Hotel Amarano Burbank

I stay in Burbank a lot, but this is the first at Amarano. Today is Valentines Day — and people here are pretty fancy. My wife and I had to work today (we are home renovators) and showed up at this VERY nice hotel in a moving van. I expected a lot of flack for the big ugly van, but the valet AND the manager — Alondro — were amazing. It was so nice to not be judged by my cover!
Not only is the service beyond First Rate, the accommodations are fantastic. One of the nicest hotels I’ve stayed in: Penthouse at the Sofitel, Bungalow on the North Shore in Oahu… Amarano. Well done!
Stay HERE!

THE LOBBY BAR ONLY–
We love to go to the bar here and have a few drinks or late night eats.
I haven’t stayed there as we are local. But I have been coming here for years to have drinks with friends. The bartender Harvey is always super nice and gives great service. I highly recommend to any locals who want a nice place to have a drink and late night eats-​which is rare in this area unless you want diner food. As well for people staying there, you can come down and have a glass of wine and some food, right there in the hotel.

I am basing my review on service because I did not get a chance to make it to the hotel. For those looking to see how the actual hotel/rooms/pool/ect.are than read another review.
I recommended Hotel Amarano to a friend since I live in the area and he decided to come out and visit. I read good and bad reviews but decided we can have a nice stay here.
My friend from Chicago made reservations for this hotel for 4 nights Dec 30^th-​Jan 3^rd for the price of $ 1600, unfortunately his flight got cancelled due to a major ice storm and was unable to make it.
The hotel will not refund not even half of his payment! They won’t even try to work something out. I think that is really sad, at least credit the guy for a future stay. It’s not like he doesn’t want to stay at this hotel or decided to go elsewhere. Now we will never get to know the Hotel Amarano and I will tell everyone possible don’t book this place unless you are 100% sure you will be make it.

Just a shout out to General Manager Tom Whelan and his staff. My business has conducted several meetings at the Amarano. The facilities are great, the catering is outstanding, and the staff is always accommodating. It’s a great place for an offsite meeting. We’ll be back.

I’ve always been VERY happy with their services until my most recent booking. I called to cancel my reservation and the hotel was undergoing a VERY LOUD fire alarm. The guy asked me to call back in 20min because their system was down. I called back and the alarm was still going but he lowered in volume. So I cancel my reservation and the guy tells me ok np I’ll cancel your reservation you just have to call back Monday to get your charge reversed. Long story short I’ve been getting the run around from everyone and have yet to hear back from the GM from my multiple voicemails. Literally every staff member has given me a run around.
Considering it’s not my first time staying here, and I’ve booked MULTIPLE rooms for myself and my clients that work for Disney you would think they would be a little more accommodating and understanding to my very sensitive family emergency which led to a cancellation.

stayed here for a getaway with the hot hubby. we wanted a nearby place that we could plunk down and not really move too far.
yes, it’s true: parking will set you back a lot of money, but there is street parking all around the hotel. we keep our wheels pretty practical, and are L.A. dwellers, so we didn’t really have any worries about having the car on the street.
it’s situated across from a huge strip mall anchored by a supermarket, which is a plus if you are wanting to just walk across the street for groceries/​great Italian food/​good breakfast. i suggest hitting the supermarket if you want water, snacks, or alcohol as the minibar items are, well, at minibar (usurious) prices.
the neighbourhood is a low-​key residential one, and the back rooms face apartments which is not great for a view, but i doubt any rooms are good for that. what is great is that it’s nice and quiet. also, great location if you want to do studio tours of Warner or Universal.
we had a gracious stay, and the bed was comfortable. the room was spacious and welcoming, but the bathroom was oddly very… motel. you’d think that a hotel that is trying to be all «boutique» would step it up with tile, nice shower, luxe towels, great toiletries… but no. big pumps of shampoo/​shower gel/​conditioner, and really run-​of-​the-​mill everything else. i did a lot of travel for my former job and stayed in a lot of random places, and i can honestly say that the quality of a hotel rests on many variables, but the two non-​negotiables for making it feel «nice» is a well-​appointed bathroom and a great bed. disappointing that this hotel totally fell short on the bathroom side.
the pool was nice enough, and the service was friendly.

First red flag: upon entering my room, I was greeted by a terrible smell, which I found to be a take-​out bag filled with rotten food, left by the previous guest. Not a huge deal, as the room was otherwise comfortable, but a bag of rotten food is not a pleasant thing to encounter after a full day of travel.
Second red flag: visiting the restroom late at night, I noticed that the bathroom floor was covered in water. There was a leak in the ceiling, and the entire bathroom was flooded. I moved the plastic-​lined wastebasket to collect the dripping water.
Third red flag: Breakfast in the lobby was terrible. For $ 20, I received a tasteless mess that took over 30 minutes to produce. As there was only one other occupied table at the time, the delay (not to mention the quality) was unacceptable. It took nearly 15 minutes for my coffee to arrive.
Fourth red flag: at about 10:30 PM, my companion and I were having a low-​volume conversation about the various business meetings we had that day. We got a call from the night manager asking us to keep the volume down. Had the manager asked in a polite, unassuming way, this would not be an issue. However, the manager (named Kevin) immediately assumed a severe, condescending tone and threatened police action if we did not «keep it down.» I do not take threats lightly, and was greatly offended by the aggressive tone and ugly nature of this encounter. Keep in mind, we were not 1) having a party 2) playing music or 3) yelling/​making loud noises. My companion and I were discussing the day’s events. Our conversation might have carried into the next room, but the aggressive and accusatory tone from the night manager was entirely uncalled for and rude.
In short, this stay was an unnecessarily unpleasant and uncomfortable. For the relatively high pricetag, this establishment needs its priorities. Never again.

Quite disappointed that this is considered an Expedia Vip Access, the toilet bowl was dirty (think black sand imprinted on the bowl when you flush). Otherwise it would’ve been perfect for my anniversary. Makes me wonder if I should’ve spent more and went to a higher rated hotel. Oh wells… I may or may not come back. I brought the issue up with the asst front desk manager, who seemed aloof with the issue.

I wish I had an accurate picture of this place when I made reservations, the hotel looks nothing like what is advertised on the web page. To say it’s a «motel 6» would be more realistic. What made it even worse was the fact that they advertise that they have free shuttles to & from Universal Studios & Airport, but forget to say «maybe» ! I will try & post a picture of our room’s view!

I’m rating this place 3 stars because it’s a very cute, quaint, clean hotel and we would love to stay here again IF some things with the staffing changed.
Selected this hotel for my birthday weekend getaway with my husband and my sister and brother in law.
The very first night we arrived (the night before my birthday), hubby checked us in first, so we went up to our room and left my sister and her hubby to handle their check in… well minutes after we settle a few items in the room, my brother in law opens our room door with a key because the front desk assigned us to the SAME room! In spite of the fact, the reservations were made separately and under 2 totally different last names! We contact the front desk and they tell them to come back to the lobby and get another room number… WE all 4 go together since we were going out anyway, so THEIR key was reprogrammed. Well once we returned from our evening out, we go to the rooms, only this time OUR key didn’t work AT ALL! So we go to my sisters room with her and her hubby to use their phone to call the front desk, only to be told they are TOO BUSY and we’d need to come down to get the our key reprogrammed! Which should have NEVER been deprogrammed in the first place, considering our key remained in our possession from the time we first checked in!
The next day we left in the morning and spent the entire day at Universal Studios and dinner, so we returned very late. We decided to request a late check out, which was 12:30 instead of 12:00 noon, since they charge $ 25.00 per hour after noon. They were kind enough to agree to let us check out at 12:30 at no additional cost. And since we’d ordered an in-​room breakfast afternoon would’ve worked perfect.
Well apparently no one communicated to the housekeeping or hospitality crews that our room was checking out at 12:30pm because in spite of the Privacy Sign being on the door housekeeping came and asked what time we were leaving, then a hospitality person came and asked when we were leaving a few minutes later! I was still attempting to rest, so that plan was blown, NOT TO MENTION the in-​room breakfast we ordered NEVER showed up, because apparently they sent it to the WRONG room! We ended up calling to cancel the breakfast and checking out right at 12:30!
This was the cap to my birthday weekend and I’m not so sure that whenever we decide to travel back to the area we’d stay here again, although as I said earlier in my review, the hotel is very cute, quaint and clean!

Had a wonderful stay here. The staff was welcoming and friendly, the food was delicious, the bar was lively and our room was clean and quiet. Wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again.

We really like this hotel! Here are the reasons for the three stars 1) We have stayed several time and have found the different rooms to all be lovely. 2) Harvey and Norm in the bar are fantastic. 3) It’s is perfectly located for Warner Brother’s, Universal studios and Hollywood.
The downside to Hotel Amarano, I hate the amenities in the bathroom. You would think for the price and the type of image they want to convey as a boutique hotel, they would not have pump bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body gel in the showers — it feels more like a gym, then a boutique hotel. On top of being pump bottles, you can get anything out of them. The pumps don’t work and when they do practically nothing comes out. I had to make 23 strategic pumps just to get enough shampoo to wash my hair! Let’s not even talk about the body gel!
The Wi-​Fi was really difficult to get hooked up to my phone, but worked fine on my tablet.
There is only Valet parking, while the staff are quick to retrieve your car, it expensive and other hotels in the area provide self-​parking options.
To the management of Hotel Amarano please trust us with personal use size shampoo, conditioner and body gel.

Let me begin by telling you how upset I was with this hotel from the check in.
I arrived early to LA and called ahead to see if we could check in, Eric answered the phone and said no problem about early check in, but when I arrived he said sorry check in is at 3pm and HE DIDNT EVEN APOLOGIZE. He had an attitude and didn’t even offer to hold our luggage for us, the valet guy came in and said we could leave our luggage with them. I was so disappointed. I had called the night before and someone said it wouldn’t be a problem so thats why we were so happy to have a room so early. DISAPPOINTING.
The room. It smelled like cigarettes and sweat. The bathroom was not clean, the water pressure sucks and the room keeper never refilled the soap and so we had to use what little was left from the shampoo dispenser for soap in the shower.
There’s no self parking, even though is says that on Expedia. There’s only valet for $ 38 and street parking, of which part of the street you can’t park on because of construction.
I won’t ever stay here again, and don’t recommend you to either.

We stayed here for about a week when my apartment had no air conditioner — and it was really great! It was the nicest place I’ve stayed anywhere near that side of the San Fernando Valley, and priced lower than almost all surrounding hotels! We upgraded our room and still paid less than we did at the Holiday Inn Express in Van Nuys! This hotel is classy and convenient, and I would definitely stay there again. Here’s the lowdown on the room and what not, if you haven’t decided whether or not to give this place a shot :)
Kitchen: The suite we stayed in was on the 1^st floor and included an almost-​full kitchen. Stocked with a full size fridge, two electric burners, microwave, toaster, and full sized sink.
Room: Next to the kitchen area was a little dining area, followed by the living room. Super comfortable couch and TV were great — but the huge balcony was the icing on the cake. There was a full walk in closet, and a bedroom with another huge TV and the most comfortable bed I can remember sleeping in.
Bath: I’m a big believer in bathrooms making or breaking hotels, and usually they do the latter, in my experience at least! But, at the Amarano, the bathroom was fully decked out with a full bathtub/​shower combo, and a separate shower only, plus a huge mirror + lots of counter space, perfect for makeup and hair and everything us girls do to make sure we look like we just wake up this way ;)
Location: There’s a shopping center across the street with a Ralphs, some quick places to eat, and a Starbucks — all well within walking distance. It was really convenient being able to leave the car parked and walk across to restock the fridge or grab a snack.

My boyfriend and I stayed here for New Year’s eve and this hotel was really nice. It was luxurious and spacious. I loved the double shower heads in the bathroom and our room came with a microwave and mini fridge-​not that we had any food to cook/​warm. It was nice to have the option since Albertson’s was right across the street. Downside is that they only have valet parking, but we found the staff to be friendly and helpful.

Very nice and quaint hotel but the walls are thin…

I’ve stayed here 3 times, and have had a good experience every time. The people at the front counter are very friendly, inviting, and accommodating. Rooms are not too expensive, check online for deals (I got 20% off my stay last time for staying within a week of my birthday). The people at the front desk will help you find events and things to do too — (example, first time I went down I heard Miley Cyrus had a movie première — they helped me find out where; I was able to see her and Liam Hemsworth from like five feet away!)
I pick this hotel because of it’s convenience. Around a 15 minute drive from Burbank Airport, 5 minutes from Warner Brothers Studios, 15 min or so from Universal Studios, 10 min or so from Hollywood Blvd — what I’m trying to say is it is kinda centralized to everything in the Hollywood area. There is a Vons/​Safeway across the street, as well as a Starbucks (yay!). Ask for discounted tickets, we got like $ 10 off Universal Studios tickets through the hotel and they just bill the charges to your room.
The rooms are kind of small, but it is whatever if it is just you and your spouse. I don’t know how the bigger rooms are — we usually get just one king bed, no kitchen or other special amenities. King Pool View rooms are cool — but shut your blinds, people can see right in, obviously (some people didn’t realize that… awkward). Always has been clean in the rooms but I have noticed they don’t pick up room service trays full of scraps and dirty dishes, they seem to sit outside peoples doors all day long. Kinda gross.
The pool is nice, pretty big, with a hot tub, and a private cabana with a TV and stereo. Go later at night about an hour before the pool closes — that’s when there never seems to be any kids :)
There is no parking lot, only valet — but skip that, you can easily find street parking around the block. Pretty safe, I always get a rental car and have never had any problems with vandalism, break ins. Not really many sketchy people around the hotel.
Overall, ⁴⁄₅ stars — a real parking lot would make things easier, but the layout prevents that, please clean the hallways — people don’t like staring at other peoples leftovers for hours upon end. Customer service gets an A+.

Hotel Amarano was very convenient for most of the destinations we had in mind for our LA trip. It is about a 5 minute drive from both Universal Studios and WB Studios, and about 15 minutes from Hollywood. Unfortunately, it is about 45 minutes from both LAX and Disneyland.
It is a cute boutique hotel, that we were able to get online for a decent rate. The staff is super friendly and helpful. We had a super early flight and I was wondering if early check-​in was possible. The hotel was fully booked, but the gentleman helping me on the phone was polite through the whole process.
Facilities-​wise, you can definitely tell that there is some wear and tear. It wasn’t a huge issue for me, since we weren’t going to be in the hotel all that much. All I cared about was that it was clean and comfortable. Check and check.
For amenities, you get your regular toiletries… Shampoo, conditioner and soap come from a dispenser. The room also has a fridge. Just a warning though, they will charge you if you use their k-​cups. Surprising for me – isn’t coffee usually free? Not a problem though, because there was Starbucks across the street!
One negative… they held about $ 300 on my credit card for our 3 night stay, even though it was pre-​paid. Thank goodness for Unilocal,because I was all like «wth is this $ 300 charge???» So yeah… use a credit card and not debit card.
Tip 1: Don’t valet. There is a LOT of street parking. Just make sure that it’s not a street cleaning day on your side.
Tip 2: Supermarket (Vons) and Starbucks across the street.
Tip 3: Free WiFi.
Tip 4: Free apples! «An apple a day…»

I picked this hotel because of how close it was to Universal Studios.
The pictures looked really clean and I really like the boutique hotel style. Modern and minimal and bright.
We drove up and there is no parking lot for the hotel :(And valet is not free. I think it was about $ 33 per night. There was a really confusing sign though, it said valet for visitors free –_​-​. wait whut? so if I paid to stay I have to pay for valet, but if I’m visiting I get it for free? I assume its because they think that visitors will not be staying overnight? idk. Anyways! There was plenty of street parking around the block so I would go with that.
The staff were really nice and the room was really spacious and clean. Nothing suuuuper fancy though.
Hot tub and pool yes! me and my boyfriends hotel ritual haha.
Convenient location: theres a Vons (Safeway) across the street and other restaurants too.
Overall I would stay here again but I had a $ 120
credit so I got a super good deal for this.