Hollywood Ghost Walk

ARRIVED FOR TOUR on May 21^st waited for half an hour; no one showed up. Their policy is to notify 48 hrs in advance if tour is cancelled, which I did not receive. Double checked my e-​mail upon returning home to see an e-​mail sent at 9:02am saying the tour was cancelled.
I have had to reschedule this tour a couple of times due to not enough people. (I do not know what constitutes ENOUGH people) There was another couple waiting as well who apparently did not get the e-​mail either. Apparently the reviews indicate that people who ACTUALLY WENT on the tour enjoyed it. The trick is getting a tour date with enough participants.

This company CANCELLED TWICE on me on the day of the tour. TWICE, they confirmed two days before only to CANCEL on the day of the tour because they did not have enough people. I question this company’s commitment to its clients. I cannot recommend using this tour group if you are trying to plan ahead for out of town guest. Maybe if you are a walk up client. Buyer beware here!

I bought a Groupon for this tour to go last Saturday with a friend of mine. The tour started off ok and we didn’t have any trouble redeeming the Groupon code for the ticket. I do however remember thinking that the actual website linked to the tour did not make it very clear which code to use to redeem the ticket. I went with the actual Groupon code and not my member number which worked out though it seemed like it would take either.
The tour itself was aggressively anti-​ghost. Literally every time our guide told us a ghost story, which was surprisingly not that many, she would follow up with a reason why we would likely not see a ghost there. For example «some ppl have spotted faces from the 1940s in the windows here, but likely those ppl were just drunk…» It kind of killed some of the mystery behind it. Another story was about this building that the owner claimed was haunted but was actually not… My friend and I actually left the tour early. The best part was when someone on my tour contradicted the tour guide dismissing a ghost myth by saying he worked in that building and had felt the ghosts tug on his clothes…
Maybe the tour is better with a different type guide?

I got this deal though livingsocial and got my money’s worth. Josh made the tour exciting and fun. He was kind, funny and knowledgeable on the history of LA. Let’s just say that I have lived in LA for 10 years and have been to most of the spots we visited or have passed by and never knew the history. Tonight all of that has changed. This town is filled with much sadness, tragedy and secrets. We even met a local who shared some stories about past events that took place in the place he inhabits. I recommend this tour to anyone looking for some history on some old starlets and scandals.

I checked out the Hollywood Ghost Walk tour thanks to a groupon deal. I went tonight with my husband and best friend and the 3 of us loved it. The tour guide, Josh, is super nice and knowledgable, and it was clear he made much effort to study up on the history and ghost stories of the various places he showed us. At each stop, he had multiple stories to share, making sure to provide specific dates and names. We had around 15 people in the group and he always looked around to keep us all accounted for (Hollywood Blvd is a VERY crowded street!). He also spoke loudly and clearly so we could all hear (poor guy was losing his voice). The vibe was laid-​back and we were able to chat with him and ask questions and make jokes. The highlight of our tour happened at the Knickerbocker Hotel where we met a man who lived in the building. He gave us a first-​hand account of paranormal activity that happened right in his room! (I really wanted to ask him to show us his place but I doubt he would’ve been okay with a bunch of strangers seeing his home.) We were, however, able to go into the lobby and check out this $ 120K chandelier. The lobby was also the area where I Love Lucy’s Fred Mertz died.
Overall, I really enjoyed this tour and recommend it to tourists and locals. The only reason why I’m not giving this 5 stars is because I think Josh could’ve had something more visible to follow him since it does get super crowded on the street. He had a grey-​olive umbrella to hold up but even then, that color blends into the crowds. The street gets pretty loud too, with all the people and music, so I felt bad he had to yell at times. I also recommended to him that he get headsets for the group (and keep the group small) to make it easier to keep everyone together and have less headsets to purchase. He was super receptive to the idea. Good guy and good tour!

I received a Groupon for the Hollywood Ghost Walk from
(
) as a gift. I was really excited to go. .. until the tour got cancelled on me. Twice.
(which appears to also go by the business name «Celebrity Planet,» and to be primarily based in the UK) offers several walking tours in the LA area, including a Saturday evening ghost tour, priced at $ 35/​person for a 2-​hour tour for the full price, non-​Groupon rate.
Or rather, I should say that they claim to offer a Saturday evening ghost tour. I first signed up for a tour online for a date in mid-​April. You have to pay when you sign up; I was able to pay by entering my Groupon voucher number.
I received an email confirmation — and then one day before the tour was scheduled, received an email notice that it had been cancelled, due to lack of participants. There was a link for rescheduling; the link didn’t work.
I contacted customer service, and they were able to reschedule me. I booked a tour for the evening of Saturday, May 2. Today — Thursday April 30 — I again received an email that the tour had been cancelled, due to lack of participants.
Each of these emails claims that «90% of our tours run on time.» This is obviously a lie — granted, I had a limited sample size, but ⁰⁄₂ is a pretty bad record. I suspect that they have very few people participating, and cancel tours very regularly.
Mind you, they cancelled a tour that had ALREADY BEEN PAID FOR. A tour of the sort that out of towners — who are unlikely to be able to reschedule at the last minute — are likely to sign up for. There was a link to rescheduling, but no link to a place to ask for a refund. Talk about shady business practices…
Groupon is still offering discount vouchers for this company — don’t fall for it!