Queen Mary Hotel

[klfrodo]

I originally put this question in the "Port of Call" thread instead of here in the Homeports.

 

I'm asking about the Queen Mary Hotel. I hear but don't have direct knowledge that this property is in dire straights due to the current world crisis and may have to shut down.

I'm looking for someone in the LGB who can either confirm or deny these rumors.

I'm wondering if I should make contingency reservations for our April 2021 stay.

[Bruin Steve]

It's no secret...I've never been a fan of the Queen Mary.  There are so many much better hotel choices in the area...

 

That said, the Queen Mary is in dire straits for so many more reasons than the current pandemic...

 

Read here:

 

https://la.curbed.com/2017/3/13/14917624/queen-mary-report-upkeep-flood-sink

 

https://lbpost.com/news/urban-commons-queen-mary-repairs-lease

 

https://lbpost.com/news/queen-mary-operator-makes-good-on-missed-payments-but-remains-in-hot-water-with-the-city

 

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/eagle-hospitality-flags-unauthorised-loan-application-tax-delinquency-by-sponsor

 

The above is just a sampling of articles over the past few years...and up through yesterday...

Maintenance issues, management issues, tax issues, fraud and corruption...

 

They may very well reopen after the pandemic...but, personally, for me, it's not worth it...Book something at the Hyatt Regency, the Hyatt Centric at the Pike, the Renaissance, the Westin, The Doubletree Maya or the Residence Inn Downtown...

 

Good luck...

 

 

[Langley Cruisers]

Personally, I wouldn't stay there because it smelled when we did the self-tour some years ago.I don't know about the rooms, but I would assume the musty smell gets everywhere...

[klfrodo]

Thanks for the replies.

We all have our battles that we choose or don't choose to fight.😲

My wife wants/desires/demands to stay at the Queen Mary. Negative reviews won't sway that request and that's not the hill I choose to die on.😉

The property being out of business on the other hand?????

 

We were last in LGB in 2005. I didn't heed her request to stay at the Queen Mary at that time. Instead, I booked us into the Holiday Inn where the next door gas station had bars on the cashiers cage, police sirens all night, and gun shots ringing out in the middle of the night. I've heard about this for the past 15 years. If she wants Queen Mary, she gets Queen Mary.  Unless,,,,,, 

Edited August 14, 2020 by klfrodo

[KeepCalmBearOn]

9 hours ago, klfrodo said:

I'm asking about the Queen Mary Hotel.

 

I am a huge fan of the Queen Mary. Where are you going to stay instead, a Courtyard by Marriott?

 

The Queen Mary is ALWAYS in dire straights. So what. It is one of the most remarkable ocean liners (not a cruise ship) ever built. I'd stay there at any any opportunity. Do have a backup plan (Maya Doubletree?), but stick with the QM for now.

[Bruin Steve]

5 hours ago, klfrodo said:

Thanks for the replies.

We all have our battles that we choose or don't choose to fight.😲

My wife wants/desires/demands to stay at the Queen Mary. Negative reviews won't sway that request and that's not the hill I choose to die on.😉

The property being out of business on the other hand?????

 

We were last in LGB in 2005. I didn't heed her request to stay at the Queen Mary at that time. Instead, I booked us into the Holiday Inn where the next door gas station had bars on the cashiers cage, police sirens all night, and gun shots ringing out in the middle of the night. I've heard about this for the past 15 years. If she wants Queen Mary, she gets Queen Mary.  Unless,,,,,, 

 

You obviously weren't listening to me 15 years ago either...Why the heck would you book the Holiday Inn?  Look, Long Beach is a BIG city (population over half a million)...there are good parts and bad parts...If you are coming for a cruise or vacation, there is a part of the city you really want to stay in.  When I was a kid (and I guess I'm getting old now),  Downtown Long Beach was kind of seedy...My parents used to take us to the "Pike" (later Queen's Park) for the rides mostly...but that area of Long Beach was a dive...lots of Cheap bars and tattoo parlors (in the days when the only people who had tattoos were convicts, sailors and motorcycle gangs)...But the City of Long Beach made the decision to change this image...They brought in the Queen Mary as a tourist attraction...but, more importantly, they built a convention center...and created a redevelopment zone around it... and entitled properties within that zone to sell to major hotel chains to build modern, first class hotels--to serve the convention center, the tourism industry and the cruise business...hence were built the two Hyatt properties, the Renaissance, the Westin and the Hilton...The City spent a lot of money over the years to clean up this part of the city...to provide extra police protection, to create a free shuttle bus system...and more...

 

Those first class downtown hotels are much nicer than any budget deal you'll find...and worth the extra money...and they're in a nice area for walking...and close to LOTS of restaurant choices...You can always go visit the QM in your spare time...

 

Even if your wife's heart is set on the QM, book a back-up reservation in one of those better hotels NOW...Something refundable if you have to...but you really don't want to get stuck at the Holiday Inn again...or with nothing.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

12 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

Those first class downtown hotels are much nicer than any budget deal you'll find...and worth the extra money...and they're in a nice area for walking...and close to LOTS of restaurant choices...You can always go visit the QM in your spare time...

 

There are far too many nice hotels in Long Beach in Downtown, many of which are reasonable, to book a bad hotel like the Holiday Inn. Book the QM, but book a decent back-up.

[Langley Cruisers]

You guys, happy wife=happy life. We all have our opinions and he has stated she wants to stay at the QM. We don't know the circumstances... at the risk of sounding crass, perhaps it's for a very good reason like an illness. I am battling cancer and you can bet yer boots my hubby would book me in anywhere I wanted to go. 😊

 

Having said that, klfrodo as an alternative (which I believe you are still asking for) we have stayed at two of the hotels on Bruin Steve's short list, and they were fabulous. We enjoyed the Renaissance Long Beach Hotel and the Hyatt Regency Long Beach, both amazing and located in a good area.

Edited August 15, 2020 by Langley Cruisers

[Husky61]

When we lived there we stayed at the QM twice, and that was enough for me. And yes, I would rather stay at The Courtyard by Marriott.

[SadieN]

Where else do you want to see and do in LA?  Stay nearby those, then stay the night before your cruise at the QM.  

 

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

I like the history of the ship.  It might reek from staleness but it also reeks of history.  There are lot worse places to stay for one night.  We were there January 2019 just for a cocktail before flying out to Catalina Island for the weekend.  It is a little worn around the edges.  Not like when we stayed there back when Disney Corp still ran it.  But again, it's worth doing for a night or two.  

 

[princeton123211]

I think the theme of this thread is: if you are predisposed to like the Queen Mary (the history, maritime environment, 1930's styling, etc) then you will see the good sides of her and thoroughly enjoy a night onboard. If those things are not that important to you, you will see her many blemishes and would much rather be in a more modern hotel ashore. 

 

Frankly, I love the ship and love that she's still with us. She has a lot more originality in her accommodation than other museum ships such as SS Rotterdam and QE2 which both had the majority of their passenger staterooms ripped out and redone (Rotterdam's sympathetically to her history, QE2 not so much). 

 

Queen Mary's history in Long Beach has been fraught with intrigue, corruption, scandal, deficits, and her existence has been essentially under threat since the moment they rang "finished with engines" in 1967. She's still here. She's a better version of herself than she's been in a while-- finally had a group that was starting to take care of her up until the pandemic happened.

 

If you get a chance to stay on her I think you should take it-- she wont be around forever.  

[rkacruiser]

4 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

If you get a chance to stay on her I think you should take it-- she wont be around forever.  

 

Without quoting your entire post, but it was well said.  

 

Just as RMS Queen Mary was special when she was in service, she remains special in her own unique way in retirement.  

[eyegirl]

On 8/14/2020 at 3:10 PM, Bruin Steve said:

It's no secret...I've never been a fan of the Queen Mary.  There are so many much better hotel choices in the area...

 

That said, the Queen Mary is in dire straits for so many more reasons than the current pandemic...

 

Read here:

 

https://la.curbed.com/2017/3/13/14917624/queen-mary-report-upkeep-flood-sink

 

https://lbpost.com/news/urban-commons-queen-mary-repairs-lease

 

https://lbpost.com/news/queen-mary-operator-makes-good-on-missed-payments-but-remains-in-hot-water-with-the-city

 

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/eagle-hospitality-flags-unauthorised-loan-application-tax-delinquency-by-sponsor

 

The above is just a sampling of articles over the past few years...and up through yesterday...

Maintenance issues, management issues, tax issues, fraud and corruption...

 

They may very well reopen after the pandemic...but, personally, for me, it's not worth it...Book something at the Hyatt Regency, the Hyatt Centric at the Pike, the Renaissance, the Westin, The Doubletree Maya or the Residence Inn Downtown...

 

Good luck...

 

 

what do you think of Hotel Current, if we need to leave our car there? We usually stay at Hotel Maya, which we love, but others have mentioned Hotel Current.

thanks

 

[Bruin Steve]

3 minutes ago, eyegirl said:

what do you think of Hotel Current, if we need to leave our car there? We usually stay at Hotel Maya, which we love, but others have mentioned Hotel Current.

thanks

 

It's a decent 1960's style motel...clear on the other side of Long Beach...about a 7-8 mile drive--on ALL surface streets--from the Carnival Pier....in a largely residential area across Pacific coast Highway from a public golf course and a couple of blocks from the campus of Cal State Long Beach...IOW, it's incredibly unexciting...

OTOH, since you'll have your car, you don't have to spend much time there except to sleep.  You can head down to Naples, to the Naples Rib Company, for dinner...or other eateries in that area...

 

The other issue is that I assume since you're leaving your car there, you are counting on the hotel's shuttle...You will waste a bit of time waiting on their shuttle on both ends...and on the lengthy shuttle ride each way.  It is a fairly safe neighborhood in which to leave your car, though...

 

BTW, I assume you are cruising with Carnival.  If you are on another line, you'll need to get to the port in San Pedro...and you would be nowhere close to that...and the hotel shuttle won't take you there.

[eyegirl]

On 9/30/2020 at 1:23 PM, Bruin Steve said:

It's a decent 1960's style motel...clear on the other side of Long Beach...about a 7-8 mile drive--on ALL surface streets--from the Carnival Pier....in a largely residential area across Pacific coast Highway from a public golf course and a couple of blocks from the campus of Cal State Long Beach...IOW, it's incredibly unexciting...

OTOH, since you'll have your car, you don't have to spend much time there except to sleep.  You can head down to Naples, to the Naples Rib Company, for dinner...or other eateries in that area...

 

The other issue is that I assume since you're leaving your car there, you are counting on the hotel's shuttle...You will waste a bit of time waiting on their shuttle on both ends...and on the lengthy shuttle ride each way.  It is a fairly safe neighborhood in which to leave your car, though...

 

BTW, I assume you are cruising with Carnival.  If you are on another line, you'll need to get to the port in San Pedro...and you would be nowhere close to that...and the hotel shuttle won't take you there.

thanks for the info! I think we'll stay at the Hotel Maya this time and check out Hotel Current while we're out there

[skrufy]

We stayed overnight two years ago. Yes it’s old but that’s the charm of the ship. Staying in the original cabins, seeing how cruise life was decades ago was a treat. Though the ship does not compare with today’s hotels, for us just to stay in a world class ship Of its time was wonderful. Had a great meal the night before and a nice buffet breakfast the next morning. Also did not have a foul smell. 

[LandlockedCruiser01]

I stayed on the Queen Mary on my latest cruise.  (See my review in signature.)  It was truly awesome, despite an overly cold room.  The ship/hotel just breathes history everywhere you go.  It gets under your skin, even if you're only a casual history fan.

 

That said, I did not eat at Queen Mary, save for a morning coffee at Starbucks.  The food menus were nothing special and obnoxiously overpriced.  Instead, I took the AquaLink to Alamitos Bay for dinner at In-N-Out Burger, and a normal road bus to downtown Long Beach for breakfast at a diner.

[CynCyn]

I loved the Queen Mary but agree with LandLocked on the restaurants.  I flew in late and was unprepared! One of the things I enjoyed the most was the ability to wander most of the ship independently. I hope to go back with more time to explore.

 

You will love the QM if you are a history buff.  The rooms are steeped in history which presents problems for the modern traveler- plugs are not conveniently located, HVAC system is weird, rooms and bathrooms are small (it was a cruise ship), and elevators are small and a bit scary with the groans and creaks, but all of this paled in comparison to the ability to wander around and imagine her in her glory.  You will not love the QM if you want lots of plugs, control of your AC/Heater, luxury bathroom amenities, or a large room/bathroom.

[princeton123211]

On 11/29/2020 at 11:57 PM, LandlockedCruiser01 said:

The food menus were nothing special and obnoxiously overpriced.

While I generally agree with what you're saying, to be fair to them the dinner service in Sir Winston's is (was) quite good-- never had a bad meal and it always had a nice sense of occasion and slight bit of formality not often seen in upscale Southern California restaurants. Was it cutting edge haute cuisine? No. But it was excellently prepared old school steak/seafood classics served in a pretty dining room with a nice view. Maybe the closest thing you would get to a dinner onboard when she was still in service (although the space it occupies was then the engineer's quarters!)

[LandlockedCruiser01]

2 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

While I generally agree with what you're saying, to be fair to them the dinner service in Sir Winston's is (was) quite good-- never had a bad meal and it always had a nice sense of occasion and slight bit of formality not often seen in upscale Southern California restaurants. Was it cutting edge haute cuisine? No. But it was excellently prepared old school steak/seafood classics served in a pretty dining room with a nice view. Maybe the closest thing you would get to a dinner onboard when she was still in service (although the space it occupies was then the engineer's quarters!)

 

I agree with you in principle.  But my situation was different: I was cruising solo.  A fine dining venue like Sir Winston's feels suited for a special occasion with a significant other, where the ambiance, not the food, is a #1 priority.  Its offerings didn't seem much different from the ones I can find around Chicago, so the value just wasn't there for me.  (I chose In-N-Out Burger, a uniquely California experience, for my dinner instead.)  Also, I'm uncomfortable dining alone in a nice restaurant, unless I'm on a cruise ship. :)

 

I suppose if I were cruising with a significant other, I'd splurge on Sir Winston's.  It's romantic, and I do enjoy good steak and seafood.  They're just not fun to eat alone.