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Relax and enjoy the elegant yet affordable accommodations in the heart of West Hollywood on the legendary Sunset Strip. The rooms are fitted with comfortable, king-size beds or two queen-size beds as well as rooms with fully-equipped kitchens. No matter where you want to go, you can easily get there from here – the original Comedy Club is just across the street.
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The Beverly Hills Hotel has been in Beverly Hills since 1912, before the city was even born. Shamelessly glamorous, the hotel has been a playground to everyone from Rudolph Valentino to Howard Hughes to Katharine Hepburn. Elizabeth Taylor honeymooned with six of her eight husbands in the famously private bungalows. Some of the luxuries include an Olympic-sized outdoor swimming pool, two outdoor tennis courts, beauty salon, men's shop and limo service. Despite the decadent, the hotel remains refreshingly unpretentious, with service-oriented staff and the best original touches have been retained, like butler service at the touch of a button.
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When it comes to Angelino shopping favourites, it’s hard to beat Third Street, with its fabulous little shops devoted to travel books, cookbooks, high concept decor, upscale bath products and candles. While this alone is enough to lure guests, this hotel refuses to rely on location alone by fitting in almost every big hotel amenity – pool, fitness and sundeck. An unassuming facade welcomes guests into an intimate marble lobby attached to Cava, a small tapas restaurant and bar serving Spanish and Mediterranean classics. Tiny elevators ferry guests to modestly-sized, yet stylish guest rooms.
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Many US presidents, members of international royalty and movie stars, have stayed at this glitzy Westside destination. Its dazzling 1960s architecture with its trademark sweeping curved facade is located right in the heart of Century City, which is convenient to all sides of LA from Santa Monica to downtown. Guest rooms feature soft, warm colours, mixing contemporary and classic California style. The hotel features four swimming pools, each smaller than the last to form an impressive water sculpture within the 10-acre tropical gardens. Guests can indulge a day off pampering and relaxation at the plush in- hotel spa.
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The Chateau Marmont, a Norman-style château, is a landmark from 1920s-era Hollywood. This beautifully kept, eternally chic, faultlessly service oriented hotel is overflowing with Hollywood and rock'n’roll lore but it’s not for everybody. This is a place where quirkiness rules, so don’t expect traditional luxuries. It’s best for those with left-of-centre attitudes and a real penchant for Hollywood romanticism. The hotel has played host to everyone from John Lennon to Elizabeth Taylor because of its lure of seclusion, situated on top of a hill and hidden by thick foliage. The bungalows away from the main building are favoured for privacy and John Belushi died in Number 2 in 1982.
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Just a quick walk from the Pacific Ocean and mere blocks from posh Montana Avenue and the lively Third Street Promenade shopping area, these Moorish Mediterranean apartments are for travellers who are seeking a truly authentic Southern California beach experience. Built in 1927, these classically elegant individually furnished suites that offer period kitchens, separate bedrooms, antiques, iron beds and pristine 1920s bathrooms. Their stylish lobby is graced with a grand piano and a hand-carved reception desk, and ornate windows look out onto amazing formal gardens featuring fountains and native and exotic plantings and the Palisades Park.
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This Fairfax district country-chic motel is the first choice in hip lodging for budget travellers. Set on three-levels, this motel wraps around an airy patio with wooden tables and gingham covered lounge chairs, a small swimming pool and a free parking lot. Rooms are cosy, with country touches like fake chickens, cow skin rugs and denim bedspreads. Merging old with the new, all rooms have modern conveniences like high-speed internet access, in-room CD/DVD player, rain showerheads and pungent aromatic soaps.
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Everyone from Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie to Gwyneth Paltrow and Morgan Freeman have been known to check into the Four Seasons. The hotel prides itself on treating any paying client whether they are in showbiz, a sports celebrity, have political power or Joe Average like royalty. Each room contains the famous custom beds, specially made for the Four Seasons by Sealy. Available for sale, nearly 300 guests have opted to make their bedrooms a home away from Four Seasons. Other luxuries include Bulgari bath products, free limo service to Rodeo Drive, and a business centre.
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hotel in the LAX area. Hugely popular because of its simple quality and convenience with conventioneers, commercial airline pilots and flight attendants who arrive here in their droves. Guest rooms are spacious but plain, designed for short business stays rather than a leisurely, atmospheric visit. There are breathtaking views of approaching 747s, but other than that, the area is sparse for entertainment or culture. An intimate Italian restaurant gives guests a break from the overall enormity of the hotel.
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Originally constructed by Oil baron and Bel-Air Estates founder Alphonso E Bell for office space, years later, it was converted into this grand hotel in 1940. Compared by many to an Eden like oasis in LA’s busy metropolises, guests enter via a miniature bridge, which crosses the hotel’s signature Swan Lake with its cascading waterfalls. Inside the hotel, the antique furnishings will make any one feel like royalty. Guests can wander through 12 lushly landscaped acres, all secluded to ensure privacy. Guests seeking complete seclusion should ask for the Swan Lake Suite, which has a private entry gate.
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uilt in the 1960s when it was referred to as the Riot House thanks to its rock and roll clientele such as Led Zeppelin, this Sunset Strip landmark is fresh out of a seven million dollar rehabilitation. Despite now having a much tamer reputation it still offers touring rock bands, celebrities and tourists a sizzling hotel experience. When the sun sets, head for the hotel’s Tramonto restaurant and bar which are premiere Sunset Strip hangouts, as featured in the film, Almost Famous.
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This huge hotel offers ocean views, in a setting, which successfully mixes the combination of contemporary and traditional Californian style. There is a sumptuous spa designed to lure those guests who put pampering high on their list of priorities, offering every kind of treatment known to the West Coast. The spacious guest rooms are described as 'Zen meets millennium’. As for location, the hotel can’t be beaten with its convenience to the Santa Monica beach its historic pier and Third Street Promenade shopping.
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Even though this hotel is located just off the Sunset Strip, it is a quiet and impeccably stylish place hidden away in a quiet residential neighbourhood. Le Montrose has recently been tastefully refurbished and what it may lack in location by being slightly off the strip it makes up for with great service and attention to detail. Rooms on the higher floors afford spectacular city views, as does the rooftop pool, where you might find yourself hard-pressed to pull yourself out from under the shade of the cabanas.
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New York hotelier Ian Schrager collaborated with French designer Philippe Starck on to create a beautiful hotel for beautiful people. The Mondrian is also home to the trendy Skybar, an open-air hut with a tin roof, is surrounded by great views of the city and a non-chlorinated pool. Although it’s difficult for non-industry types to slip past the Skybar’s velvet rope, hotel guests are always allowed entry. As you wander around this hotel, it’s the little details that catch your eye reminding you the Mondrian is the winning combination of acclaimed artistry and architecture. Each room features luxuries like CD player, fresh flowers and candles.
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The Mosaic Hotel Beverly Hills is small, elegant yet still groovy-stylish, and very personable. Just two blocks from Rodeo Drive, it is close enough to the stores yet just far enough away from the shopping- tourist-traffic noise. The hotel features Frette linens, rainforest showerheads, CD players in room, oversized workspace, complimentary high speed internet, Bulgari Bath Products and much more. Although the pool is quite small, it is framed well with exotic palm trees to mask the bland grey corporate buildings surrounding.
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An impressive 12 storeys high, this glass tower in Korea Town features a large, mall-like marble lobby with an elegant lounge, a café for drinks and coffee, fresh sushi and sashimi at Saka-e and contemporary California cuisine at Tulips Garden Restaurant. There are 385 guest rooms and suites, which are equipped with wet bars, sitting areas and floor-to- ceiling windows with city and Hollywood Hills views. The hotel also offers luxurious amenities such as chauffeured Town Car service, a full health club and a swimming pool sundeck with yellow-and- white striped chaise lounges.
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Hollywood’s newest hotel as part of the early 2000s revamp of Hollywood boasts not only fantastic views of the Hollywood sign but also a secret passage to the Academy Awards. The Renaissance is located right next to the Hollywood and Highland complex, which contains the Kodak Theatre, home to the Academy Awards, and an assortment of shops and restaurants. The unique Panorama suite, which occupies the former circular restaurant on the roof, boasts a 270- degree view. Whilst the hotel is designed to fulfil guests’ expectations of mid-century Hollywood glamour, much of it feels like a theme park.
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Host to the very first Academy Awards in 1929, this hotel used to count Marilyn Monroe as a frequent visitor. These days the Roosevelt is celebrity free but a firm favourite amongst visitors for its heart of Hollywood location. The hotel is rumoured to be haunted by some of its former famous guests, including a mirror from Marilyn Monroe’s dressing room, in which she is said to appear occasionally. The hotel boasts three restaurants include the Cinegrill, Theodore’s Restaurant and Grand Central Coffee, the former infamous for its Champagne Sunday brunches.
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Designed in the art deco style of the late 1930s, this Santa Monica landmark is just a block from the bustling Third Street Promenade. Although many of its suites have starred in feature films, TV shows, commercials and magazine shoots, it is considered overrated by some. Rooms range in size from tiny studios to spacious suites, which have been restored to reflect the original decor, with shell lamps, pink and mauve colours, frosted mirrors and deco-style furniture. With several obvious minuses such as no restaurant, pool or room service, the hotel does make up for it in eccentric charm.
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The rock social scene is ready to roll at this boutique hotel catering to the late riser. It has evolved into a Mecca for visiting rockers since it opened in 1963 on the edge of the Sunset Strip. The on-site recording studio and the abundance of nearby live music venues like the Whisky and Roxy lure a list of celebs that reads like a Who’s Who of rock and roll. The Rolling Stones, U2, KISS and Beck are among those who’ve stayed here. Ongoing renovations plus the tropical and lush landscaping and overaccommodating staff keep the rooms in demand.
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Hugely popular during Hollywood’s hay day, this art deco marvel was home to stars like Marilyn Monroe, Errol Flynn and Clark Gable, whose portraits hang on the walls of the gallery. Opened in 1929, there are 64 rooms and suites, and amenities include fresh-baked cookies left bedside during nightly turndown service, and Aveda toiletries. The building is considered to be one of the most important art deco structures in Los Angeles and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has appeared in a number of films, including Wayne’s World 2, Get Shorty, The Player, and Strange Days.
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During Prohibition, this art deco hotel was a speakeasy renowned for both famous and infamous visitors like Fatty Arbuckle and mobster Bugsy Siegel. Resident on the palm lined beachfront; the turquoise-and- gold building is a short walk to the restaurants and shops of the Third Street Promenade and the historic Santa Monica pier. Rooms come with freshly ground Starbucks coffee, complimentary shoeshine and goose down feather comforters in the suites. Hunger pangs built up by walks along the beachfront can be amply quenched by the hotel’s excellent Speakeasy Restaurant.
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Combining the bold designs of South Beach Miami with Sunset Strip cool, you get this unique hotel, complete with panoramic LA city. When furbishing this hotel staff used the ancient art of Feng Shui to ensure guests chi remains in line with their che. Available to guest are suites such as the Rat Pack suite, with black-and- whites of Frank and his martini-swilling crew, and the Urban Suite, decorated in tones of grey with added graffiti. Guests can enjoy an evening meal at Balboa, a contemporary American steakhouse and bar, before heading out to the Mediterranean garden, which features a fashionable swimming pool to join the rest of the beautiful people.
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Opulence is the key word of this European-style hotel hidden away on a pretty side street in the heart of the UES shopping district. Rooms come with Bulgari amenities, twice-daily maid service, dressing gowns and down comforters. Many of the suites have terraces and working fireplaces for those chilly fall and winter nights. Mini bars come stocked with gourmet treats from Dean & Deluca.
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Just steps away from Broadway and the theatre district, The Mansfield is an award winning Beaux Arts-style hotel, featuring copper window sheeting and an iron and glass elevator. The interiors will appeal to pre-modern tastes while featuring mahogany and steel staircases, bobesches lighting and terrazzo floors. The M Bar downstairs has a great browsing library and bartenders willing to while away an hour or two on a game of backgammon. The Yeats Boardroom seats 14 conference- style and audio/video equipment is available on request.
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There is a reason this discreet hotel is the only Five Diamond AAA/Five Star Mobil hotel in North America, nine years in a row – its flawless service and elegant but unpretentious atmosphere. It’s this lowkey ambience that attracts royalty, Hollywood’s A-list, CEOs and rock stars. Guest rooms and extensive suites are equipped with such treats as down comforters, Frette linens, fireplaces, spas and private terraces with tasteful Beverly Hills views. There is a spa where you can get treatments such a grape seed scrub or just relax by the rooftop lap pool, with its private poolside cabanas. Should you need a lift to the nearby Tiffany’s, one of the house Rolls-Royces will be happy to give you a lift.
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Part owned by Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz, and managed by André Balazs, hotelier of Chateau Marmont, this former retirement home has been transformed into one of the grooviest yet affordable places to stay on the Strip. Its Ikea-like décor is a mixture of retro and cyberspace and therefore not for everyone. An almost naked model-turned- performance artist lies in a glass display case behind the front desk, and swinging acrylic bubble chairs hang in the foyer. Keep in mind that rooms facing the Sunset Strip tend to get a little noisy on Friday and Saturday nights, thanks to the boulevard’s hectic nightlife scene.
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Built in 1911, and now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this craftsman cottage is now a cosy B&B on one of Venice’s eclectic streets, just a block from the beach. This is not your standard B&B with its well-worn furnishings and walls full of antique books, there isn’t any grand lobby or concierge but there’s a friendly and attentive landlord. The huge repeat clientele is a testament to those who don’t seem to mind the little imperfections brimming with Venice history. Each room is unique and in many slept famous former guests including Charlie Chaplin.
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