Avalon Beverly Hills

Opened as the Beverly Carlton in the 1940s, this streetside property was renovated and regenerated by the Kor Hotel Group in 1999, setting the tone for the boutique-hotels-in-old-buildings schtick later brought to something approaching perfection by the company at the Viceroy in Santa Monica. Through the lobby, hidden behind a fabulous boomerang façade and a cluster of trees, is a kidney-shaped pool that provides a focal point for a buzzy bar scene (and, thus, rarely seems to welcome any actual swimmers). The rooms are retro-handsome but slightly worn.