Here Are the Chicest Hotels in Los Angeles

In some destinations, hotels are just a place to sleep in between hitting up cool restaurants, interesting museums, and the most iconic tourism sites the city has to offer. But in Los Angeles, the hotels often are tourist attractions unto themselves, with long histories and unbelievable anecdotes—the members of Led Zeppelin did what, where?!—behind every guest door. For those interested in exploring Hollywood’s golden age, one need only pull up a pool lounger in the same places where Greta Garbo felt safe or Elizabeth Taylor got romantic (or check into one of the many suites where Marilyn Monroe or Howard Hughes lived for years). Many of these hotels have made aesthetic choices, from pools rimmed by palm trees or pink and green color palettes, that may have formed your very mental image of Los Angeles in the first place.

The classic hotels have, of course, all been updated over the years to offer state-of-the-art amenities and get a fresh coat of paint—but if they’re still not your bag, Los Angeles has plenty more contemporary lodgings, typically with cutting-edge food and cocktail programs and regular cultural events. And there’s many outside the Hollywood Hills or Beverly Hills, with new hotels routinely popping up in downtown L.A. near the arts district, or along the shores of Malibu. Do you want to relax on the sand, spot celebrities eating salad, hold meetings in a sexy bar over experimental cocktails, or party at a rooftop pool? There’s a Tinseltown hotel for every mood.