Stayed in the Freehand because I needed some cheap accommodation for a short holiday in LA.
As a European, LA is super daunting in terms of scale and I was worried that the Freehand was pretty far from anything interesting. However, it is located minutes from a central Metro station and has loads of bus links, so it was extremely easy to get to the beach, Hollywood and Universal Studio. It also is pretty ideally situated for shops and food places.
Sharing with 7 other people obviously makes the rooms quite cramped (but that is to be expected) and they are otherwise very clean, well-maintained and just very pleasant to stay in. The rooftop bar and cafe downstairs are also very cool. Also pretty nice that there was space for eating your own food and a gym, just in case.
Your mileage may vary a little depending on who else stays in your room, but my experience is that the other guests are polite, friendly and conscientious.
Overall, genuinely awesome spot and incredible value for money.