Top 10: the best five-star hotels in Los Angeles
An insider's guide to the best five-star hotels in Los Angeles, from luxury beach hotels to historic grande dames laced with Hollywood history, including the best for beach access, rooftop pools, Michelin restauarants and fabulous spas, in areas including Hollywood, downtown LA, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills.
Hotel Bel-Air looks like Barbara Cartland’s dream hotel, with its pink stucco front, 12 acres of gardens and lake filled with swans. Everyone is treated like a VIP, which is quite a feat considering the celebrities usually in attendance (Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman to name but a few). Perks include a La Prairie beauty spa, outdoor pool and complimentary transport to destinations within a three-mile radius. Rooms, which range from lofts in the spa complex to patio suites with gardens, have iPads and Japanese toilets. There’s a Michelin-starred restaurant by Wolfgang Puck.
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Oh, if the palm-printed walls of The Beverly Hills Hotel could talk. Elizabeth Taylor honeymooned here with six of her seven husbands; Faye Dunaway learnt how to swim in the pool; and a Yoko Ono and John Lennon 'bed-in' was staged in one of the bungalows. So many parts of the property are instantly recognisable, from the bubblegum pink plastering to the green-candy-striped pool beds. Service is faultless. Rooms have a modern Californian design and marble bathrooms. There are plenty of exciting places to linger, from the bougainvillea-draped courtyard to the Polo Bar, where many a Hollywood deal has been struck.
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Chateau Marmont has remained the go-to hotel for Hollywood stars, who pop in and out largely unseen. It’s modelled on the Loire Valley's Chateau d’Amboise; expect frescoed vaulted ceilings, estate furniture and a warren of secret entrances and exits. Guests can opt for modern rooms, or one of the nine Spanish cottages, two poolside bungalows and two hillside bungalows dotted around the place. The Garden restaurant is run by top chef Carolynn Spence, formerly of New York’s Spotted Pig.
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This high-rise hotel next to the Sunset Strip is a sophisticated retreat — with its gleaming marble-clad lobby, velvet sofas, and soft muted colours and lighting. Staff are top notch and there is a rooftop pool, tennis courts and a spa. The best thing about the sleeping quarters is the oversized bathrooms with double showers, mosaic tiles and apothecary products. It’s New American cuisine in the restaurant; try the tortilla jalapeno soup or smoked lamb ribs.
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A wonderfully creative hotel full of fantastical ideas: chairs shaped like teacups and white bathrooms that glow like the futuristic spaces in ‘2001 A Space Odyssey’. There’s a rooftop pool, gym and Philippe Starck-designed spa. The rooms, with their faux mink bedspreads, have a glam modernist feel. Saam restaurant does molecular gastronomy: think cotton candy foie gras, liquid olives and dragon’s breath popcorn. The SLS Patisserie serves up treats worthy of Alice in Wonderland.
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Hobnob with the occasional celebrity at this seaside American beach house in Santa Monica. Artworks by David Hockney and Roy Lichtenstein decorate the public areas. There’s a pool and spa, and balconied bedrooms make you feel like are staying at your own private beach cottage, with their white wooden shutters that open to catch the sea breeze. The three dining venues include 1 Pico; think a crackling fireplace and seafood delights like California white bass with black truffle vinaigrette.
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No other lodgings in Hollywood have as much character as this 1927 hotel, where the first Academy Awards ceremony was held. A plain fa?ade hides an exquisite interior done in Spanish Colonial Revival style. But that's only half the story. The glamorous poolside area plays out a mid-20th-century modern theme, apropos to Hollywood's golden days when Marilyn Monroe slept in a suite here. After sunset, it transforms into an open-air lounge with cocktails, and killer DJs. Rooms have four-poster beds and gorgeously-tiled bathrooms. Make time for 25 Degrees, a round-the-clock diner serving boozy milkshakes and knockout burgers.
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Rose bushes and California citrus trees bloom on landscaped grounds that are hidden from the street by a high wall. Inside, a baby grand piano, overstuffed sofas and marble floors adorn the lobby. Staff provide top-class service, and rooms have Italian furnishings and city-view balconies. Facilities include a pool (with signature peach and prosecco cocktails) and small gym. The restaurant has the atmosphere of a members-only club and does Italian-American cuisine.
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Casa del Mar started as a beach club for Hollywood A-listers in the Roaring Twenties, and is one of only two hotels in the Los Angeles area with direct beach access. The design is a mixture of quintessential coastal California and classic Italian with its ornate Spanish tiled floors and Venetian chandeliers. Service is excellent, and there’s a swimming pool and hot tub overlooking the ocean. Raffia-wallpapered bookcases, comfy armchairs and four-poster beds encourage one to linger in the room. Bathrooms have hydrothermal massage tubs.
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This surprisingly sophisticated downtown high rise offers a change of pace from Santa Monica's barefoot beach hotels. Think shag rugs, glowing candles and butterscotch leather seats.While there's no swimming pool, the hotel does have a gym. Rooms have Egyptian cotton linens and Bulgari amenities in the bathrooms, where glass-enclosed showers are inlaid with Italian stone. The rooftop Penthouse is always packed with fashionable clientele, and does seafood and steaks come dinner time.