I booked the Crowne Plaza as a pre-cruise hotel that is very close to the LA Harbor where Royal Caribbean ships are berthed. I won the hotel with a $65 bid on Priceline, which seems to be a standard winning price at this property. I called a week ahead of time to see about requesting a room with two beds as I was traveling with my mother, and was told by the reservations person at the hotel that I had a king room and that if I didn't like it, I'd have to take it up with Priceline. I"m used to being denied this type of request befroe check-in, but the usual response is that a note will be made on the reservation in case a desired room was available. Not so here, and I felt it was handled a little poorly, but figured I might have better luck upon check-in.

We caught an early, direct flight out of Indianapolis to LAX, and with the time change, we actually arrived at 8:30 AM. I had arranged a SuperShuttle to take us to the hotel ($17/pp), and we were dropped off around 10 AM. The lady at the front desk was very helpful and not only gave use a room with two beds, but also let us check in 5 hours early. I appreciated this, and we headed up to our room on the fifth floor. As per usual with a Priceline room, it was located at the end of the hall, but for the savings and the quietness that provides ... who cares? The room itself was very clean, though missing a few things (some of the sleep ammenities promised, a second coffee mug, etc), but we got these from a housekeeper we saw around. I was disappointed though that the wireless internet service was down and that the TV was getting horrible reception. The internet eventually started working ($10/day) and I figured out that I could get a good TV signal if I twisted the cord in back until it came through clearly. We ate lunch at the hotel restaurant and it was fine, though the food was nothing great and the service was pretty slow. The pool is a small outside one, along with a hot tub, and the exercise room consists of a treadmill, an elliptical, a few recumbent bikes, and various weight machines. I was slightly perturbed by the fact that there were no cleaning supplies in they gym as they had obviously run out a while ago and simply had not been replaced.

We decided to get out of the room and walk around San Pedro. It was a Sunday afternoon and was very quiet. You can tell there is some neighborhood rejuvenation going on because of all of the places being ripped up and turned into apartments and condos. Within a few blocks of the hotel in each direction it seemed like a nice area, and then after that, buildings started deteriorating. There was a grocery/liquor store east of the hotel a block or two, but it looked a little scary to me. There are also a lot of shops and restaurants the opposite direction along the harbor.

Later in the day, we headed towards the harbor and ate at a Mexican restaurant called The Green Onion. Prices were decent and the food was very good, though my mom later thought that the food didn't agree with her. The next morning we went to the Pacific Cafe, across the street from the hotel (exiting through the restaurant door). This was a nice little place that was seemingly run by a single lady, and I was able to get a ham/cheese omelet with two slices of sourdough toast for $3.95. The food was quite decent and the price could not be beat ... I'd definitely recommend this place over a chain like Starbucks (which is just down the block on the same side of the street as the hotel).

The Crowne Plaza offered a free shuttle to the port starting at 10:30. We went down at about 10:45, climbed aboard, and were the only ones taken over to the ship. This shuttle picks up from the port, and it will also take people to a local mall and supposedly other places within a 5-mile radius. I asked about being taken to an In-N-Out Burger and was told "maybe later" that really seemed to be a "no" even though it was 3 miles away.

All-in-all, this was a good stay and I would not hesitate to stay at this hotel again for a pre-cruise.

I am truly surprised this only gets a three-star rating on my travel sites: it was far better than the Hyatt we went to the following night. In the future I'll stay in San Pedro for any business I have in Long Beach: it costs less and the rooms here are much nicer than those I have seen in LB proper. Really an excellent bed.

We were going on a 7 night cruise to Mexico from San Pedro and were driving from Northern California. We wanted a place to stay near the dock and that had some kind of parking and shuttle. It did not have to be fancy, but it had to be clean and comfortable and easy. This hotel fit the bill AND MORE.

We seriously looked at the Vagabond up the hill from this place but it had mixed reviews and it only seemed to have one-way transport, and it looked less comfortable and in a so-so location. Vagabond was going to be $130 for one night and parking. Crowne Plaza was $189 for room, 2 drinks, full breakfast, indoor parking, and both way shuttle.

The people were the friendliest we have seen at a hotel in a long time. They will either valet your car or you can self park in the garage. The shuttle driver, desk clerk and luggage handlers were all super friendly, considering they do a lot of schlepping of luggage with this many cruisers. I think the majority of their business is cruise related. They are ina better neighborhood in San Pedro, which seems to be getting a makeover.

The room was very comfy, and they included a little bottle of lavendar room spray, sleep mask and a cd of soothing music. Nothing fancy but a real nice touch. Decor is new and modern with some nice maritime photos. Clean and fresh linens.

We ordered room service at 10pm when we got in and it came real fast and was very good. With 2 kids we have gotten to be real experts on room service, and this was on par with the best we have had before.

Breakfast was a full buffet with hot and cold food. You get two adult tickets with the $189 "park and sail" package.

Apparently the 10th floor is a "concierge" floor that has a complimentary snacks and and meals, which is more common on higher-end chains than this one.

They shuttled us to the cruise dock which is literaly about 5 blocks away and things went very smoothly on both ends of the cruise. I would definitely stay here again if I was in San Pedro, and this is a no-brainer for night before cruising.

We arrived at the Crowne Plaza hotel the evening before our cruise. Upon arrival we were immediately greeted by a nicely dressed gentleman that asked us if we needed help with our luggage. We did need some assistance and a very nice man assisted us happily. The check-in process was quick and simple. The front staff wasn’t overly friendly; they could use a happy class. The hotel is beautiful, we were very impressed. The room was very nice as well. We had a double bed room that overlooked the pool. The room is decorated with warm colors and beautiful white linens. The bathroom had granite counter tops and was very clean. There was a small bag that contained ear plugs, eye mask and a nice lavender linen spray. The beds were very comfortable. My only complaint is our room was next to the elevator, and oh my it was so noisy. I turned on the air conditioner to mute the sound, and it worked okay. The next day we had no problem getting a free shuttle ride to the pier. It was overall a nice place to stay.