This intimate, boutique hotel scores big with the fashion set, and offers handsomely designed rooms without the pretension that usually accompanies a lifestyle hotel. Don’t sweat the $40 club fee, as the benefits (free all-day snacks, a compact cocktail lounge) outweigh the cost.
You didn’t come all this way to LA’s most notorious zip code to not have Rodeo Drive as your temporary address, did you? This is the only hotel to call Rodeo home, and it certainly doesn’t let you forget. The allure of sleeping above Michael Kors and Rolex is obvious, though sometimes the hotel’s insistence on fashionable, carefully curated spaces can feel a little sterile. There’s no restaurant on-site, but for those who love sipping cocktails in immaculate, color coordinated rooms, the hotel’s Luxe Club isn’t a bad deal: the $40 per person per night fee gets you access to a jewel-toned lounge with small plates served throughout the day, plus beer, wine, and cocktails in the evening. The rooms, designed by Vicente Wolf, are where the hotel shines best. Totaling 88, they are luxury oriented, and full of life, with seafoam green, fresh flowers and Victorian armchairs—like sleeping in an expensive beach cottage, minus the surf. This being Beverly Hills, the Hollywood views get better the higher you go, and some of the Premier-style rooms even add a furnished balcony.
Location: Set directly on Rodeo Drive, this hotel is happily sandwiched between Roberto Cavalli and Tom Ford, with dozens of other high-end designer flagships in easy reach. The coffeeshops, fine dining restaurants and art galleries of the ritzy neighborhood offer plenty of diversion, especially for those with bank accounts to spare.
Nearby:
Beverly Gardens Park: Walk 6 minutes from the hotel to reach this 1.9-mile haven of glimmering green lawns and an illuminated Electric Fountain. Go ahead and take a selfie at the famous Beverly Hills Sign, you know you want to.
Westfield Century City: Two miles from the hotel, this immense mall has a nice mix of high-end (Brooks Brothers, Swarovski), main-street (Gap, Sunglasses Hut) and boutiques like Aritzia and Compartes chocolatier. There’s also a 15-screen movie theater, a 3-story Nordstrom and an Eataly.
Rodeo Drive: You won’t find much in the way of budget souvenirs along this mythical stretch of retail nirvana: Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Dior… they’re all here. There’s even a shopping mall designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Spago: Everyone, at some point, when they’re in Beverly Hills, ends up at Spago, the internationally-inspired bistro by Chef Lee Hefter. Just off Wilshire Boulevard, the patio is a charming spot for dishes like pan-seared cod and handmade agnolotti.
Good for: If shopping is your thing, the Luxe Rodeo Drive offers a convenient, albeit chicly furnished, home base for cocktail breaks in between retail treks. When it’s bedtime, the breezy, vibrant rooms and suites will satisfy hard to please design snobs.
Amenities: free Wi-Fi, bar, gym, concierge, spa
Time Out tip: The hotel telephone went obsolete years ago, and in-room tablets have quietly usurped their place. At the Luxe Rodeo Drive, the handy bedside gadgets can be used for everything from summoning housekeeping to pulling up restaurant guides, requesting your car from the valet, or ordering a taxi.