Citizenm Los Angeles Downtown

“surprisingly pleasant stay”

This was my first stay at a citizenM hotel, and I was pleasantly surprised. I believe citizenM hotels worldwide are almost identical; their rooms are modular and pre-fabricated, facilitating construction. The first hotel opened in 2008; the brand was swallowed by the Marriott Bonvoy conglomerate … more

This was my first stay at a citizenM hotel, and I was pleasantly surprised. I believe citizenM hotels worldwide are almost identical; their rooms are modular and pre-fabricated, facilitating construction. The first hotel opened in 2008; the brand was swallowed by the Marriott Bonvoy conglomerate in 2025. CitizenM's are branded as "Select" hotels by Marriott, with more limited services and amenities vs. their "Premium" and "Luxury" branded hotels. Courtyard, AC and Aloft are other "Select" brands. LA's branch opened in 2021 in a rather gritty part of DTLA. CitizenM's are all tech-forward. Unlike the AC brand's polar-opposite minimalistic design, citizenM's lobbies all look like living rooms with a variety of seating types and areas, lots of modern "art" on the walls, tons of dust-catching tchotchkes on shelves. Perfect for lounging, working, eating, socializing. There is always a bar/dining venue/snack shop called canteenM that's open 24 hours. They serve a breakfast buffet here (with a charge). There are meeting rooms (societyM) and some locations have a rooftop bar (CloudM), but LA only has a small terrace off the fitness centre. I liked how the 5 meeting rooms were individually designed with different light fixtures, tables, seating and decor. I took the Metro here; there are a couple of stops about 2 blocks away. I believe there are parking garages nearby, but there is no valet. Check in is via kiosks that scan your ID and credit card and activate your room key. There is an "ambassador" there to assist if needed. Note that check-in is at 2 pm. I tried to check-in early, but the ambassador first had to see if this was possible and then did some special computer maneuvers so that I could. I believe I was able to check in early because of room availability and possibly my mid-level Marriott Bonvoy status and the fact my reservation was prepaid. If not available, they can store your luggage. I knew beforehand that the rooms are petite, almost pod-like. They are smaller than a cruise ship cabin, but boy are they well-designed and tech-forward! The room is the width of the king bed, which has 2 drawers underneath--one for storage and one holds the safe. Note the bed is square, so you can sleep either parallel to or perpendicular to the window; the latter is recommended if there are 2 occupants so you don't have to climb over each other . There's a small desk, a bench and a fixture that houses the sink, trash bins, some shelving and even a small fridge! Opposite is the clouded-glass enclosed toilet and shower (with 2 heads, shampoo/body wash for AM and PM, conditioner). An iPad docked by the bed controls EVERYTHING in the room, included different coloured lighting in the shower. For such a small space there are quite a few light fixtures. There's a small open closet and a full-length mirror. The TV is mounted above the bed. There's also a small shelf with a few small books held upright by a faux Jeff Koons Balloon Dog piece. Note there are no washcloths or cups. The hotel tries to avoid plastic; the iPad advises you to get glasses and refillable bottles of water at the canteen. Ice can be supplied here as well. I found the room surprisingly quiet. I was expecting more noise from outside and well as from the hallway. There are no irons in the room, but there are special ironing rooms on the even-numbered floors. The decent fitness centre is on the 10th floor along with the aforementioned terrace. Of special note is the carpeting in the hallways. It shows aerial views of various (labeled) LA landmarks. Wow! I took a peek at the canteen menu. It's fairly limited after breakfast, so I went to the famous Grand Central Market around the corner. I also liked DTLA Cheese Superette near the Market, and Le Draq across the street from citizen. The breakfast buffet looked decent, with hot and cold items (including smoked salmon), and the breads were from Larder Baking Company, owned by famed chef Suzanne Goin and business partner Caroline Styne. Overall a very nice and surprisingly impressive and pleasant stay! I much prefer this brand over AC!

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