall, I'm glad I stayed here. As a pure hotel, I probably wouldn't go out of my way for the rooms alone. But as a hotel attached to a historic athletic club where you can work out, swim, sauna, soak in the Jacuzzi, eat, drink, get breakfast, and basically spend your entire stay without leaving the building, it's a pretty unique experience. And as someone who had been considering membership, staying overnight was actually a great way to see what the club is really like.

LAAC has changed a lot since my last review from 10 years ago. It continues to have the best pool…read morewith advanced filtration system that does not make me feel like a chlorine tablet after swimming. But it now caters to a younger crowd and has substantial co-working space. I've certain found more members using the facilities but also discovered quite a bit of new programmings like the Pilates classes, mahjong club, live jazz performances and movie nights. I was not really sure about the change at the beginning but I am now fully embracing the new LAAC. Many of the staff and members have been here for a long time and it is nice to be greeted by familiar faces when coming to the club. The restaurants are pretty decent. Love to top my salad with a nice piece of salmon after workout at the Famous Players or have a tasty glass of scotch while enjoying the live jazz performance at the Invention. The sports bar Duke's has great happy hours and fun monthly evening karaoke or chess club meetings. The only thing I complain about is the need for shock absorbance and insulation of the noise or moving the weight station. The northwest corner of the Famous Players near Olive Street shakes every time the weightlifters drop their weights, which is very annoying and distracting for the diners. Feel like the ceiling or floor is going to drop out. No joke. For now, I would sit as far away from the northwest corner as I possibly can. But hope the club would look into it. I have been trying to sign up for the monthly wine tasting but they are always full. Maybe consider having the event more frequently or scale up? Regardless, I am still exploring all the new offerings at the club and really pleased with the Pilates classes and the live music performances. Although I am apprehensive when I first see the co-working space and the influx of new members, I now appreciate the additional events and classes that come with the new members and hope the club continues to do well and do better as I am here to stay.

The best gym for WHATEVER kind of workout you enjoy. CrossFit , mat Pilates , boxing , circuit…read moretraining , heavy lifting ... name it and it's there. Clean, schedule accommodates everyone. Thanks for your midday classes, Pharos. All the couches are wonderful, personally, I found Carlos EXCEPTIONAL. He is talented to explain things for beginners while making it challenging for the advanced.

Really enjoyed the class I took!…read more I took a HIITclass that I found on Classpass. It wasn't a lot of credits to book the class, so the price was great for me! The place is HUGE and there's a variety of workout types you can do! Multiple floors, multiple setups, etc. For the HIIT class, we did a variety of workouts and they provided all equipment. It was a nice push, as most people were super fit! It definitely pushed me, and I will 100% be returning. My instructor was extremely kind, helpful, and supportive! He really kept my head in the game! The place was clean, and more importantly, the BATHROOMS were clean! I think it's worth it if you have a classpass! I don't know the regular pricing! But again, I'll definitely be returning when it makes sense or I'm in the area!

What a lovely gym! Super clean, organized, lovely view…read more Also amenities are top! From the Hyperice massage machine, the vibration plate, to the Le Labo products and toiletries. But the best part is their staff, starting from Lamar, Azalaiah at the front, the cleaning crew, the private trainers in the room, super available. Overall really happy!! **1 downside: complementary parking for 2,5hr, however the lot C is 3 floors down so get ready to spinning around while calculating a full 30 minutes, up and down.

David, the training manager, and Jenna, the personal trainer, were amazing to work with. I'm so…read moreglad I met David. He really listened to my goals and physical limitations and recommended Jenna as the best fit. Before training with Jenna, I was dealing with recurring pain, stiffness, muscle strains, and diastasis recti. Since working with her, all of those issues have improved significantly. I became much stronger and achieved incredible body recomp results. At my 1st check in the number on the scale barely moved but I'd lost 6 inches of measurable fat from around my body and replaced lbs of fat w muscle. That's why the inbody scan is so important. I got it done beginning, middle, and end and invested in a smart scale for home. Beyond the physical results, Jenna gave me the knowledge and confidence to train on my own, and I've continued applying what she taught me. Working with Jenna was hands down the best investment in my physical health. I highly recommend meeting with David and allowing him to guide you toward the trainer who best fits your goals and needs. As for the gym itself, it's one of the cleanest Equinox locations I've been to. There is always staff cleaning equipment and keeping everything organized. If it's your first visit, be sure to allow extra time for parking, the garage can take a while to navigate. Also, don't forget to validate your parking and keep track of your ticket.

Awesome 1st time visit. Had to pay a $20 guest fee. The sign up process is a little tricky (what…read moresessions you can/ cannot sign up for as a guest online) ultimately it worked out. The front desk guy was cool, welcoming and gives you a brief tour of everything before you hang out. I played a timed pickup game, 4 quarters and cooked. I liked the clock and timeout situation.

I visited once for an event and the event security kept some of my property. I called and even…read morestopped by during business hours to speak to front desk employees who took my information and said they would help get me in touch with security, but never heard from anyone. I get it, everyone is busy, but you should at least follow through for potential customers otherwise they feel like you are just lying to them to get you to leave them alone.

Under previous ownership, this league was excellent. Most recently, the quality, the…read morecompetitiveness and overall fun has declined significantly. Most notably, the refs are clearly influenced to officiate games in certain teams favors. Inconsistent calls, bad behaviors (physical tackling and excessive rough housing) not corrected fairly on each side, more refs present for certain teams. Once a ref threw a flag and then asked another ref if he saw something flag worthy. Like wtf! And certain teams are allowed to beef up their rosters midway through the season when it's against the rules of the league. It's all rigged and unfair. It has taken away the love for the game and put a focus on unfair "competition". My son used to love this league. His team felt a sense of pride playing for it. But with rigged games, behind the scenes drama, unfair favoritism, it's too discouraging to continue on. We won't be returning.

Very competitively unequal teams. A few teams pick off the best players, and the rest of the teams…read moreare composed of what's left. If you are a coach and your kid is friends with somewhat experienced players that you will pick for your team, or if you know someone like that that will pick your kid, you will be fine. If you are a first time player you will likely be on a team with other inexperienced/first time players coached by a parent that is new to this. If you are in the latter category, have fun loosing every game. Good news is your kid will be cured from wanting to do football again for a while.

I came to the Social Club for JiJi's Jazz Lounge, which is an open jam and artist showcase. JiJi's…read moreJazz Lounge is an awesome event that you should all tune into, and the vibe is perfectly matched by the Social Club. The shrink menu was curated for the Lounge, and they were really yummy. I won't talk too much about them in this case they were limited offerings for just the lounge. I will speak to their wine selection, which includes great wines and natural wines too. The wine service was amazing as well. I got some snacks to start off the night, like the cheese board and toasted bread. Both were really well done and delicious. I would definitely come back for a date night. It is very cozy and cute here. The decor and seating options are beautiful, and there is an outdoor area to play games as well. The cool thing that they offer here is an all-inclusive wedding package for up to 35 people for just $10k-- that's a steal!! Might mess around and get married, honestly. Parking is a little tricky, but there is a park nearby. I assume there is parking there, but I ended up parking in their parking lot, which is reserved for other businesses during regular hours.

Visited the social club for my first time, The vibe was so…read morechill met some super cool people and best of all was able to see MACK KEANE live. Well worth the 3hour drive

I dropped in twice. First time I didn't stay for any training as the instructor said he wouldn't be…read moreinvolved that day. He said that was typical for weekends. Came back on a weekday and stayed for training... he was barely involved in training that day. I understand how someone might think he is rude but I wouldn't go that far, really he just comes off as checked-out and not interested in his gym / business. The session is about 1/3rd combat sport related. The other 2/3rds is light cardio drills you can do in your own home. The other attendees are more willing to help and with that I would say this place serves more of a sparring club than a serious training gym.

The Yard and Yoshi are excellent. This review will hopefully be helpful as an update to how class…read moreis run (since class has changed a little). First my background: I've trained Muay Thai for two years (first time was in April of 2022). I've trained at 7 gyms: FLMT (Florida Muay Thai , OC MT, Team Oyama, Classic Fight Team, Rising Suns Thai Boxing, NELA Combat Fitness, and Boxing Works. My home gym for the last year was Boxing Works under the instruction of Coach Bryan Popejoy, where I trained 3-4 days a week and did one on ones once a week for about 3 month. I would've stayed there however I recently moved to Northeast LA (Highland Park) and the drive to Torrence for BW was too much (about an hour to an hour and a half drive there and 40 minutes on the way home). Whereas the Yard is a 6-minute drive from me with ample sessions. Second, class style: Classes are Monday through Friday: 8-9:30, 10-11:30, 4-5:30, and 6-7:30pm and then two sparring classes on Saturday from 9-10:30 and 11-12:30. As far as I'm aware, Yoshi teaches each class and he does an excellent job. At other gyms, I feel much more advanced then I do at the Yard. Lots of basic bad habits that I got into are getting fine-tuned and corrected. A typical class is organized in four parts: (1) Cardio: A five minute round of jump ropes and then a 30 minute cardio session where we jog, sprint, do knees, teep across the mats. (2) Bagwork We then do several rounds of shadow boxing where Yoshi will make small adjustments to our form. From there, we all go on the heavy bags and practice whatever we want to work on for several rounds while Yoshi works one on one with us on pad/mitwork. This is where I think the Yard shines. If you go to a class with few students, you are essentially getting a free one on one. When you're not working one on one with Yoshi, you are working the bag. (3): Drills/Sparring From there, we work on a specific technique through partner drills and then light technical sparring. Yoshi is very attentive as he goes around and makes adjustments and suggestions. On Fridays the technique is clinch focused; which is really great. Many gyms in Southern California lack emphasis on the clinch. (4): Burnout/core work: We end with 3 minutes of ab/core work and then a minute plank. Sometimes we will burnout with skip knees on the bag. Overall: An excellent choice. I can't speak to how it would be for a beginner, as I came with two-years of experience. I imagine it would be a great place to start. Potential cons: I do not see people doing drills on thai pads (where one partner holds pads and the other hits). Typically, a Muay Thai class is 1 hour. At the Yard, it is 1.5 hours. Which means its a little more demanding. At this point, I cannot train every day even if my schedule allowed it because my body and cardio is just too shot. I imagine with time, that'll change.

When Sanctuary Fitness in the Arts District closed, I couldn't find what I was looking for-- then I…read morefound Fit Body Boot Camp. The workouts are amazing-- the coaches are so great and they make sure you have the right form. I've been telling everyone about Fit Body Boot Camp in Chinatown!

The best of the best! I joined fitbody bootcamp Chinatown about a year ago and it was the best…read moredecision I have ever made the coaches are amazing and they help you all the way during the workouts. Also I highly recommend the challenges, they help you with nutrition and tracking macros. It has helped me so much I was stuck at a certain weight and I have lost a lot more weight since joining FBBC and since joining a lot of their challenges. They also give the best word of the week.

This past Friday I attended the Dining in the Dark at the City Club and had so much fun. I was…read moresigned up via Renaissance club and so I was seated with members from the club and we ended up fast friends laughing joyfully as we ate blindly. First, there is parking at the building but it's easy to miss because of traffic but it's a quick enterance and then down a steep tight hill into the lot. Valet is there but I found a self parking spot. For the event our parking was validated which made the parking only $8 which was a relief since parking around the area can be quite pricey! Inside the room all the tables are intimately set up according to how many people were on the reservation, and the room is surrounded by windows where you can see the amazing LA view. I love that according to what you're going to eat you get a color coded candle. Meat is red candle, Fish is blue, and vegetarian is green. When it is time to go dark they announce and you blind fold yourself with a blindfold that you get to keep at the end! There are 3 courses and I will not ruin it by telling you what I ate so you can be surprised. After each course the chef comes in and he tells you what the food was. I honestly expected that because my sight was gone that I would be hyper aware but somehow I guessed wrong about some of the ingredients! It was such a cool experience and the dessert was so good I wanted more. Dining in the dark was such a wonderful experience. If you need date ideas this would be a really great date idea! After the dinner was over, I explored the 51sr floor a little before heading to the elevator and it's really beautiful up there. There are some rooms with a TV and table and chairs and all the windows. In the waiting area there are even binoculars to use. Such a cool experience I would definitely do it again!

Beautiful views from the top of this building! I've typically come here for finance events and…read moreconferences so my perspective is purely from a meetings and workshop POV. Staff is friendly and helpful and the catering is pretty good. I enjoy seeing DTLA from this vantage point as there aren't too many other buildings out there that have similar views. Only thing is that this is valet only. So hopefully you're being hosted for parking because it's pricey!

It was beautiful! I want to come back with my Wife and show…read moreher the gardens! The staff are really sweet and helpful. There's plenty of Parking. If it gets hot, it's nicely air conditioned in the buildings where there's also bathrooms.

This place is a true gem in the heart of Los Angeles. Tucked away near the Los Angeles River and…read morethe Arroyo Seco, it feels like a secret garden you stumbled upon. The Mission Revival architecture is stunning, with lush landscaping and beautiful courtyards. It's a peaceful escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, perfect for a quiet stroll or a picnic with friends. There's also a small visitor center with exhibits about the history of the Los Angeles River and the surrounding area. There's also a gift shop with a variety of local and nature-inspired items. And if you're looking for a unique event space, the center offers beautiful indoor and outdoor facilities for weddings, conferences, and other special occasions. I recently attended their Family Day, which was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon and explore the area. The center hosts a variety of events throughout the year, including concerts, workshops, and family-friendly activities. Additional notes: The center is free to visit There is ample parking available on site. The center is accessible to people with disabilities. There are several restrooms located throughout the grounds. Be sure to check their website or social media for upcoming events. Bring a picnic lunch or snacks to enjoy in the gardens.