Five of the Very Best Luxury Hotels in LA by Maria Shollenbarger
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There are two very good reasons why LA is such a great winter travel destination: firstly, the temperatures that regularly rise into the mid-20s, even in March (that’s 'on-the-beach-in-shorts' weather...); and the kicker: luxury hotels in LA are so stylish and so crammed with glamorous dining options and deliciously decadent spas, that even the most winter-weary cubicle jockey will come away feeling like a pampered A-lister.
Here are five of the very best...
1. The Beverly Hills Hotel
The power breakfast is back in full force at Polo Lounge in the Beverley Hills Hotel, but it’s certainly not the only attraction that this grandest of luxury hotels in LA has going for it. The bungalows are booked all year long by the pool their VIP cabanas - some sipping fresh guava or kiwi juices, some partaking of luxurious spa treatments (the hotel's La Prairie Spa, the only one on the West Coast, opened a couple of years back).
2. The Hotel Bel-Air
The gorgeous, exclusive enclave that is The Hotel Bel-Air is your destination for a pre-dinner cocktail; book a table on the terrace - it’s one of LA’s most elegant spots on a balmy evening, with a cosy outdoor fireplace for those crisper ones. Amid the city’s sometimes oversaturated levels of flash and bling, this is an old-school, pitch-perfect balance of traditional luxury and laid-back SoCal glamour (read: if you’re considering wearing flip-flops, pair them with a Charvet shirt - worn open-necked, of course).
A stay at the Bel-Air is a one-of-a-kind, only-in-LA experience, from the signature jacquard linens enveloping the California-king beds to the upcoming ultra-luxe spa, discreetly located on the hotels’ grounds and offering a vast array of top treatments, either in one of 10 opulently appointed suites or al fresco on a bougainvilla-draped patio (meanwhile, the hotel will dispatch a fully-trained aesthetician to your room to administer treatments if you want total privacy).
3. The Beverly Wiltshire
Where to eat the best food? Angelenos are still chattering about Cut, the über-chic steakhouse (food by Wolfgang Puck, interiors by Richard Meier) in the Beverly Wilshire. For the scene-iest pizzeria in town, head to Osteria Mozza, Mario Batali’s casual-chic, perennially packed boite on Melrose that serves up standard Tuscan classics given a modern twist. And The Terrace at the Sunset Tower is an all but guaranteed star-sighting event (with, as a bonus, a gorgeous aerie of a dining room, open to the palm-surrounded pool and breezes carried east from the Pacific).
4. Chateau Marmont
A few miles west on Sunset lies L.A’s Ground Zero for cool: The Chateau Marmont. Its style - equal parts slightly faded Spanish-colonial elegance and rock-’n’roll rakishness - is oft-imitated but never equalled. On any given day, you’ll see a cross-section of the biggest players in the media world, from celebrity editors-in-chief to indie film directors to card-carrying Rock Stars to socialites famous for indeterminate reasons. They might be nonchalantly lunching in the courtyard or downing whiskey sodas at Bar Marmont. So make like one of them, and splurge on a garden bungalow. With their homey Arts and Crafts tables, whitewashed plain wood walls, easy pool access, and luxuriously-stocked kitchens (Whole Foods? Erewhon? Call ahead with your requests), they’re the ultimate place to simultaneously escape it all and know you’re at the very center of the action.
5. Shutters on the Beach
If a trip to LA simply wouldn’t rate without an ocean view, get thee down to Shutters On The Beach. Designer by local interiors vizier Michael Smith, the hotel is an opulently-appointed haven masquerading as a sprawling Cape Cod cottage - all seashells and sisal flooring, overstuffed chairs and four-poster beds. The view over Santa Monica beach, and its Cinemascope sunsets, can’t be beat. Neither can a Chill Out facial and seaweed wrap at the hotel’s One spa, which uses products by cult hero Ole Henriksen.
Planning a trip to the City of Angels? See our full collection of luxury hotels in Los Angeles or read about things to do in Los Angeles .