Booked a non-smoking room in early May for July stay, as part of a large group. Many other groups staying there also this weekend (sports, weddings) so we were told they were out of non-smoking rooms. We tried out the room...for about half a minute. Whole family would have opted to sleep in the car than stay in the smoking room, the smell was terrible: stale smoke and musty air. The front desk however, was so nice (to us!) when she saw we'd booked month's earlier than the long line of people waiting to register after us, she somehow found us a non-smoking room (interesting). If you have lots of gear, be forewarned. The layout is horrible, no elevators, and the floors a like a maze. You don't know if you're at the front, back, or side of the hotel after mastering all the turns, doorways, mini-staircases!
It's old, it's tired, it's not in a great neighborhood, it's not even the cheapest in its class in the area. Why do people stay here? Because of the on-site bar and happy hour!

The room was a bit on the dingy side, though quite large. The construction of the room could gently be described as "cheap motel."

Other guests have mentioned being told about FREE features. I wasn't, though I probably wouldn't have availed myself of them in any case. This was just a place for some quick shut eye, and it helped me accomplish that goal.

The neighborhood is a little questionable, so don't expect to walk anywhere at night--especially to the gas station/convenience store about a block to the north.

I suppose you can't expect much when staying in Lancaster, California.

Lancaster is not a big city but if you need a hotel there the Essex House is the place to stay. We stayed there recently with a bunch of other family's from our son's Soccer team and had a great time. The rooms are fine ( I recommend the main building) but what makes this hotel is the staff. From the moment I called them prior to arrival with some questions until after I left everyone there was extremely helpful and friendly. The on site restaurant has one of the best Prime Ribs I have ever had. The local wines served there are produced by a winery owned by the owner of the hotel and are very good. All of us enjoyed the complimentary Continental Breakfast. There is also a on site pub and adults can use the health club adjacent to the hotel. Please note that kids under 18 cannot use the health club and in the winter the other pool is not heated. Bottom line is that if you are looking for a luxury hotel then I don't think that exists in Lancaster but if you are looking for a fun place to stay with a great staff then Essex House is for you.

Stayed at the Essex while in town for a soccer tournament. The experience was okay, the Essex House isn't exactly a five star hotel so we didn't expect anything great. The room we stayed in was older, had a musty smell and upon removing the covers from one bed found a strange stain, it almost looked like the bedding had not been changed after the last guest left - very disgusting. Housekeeping did come to our room quickly and resolve the issue. The room was alright for the one night we needed to stay.

Other things to watch:
Cancellation policy is not necessarily what they advertise it to be. We booked online, received a confirmation that said we could cancel up until 6PM the day of arrival. Found out the day prior to our stay that the Regional manager changed the policy to 24 hours prior to arrival. We cancelled just to be safe and when we knew we'd need the room we re-booked. I've seen this issue posted in other reviews as well so beware of the false advertisement about their cancellation policy.

Pool/Fitness center: they advertise having an indoor pool, unfortunately the pool (and fitness center) is actually in a gym across the parking lot from the hotel and is an "18 and older" facility. Kids can't go in the indoor pool, they can only use the outdoor pool (considering this time of year it is about 40 degrees at night this left for some disappointed kids).

We lived through our stay without really being impressed. Would we stay there again? Probably not unless there were no other rooms available.