There are plenty of places to stay when visiting Los Angeles, but few hotels associated with the glamour days of Old Hollywood still exist. Style and scandal simultaneously ooze from the banana leaf-printed walls of The Beverly Hills Hotel, for example, just as the rooms of the Chateau Marmont, now a boho-chic clubhouse, have been home to A-list trysts and rockstar shenanigans.
All six of these lodgings boast celebrity guests even today, while hotel restaurants such as The Tower Bar and The Polo Lounge are institutions in their own right. The next time you’re in the City of Angels, swing by the following hot spots for a taste of Hollywood history.
The Hollywood Roosevelt
Financed by film industry pioneers like Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Louis B. Mayer (of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), and Sid Grauman (for whom the Chinese Theater across the street was once named), The Hollywood Roosevelt was built in the 1920s, serving as the venue for the first-ever Academy Awards in 1929. Situated on the Walk of Fame, step inside to be transported to cinema’s Golden Age: the lobby’s wrought-iron chandeliers, tiled fountains, and painted coffered ceilings are characteristic of the era’s popular Spanish Colonial Revival style.
Shirley Temple, Prince, and Angelina Jolie are among the hotel’s noteworthy guests. Marilyn Monroe even lived at the Roosevelt for two years, and legend has it that she still haunts her favorite room, Suite 1200.
There are seven bars and restaurants located on the property, including one within the basement’s bowling alley, but consider venturing out to Musso & Frank Grill—the famous Hollywood steakhouse practically synonymous with the power lunch—which is just two blocks away.
The Beverly Hills Hotel
There’s no L.A. stay more recognizable than The Beverly Hills Hotel. Its pink facade, painted in 1948, appears on the cover of the Eagles’ Hotel California and may have loosely inspired their song of the same name.
The establishment is so iconic that it predates the city of Beverly Hills itself, while its palm tree-lined driveway and red carpeted entrance make every guest feel like a movie star. Joan Crawford used to arrive in her chauffeured Rolls-Royce, and The Beatles once snuck to their private poolside cabana in disguise. After all, The Beverly Hills Hotel is a place to see and be seen—its esteemed restaurant, The Polo Lounge, has served the Rat Pack, Marlene Dietrich, and Charlie Chaplin, among others; today, it’s still one of the best places for a star sighting.
Known for its impeccable service, The Beverly Hills Hotel goes to great lengths to accommodate even the most demanding of guests: Madonna and Mariah Carey have stayed in Bungalow 5, where Elizabeth Taylor spent six out of eight honeymoons, and the notoriously reclusive producer Howard Hughes regularly had roast beef sandwiches delivered to a nook in a tree.
Bungalow 5 at The Beverly Hills Hotel
Chateau Marmont
It’s name-checked in Lana Del Rey’s “Off to the Races,” a main character in Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere, and the location of W’s annual Best Performances party, but don’t let the Chateau Marmont’s $900-on-average room rates fool you, this place is imbued with equal measures of glamour and debauchery.
“If you must get into trouble, do it at the Marmont,” Columbia Pictures boss Harry Cohn cautioned his stars, and get into trouble many did—Jim Morrison fell two stories trying to swing between balconies, while Jean Harlow carried out an affair with Clark Gable in a room adjoined to the suite she shared with her third husband.
Everyone from tabloid fixtures to literary greats have graced the Chateau’s French Gothic halls, which today are trimmed with longtime resident Helmut Newton’s moody black-and-white nudes. The former apartment building was erected at the dawn of the talkies, and with just 63 rooms, it’s a celebrated celebrity hideaway.
Sunset Tower Hotel
Considered one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in Los Angeles, the Sunset Tower opened in 1929 as a luxury apartment hotel. At different times, Frank Sinatra and John Wayne occupied the penthouse, and mobster Bugsy Siegel’s former apartment on the ground floor has since been converted into the acclaimed Tower Bar. Cozy up by the fireplace for a drink, enjoy some live jazz, and catch spectacular views of the city. If only those walnut-paneled walls could talk: A-listers like Tom Cruise, Jennifer Aniston, and Victoria Beckham have been known to patronize the upscale lounge, but there’s a strict no-photo policy.
As its name suggests, the hotel’s placement on Sunset Boulevard makes it walking distance from fabled Hollywood venues like The Comedy Store, The Viper Room, and the Whiskey a Go Go—each of which has a fascinating history on its own.
Hotel Bel-Air
An exclusive oasis surrounded by lush gardens, the Hotel Bel-Air dates back to 1946. Icons such as Judy Garland, Bette Davis, and Audrey Hepburn were guests, and Tony Curtis once called it “the best wife” he ever had. Although updated in the 2010s, the Hotel Bel-Air still reeks of Hollywood Regency: columns, arched doorways, and wainscotted walls are just a few architectural highlights.
The Grace Kelly Suite, named for another well-known visitor, boasts the Bel-Air’s signature limestone floors and a private patio with its own jacuzzi. The hotel’s additional amenities include a swan-filled pond, a spa with Valmont treatments, and Egyptian cotton bed linens.
Beverly Wilshire
Completed 1928, the Beverly Wilshire was previously home to Elvis Presley and John Lennon. Located at the intersection of Rodeo Drive, the Italian Renaissance-inspired hotel is just a stone’s throw from designer boutiques, luxury department stores, and the pre-loved mecca that is What Goes Around Comes Around. Beloved movies and television shows including Pretty Woman, Clueless, and Entourage were filmed on the premises, as was Beyoncé’s music video for “7/11.”
Get the “star treatment” with help from the hotel’s exclusive Les Clefs d’Or Concierge team, which can book VIP tickets, helicopter tours, and shopping trips with a personal stylist on your behalf.
