Hotels Reviews

Culver City Cool – The Shay is LA’s best Hyatt property by far

a room with a fireplace and a couch

We may receive a commission when you use our links. Monkey Miles is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com and CardRatings. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Monkey Miles is also a Senior Advisor to Bilt Rewards. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.


The Shay Culver City Review

I lived in LA for 15 years, and always felt Culver City was one of the hidden gems of Los Angeles featuring a quaint downtown and the rare neighborhood feel that a is lost across much of a the sprawling metropolis. Culver is south of Beverly Hills, West of Century City, East of Santa Monica, just 15 to 20 minutes from LAX, and near the 10. One of the coolest attributes of Culver is the historic Culver Studios where a litany of famous shows and movies were once shot, but its focal point is the Gone with the Wind home that is visible from the intersection of Ince and Washington. Culver Studios is now the home of Amazon and the entire area has been completely transformed over the past couple years.  The quaint downtown in still in tact, but the new housing, retail, and dining options are immense.

The Shay is part Hyatt’s Destination Hotels and is situated in a new mixed use development called Ivy Station, where a train stop is as well. I’ve had my eye on The Shay for quite some time since it was pegged to be a category 5 hotel and cash prices weren’t insane. The hotel opened to the public in October 2021, and the images looked very cool.  We’ve been looking for a new place to stay on LA visits, and The Shay may just be it.

The lobby has a variety of seating options that are all industrial chic

a room with a fireplace and a wood floor

Stay Details:

  • When: April 2022
  • Where: Culver City – Los Angeles, CA
  • Rate: Category 5, 20k a night
  • Room: 401 – 1 bedroom Premium Suite
    • Confirmed Globalist Suite Upgrade
    • Upgraded from a 1 King bed Suite
    • 640 sq feet
  • Status: Globalist
    • Waived $30 Destination Fee
    • Waived $45 Valet Fee
    • Complimentary Breakfast
    • Upgraded Suite
  • Confirmed 4pm late check out

The $30 destination fee

It’s happening everywhere – the new resort fee. Luckily, Hyatt Globalist status saved me from having to pay this on my award booking.

a screenshot of a hotel advertisement

a pool table in a room

Booking

We’ve stayed a several LA properties – most recently the Andaz on Sunset, Kimpton La Peer and Kimpton Hotel Wilshire. The Andaz is super tired, and I actively avoid staying on the strip, the Kimpton La Peer is wonderful, but I’m a bit over the WeHo area after living there for a long time and rates were very high, and the location of the Kimpton Hotel Wilshire isn’t quite ideal.

So we were ready for something new and I was stoked to see that The Shay not only had availability for points, but also suites available.

I redeemed 4 nights at 20k a piece and used the Chat function to add a Globalist Suite upgrade to the reservation. I’ve found this function in Hyatt.com or the App to be the most expeditious way of amending reservations. I was told at the time of suite confirmation that we’d been further upgraded to a Premium Suite which when you look at the cash rate isn’t that much more, but is nearly 50% bigger!

If I were to visit again… I would apply a suite upgrade again and request to pay the difference between the hotel rooms if not confirmed. The space is amazing and worth the $75 fee imo.

Location

I was a little hesitant when I booked the hotel because I hadn’t been to this area in a couple of years since I moved out of town. It’s completely transformed and what was once a sketchy stretch of Culver near the 10, is now filled with shopping like Reformation, dining like Margot, and coffee shops everywhere. I’m a fan.

Check In

When we checked in the hotel was absolutely bumping. We were promptly greeted, informed that Tesla charging was free with valet, and Loads of guests, but also young 20 somethings filling Etta and lining up for the rooftop bar Celestina.

a room with a fireplace and couches

The Room

The Suite is sun-drenched with loads of space and feels fresh, modern, and hip.

a room with a window and a view of the city from the door

The counters have built in plugs that collapse to make a flush top.

They’ve done a great job of integrating the wet bar, coffee machine, and extra storage in the comfy living room. There’s even a small table where you could get some work done.

a living room with a couch and a table

The Bedroom overlooks the elevated train which you could hear but really wasn’t loud at all.

a bed with a bench and lights

The Bathroom is stunning featuring a walk in shower, large dual vanity, and a ginormous soaker tub

a bathroom with a tub and a mirror

The Shay features Imperial products and something I just don’t like…the large shower products. Call me a distrustful person, but I can’t help but think someone and some point will put something disgusting in these bottles that the next person will use.

 

The Gym

Located on the 2nd floor and requires you going outside before nipping back inside features peloton bikes, a small collection of treadmills, and weights.

Dining

There are 3 dining options at the hotel with Etta being the focal point and the rooftop, Celestina being more of a chill out spot that serves food poolside on the roof.

The Lobby Bar

Immediately when you enter the lobby you’ll see the The Lobby Bar which was crowded when we checked in.

a bar with chairs and a counter

Etta

Etta was jam packed and completely booked for the first two nights we stayed at the hotel. I came down each morning to Etta for breakfast, which you order at the counter, and they bring to a small group of tables.

a room with a glass wall and a brick wall

The Etta bar is drop dead gorgeous

a bar with shelves of bottles and bottles on the wall

Breakfast… was tasty. I ordered the quiche and breakfast sandwiches along with chia seed pudding and all were great. I even ordered some to eat at the restaurant and some to-go.

a plate of food on a table

Celestina

The rooftop holds Celestina and a vibey pool with a great views.

Overall

The hotel is fantastic and I wouldn’t hesitate to revisit. In fact, this could be my go-to spot when visiting Los Angeles. The biggest positives are the area and how much money they’ve poured into development. The space feels fresh, the food at the hotel was very good, and everyone was friendly. The only drawbacks, which were avoided because of Globalist status, was the destination fee and the $45 valet charge. My goodness…this hotel quickly becomes $500 a night for a base room when you add in all the extra charges…our suite would have topped $700 more than likely. At just 20k a night and a suite upgrade…I felt like I got great value

Oh yeah.. it’s pet friendly too

a dog lying in a suitcase

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

a blue credit card with blue lines and white text

Learn More

Affiliate Link

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card


4.8
4.8/5
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott.

Welcome Offer

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening

Annual Fee

$95

Points Earned

Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards

  • 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
  • 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
  • 3x on select streaming services
  • 3x on online grocery purchases
    • (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
  • $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
    • The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
  • 2x on all other travel
  • 10% Anniversary Bonus
    • Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
  • Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
  • Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
    • Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
  • Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
  • $95 Annual Fee

We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.

Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.

Main Cast: 

Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.

Supporting Cast:

Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.

If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex®  and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners

Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

6 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.