New Hotels Offer New Reasons to Visit Los Angeles

Think you know L.A.? The city seems to be changing faster than props on a set.

As the City of Angels crawls out of the sleepy pandemic, streets are abuzz with new subway lines, growing hip neighborhoods, a continuous phalanx of new “it” restaurants and unmissable Instagram moments—all with a spotlight on the future to ensure that the star-making city does not get stuck on re-runs.

Adding to that action are the numbers: tourism is at more than 90 percent of the levels seen in 2019. The bean counters at Los Angeles Tourism anticipate a total of some 50 million visitors in 2023, nearly on par with a record it set in 2018. And the hotels just keep on coming. Some 7,400 hotel rooms have been added to L.A.’s growing inventory in the past three years alone.

The L.A. gateway at Los Angeles International Airport is in the midst of a $15 billion upgrade that includes new cathedral terminals, such as Delta has undertaken, and a prized “People Mover” monorail that connects all the terminals with fast transit systems and parking hubs.

“With so many exciting new reasons to visit, we’re thrilled to roll out the red carpet and showcase why L.A. is the ideal place to stay, play, and do business,” said Los Angeles Tourism President and CEO, Adam Burke in a statement. “As one of the world’s most diverse and inclusive communities—and one of the primary gateways to the United States—we pride ourselves on being a destination where everyone is welcome. And starting with the $15 billion modernization of Los Angeles International Airport, we’ve seen incredible investment in the market, offering opportunities to experience our destination like never before.”

And that means hotels. While Los Angeles stands as the sixth largest hotel market in the U.S., with some 1,000 hotels offering more than 100,000 hotel rooms, it presents visitors a range of possibilities to stay near in-demand attractions, museums and chic shopping.

New to Los Angeles are these seven properties, making statements of their own and planting flags in neighborhoods meant to be explored. Two hotels in Downtown Los Angeles are the most recent to open: The Moxy and AC Hotel Downtown that are both under the Marriott banner.

The Moxy
Under the dual-branded concept, The Moxy stands as a 380-room expression of progressive thinking designed to be a haven for modern nomads in L.A.’s creative epicenter.

The hotel features 13 restaurants, bars and clubs, several outdoor terraces and a pool deck with views of the L.A. skyline—also framed in the floor to ceiling windows of its guestrooms.

Tech-centric spaces abound for co-working, meeting and large social events. The location is steps away from L.A. Live, Crypto.com Arena and the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The AC Hotel Downtown Los Angeles
Connected to The Moxy in the same high-rise skyscraper is the 347-room AC Hotel, joining sister AC properties in Los Angeles. Guests enter from the 34th floor’s palatial lobby and enjoy the cloud-high wraparound views of the city.

The hotel offers rooftop bar with sights all the way to the beach and the Hollywood sign.

The AC vibe is more stable and serene, a contrast to The Moxy’s young and frenetic feel. Designs here incorporate the city’s sophisticated Spanish roots amid lobbies, bars and libraries where conversation is possible and relaxation is a given.

The Conrad Los Angeles
The 305-room Conrad Los Angeles opened in 2022 as an oeuvre by London-based Tara Bernerd & Partners as an “exercise in restrained opulence.”

The chic 28-story hotel can see over the city block in the Grand Ave Arts District with its 10th floor functioning as hotel’s center with bars, restaurants, and a pool deck lined with cabanas. Guest rooms feature wide-planked pale oak floors and natural linen walls, an open closet and vanity space, an L-shaped sofa, and a personalized mini-bar.

The Conrad Spa is popular with business travelers, creating an oasis of relaxation with beauty treatments and body treatments for a stressed out clientele. Spa amenities include an enlightenment lounge, infrared sauna, a Gharieni Welnamis wavetable, and recovery cabins to complement such treatments as Intuitive and Thai Massages, Ayurveda Dosha Balancing, and Body Couture services.

Hotel Per La
Those who have been to the NoMad Hotel in L.A. will surely recognize Hotel Per La. Find it in the historic Bank of Italy building in Downtown Los Angeles with this new name and personality. The 12-story Hotel Per La offers 241 signature guest rooms and a variety of public spaces, including a 10,000-square-foot event space. Influences of Italy set the creative tone, seen in the original lobby’s fully restored gold and blue Italianate ceiling.

Guestrooms come with custom room furnishings, curated original artwork and terrazzo tile walk-in showers and freestanding bathtubs.

Dining options include Bar Clara, a new rooftop pool deck featuring a Californian menu and extensive cocktail and wine selection, as well as Per L’Ora, a signature restaurant serving elevated Italian cuisine influenced by flavor profiles of East L.A. Hotel Per La is a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts.

Delphi Hotel
The Delphi Hotel was formerly The Standard, with 207 guest rooms, suites, and penthouses in a mid-century Downtown LA building in the heart of the city’s commerce district. The new design brings distinct décor with minimalist furnishings.

Amenities include the Delphi Gym with state-of-the-art fitness equipment, the Delphi Lounge Coffee | Tea Bar for light bites and La Colombe coffee, and Denae’s Diner with an all-day indoor-outdoor experience inspired by retro Hollywood. The target guest skews young but the location, rates and ease of use makes it a good choice for business travelers as well.

Palihotel
Hollywood Moving west, find the Palihotel in Hollywood, a 74-room boutique hotel designed to be a charming hideaway in a slowly developing neighborhood near Sunset Boulevard.

It offers a guest-exclusive café and bar, and a courtyard pool. Interiors reflect “Palisociety’s” signature designs, with vintage Los Angeles flourishes. Location is perfect for adventurous mid-tier travelers who want to get out and explore old Los Angeles.

Fairmont Century Plaza
Further west arrive at Century City, once LA’s answer to the future with a crop of skyward glass buildings where the entertainment industry cranked the money machine and took respite within a top-notch pedestrian shopping mall that held it all together.

Sixty years later, it is all still buzzing, and there is no slowing in sight for this convenient business and shopping district. The Westfield Century City shopping plaza is a target for brand conscious shoppers and diners and Fairmont Century Plaza proudly maintains its spot in history on adjacent streets: It was the first hotel in the U.S. to have color televisions; it hosted Nixon’s Dinner of the Century honoring the return of the Apollo 11 astronauts; it saw Lucille Ball win Actress of the Year at the 1966 Emmys; even saw Johnny Cash and The Beatles scoop Grammys.

A $2.5 million refurbishment reduced the mid-century hotel’s 720 rooms to 400 bigger, more luxurious accommodations.

The property’s 14,000-square-foot spa is notable for its range of futuristic treatments (biohacking with infrared technology, neuroscience, and meditation) and guests can have a sit in an “anti-gravity chair.” Serious workouts will benefit from celebrity trainers that work with hotel guests. Techno gym bags with weights and equipment can be delivered to rooms. Dining is at the Fairmont’s French restaurant Lumière for great steak frites.

A healthy summer menu of events, museum exhibits and new “only-in-LA” pop-up attractions is available at DiscoverLA.com.