Here are the hottest hotel openings in the Californian city
Last year, Los Angeles welcomed 50 million visitors for the first time ever, up 1.5 million on the year before and beating its 2020 target two years early. What comes with these ever-increasing numbers? Plenty of new hotel projects, located in a variety of neighbourhoods and catering for differing tastes and budgets.
Downtown LA has seen openings in recent years ranging from high-rises such as the Intercontinental (in the tallest building west of the Mississippi) to the revamp of the historic Hotel Figueroa (first built as a women’s hostel in 1926), with more to come in the near future.
Numerous properties are under construction in Hollywood, where the local population is expected to increase by more than 50 per cent over the next few years. Here is a selection of new and forthcoming openings in the City of Angels.
NEW…
AC Hotel Beverly Hills
Part of Marriott International’s Spanish heritage brand, the AC opened in mid-January. Housed in an 11-storey building on Wilshire Boulevard, it has 142 rooms and suites equipped with free wifi. There’s also a 24-hour gym and a rooftop pool and lounge, where drinks and tapas-inspired small bites are served. Events can be held here for up to 50 guests.
Lido House Newport Beach
Nearing its one-year anniversary, Lido House is a member of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. It has 130 rooms (including five cottages) in a Cape Cod-style building near Newport Beach marina. Mayor’s Table Pacific Pub and Kitchen is the all-day restaurant, on the site of the old city hall. The property also has a rooftop bar, a spa and a pool.
The Nomad
The Nomad opened early last year in a neoclassical building on 7th and Olive downtown – the headquarters of the Bank of Italy in the 1920s. Its 241 rooms and suites take their inspiration from the original blue-and-gold Italianate ceiling in the lobby. Food and drink options include an all-day restaurant, a rooftop bar (where there is also a pool) and the Giannini bar, named after the bank’s founder.
Rosewood Miramar Beach
Rosewood opened its new luxury property in March this year right on the soft sands of Montecito, 160km from the centre of LA near Santa Barbara. Once the site of the Miramar by the Sea hotel, it’s set in 6.5 hectares of grounds. Options among the 161 rooms and suites include those directly on the beach – dressed in the creams and blues of sand and sea – and bungalows with private terraces. The hotel has multiple restaurants, a Sense spa, two pools with cabanas, an ice-cream and burger shack, and extensive event space.
The West Hollywood Edition
A short drive west from the 1 Hotel on Sunset Boulevard, the West Hollywood Edition opened its doors in August alongside an East Coast sibling on Times Square.
Part of the Marriott International family, the hotel has 190 rooms and suites as well as 20 private residences. Facilities include a restaurant, rooftop pool, spa, and basement club. Rooms rates are around US$400 to US$500 per night.
Soho Warehouse
The third venture from Soho House and Co in California, Soho Warehouse opened last month in a 1917 brick building Downtown. In addition to the club spaces the brand offers, there are 48 bedrooms that can be booked by non-members.
The Hoxton Downtown LA
Having made its US debut in Williamsburg last autumn, the Hoxton opened in Downtown LA last month, taking over the Los Angeles Railway Building at Broadway and 11th, which dates back to 1920. Inside are 174 rooms – categorised as Snug, Cosy, Roomy and Biggy – with chevron hardwood floors and green velvet accents. A ground-floor lobby and all-day restaurant are complemented by a rooftop pool and restaurant.
1 Hotel West Hollywood
The Skidmore, Owings and Merrill-designed hotel on the corner of Sunset and La Cienega boulevards was transformed into the 1 Hotel West Hollywood during the summer. The eco-luxury brand’s signature natural fabrics, reclaimed wood and bursts of green are present throughout the 285 rooms and suites, and the hotel boasts a restaurant, rooftop bar, pool deck and gym.
Santa Monica Proper Hotel
The 271-room Santa Monica Proper opened in June this year. Located a few blocks from the ocean, it’s partially set in a 1920s Spanish Colonial Revival building and has restaurants on the ground floor and the sixth-floor rooftop (where there is also a pool), plus a gym and sizeable retail and meeting space.
IMPROVED…
SLS Hotel Beverly Hills
A short drive northwest of the AC hotel, SLS Beverly Hills completed a renovation in summer last year as part of its tenth-anniversary celebrations. It features 297 freshly decorated rooms and suites alongside food and drink options overseen by chef Jose Andres.
COMING SOON…
Pendry West Hollywood
Head east instead of west from the 1 Hotel and you’ll almost immediately hit the site of the future Pendry West Hollywood, occupying a full city block on the corner of Olive Drive. Opening next year, it will have 149 rooms and suites and 40 private residences. Restaurants, bars and a rooftop pool are all planned, but the list continues with a members’ club, a screening room and bowling alley.
The Godfrey Hotel Hollywood
The Godfrey is due to open early next year on Cahuenga Boulevard. It will have 220 rooms across seven floors, with those on the second floor offering private terraces. The rooftop will have a pool plus both indoor and outdoor bars. About Last Knife will be a gastropub-meets-steakhouse on the ground floor.
Downtown LA Proper Hotel
Next to The Hoxton is the Downtown LA Proper Hotel, a conversion of the LA Press Club and Case Hotel building. Scheduled to launch at the end of the year, the 148 rooms include penthouse suites that incorporate a former indoor pool and basketball court. Eateries on the ground floor and rooftop (which will also be home to a pool and bar) will be overseen by restaurateurs Caroline Styne and Suzanne Goin.
Fairmont Century Plaza
In Century City, the 1966 Century Plaza hotel is due to be reborn as Fairmont Century Plaza in early 2020. Part of a US$2.5 billion mixed-use redevelopment, it will have ust under 400 rooms and suites, 63 branded residences, food and drink outlets, shops, a garden, a spa, a gym, a rooftop pool and meeting space. The site will also have two 46-storey towers with 290 private residences.
Park Hyatt at Oceanwide Plaza
Hyatt plans to add another 40 hotels – a 45 per cent increase – on the west coast between now and the end of 2021. That includes the Park Hyatt Los Angeles at Oceanwide Plaza, near the LA Convention Centre. Due next year, it will have 184 rooms and 164 residences. Also in 2020, LAX airport will welcome Hyatt House (129 rooms) and Hyatt Place (272 rooms), while its Centric brand is heading to Koreatown with 310 rooms in 2021. Still scheduled for this year is a 64-room Hollywood hotel that will be part of the group’s Unbound Collection.
Thompson Hollywood, Tommie Hollywood
Included in Hyatt’s 40 new properties, both a Thompson hotel and a Tommie hotel are planned following the group’s acquisition of Two Roads Hospitality last year. Just west of the Dream Hotel, Thompson will have 197 rooms – including 24 corner suites with balconies – that mix mid-century modernism with Palm Springs bohemia. Elsewhere in the 12-storey building will be three restaurants and bars, meeting space and a rooftop pool. Around the corner, lifestyle brand Tommie will have 212 compact rooms and a rooftop pool. Both are due in the first half of next year.
Citizen M Hollywood and Downtown LA
Dutch brand Citizen M has properties in the pipeline in both Hollywood and Downtown LA, with opening dates yet to be confirmed. The former will have 216 rooms next to the landmark circular Capitol Records building. The 315-room Citizen M Downtown will be housed in an 11-storey building on the corner of 4th and Spring Street.
Paul J Devries
