90015 Travel Guide
Los Angeles Hotels / Hotel News / Hotel Construction / → All Tags
A Garden-Filled Hotel Grows In Downtown LA
In case you haven't been keeping up, there's lots of hotel action afoot in Los Angeles these days. Along with the announcement of an Ace Downtown LA, plus the recent total and utter Marriott-ization of the LA Live complex, plus rumors of Hyatt taking over the former Downtown LA Marriott....well, like we said, there's a lot afoot.
Now, the LA Times reports that a group of developers are ready to move on the $31 million conversion of an old three-story apartment building near the Staples Center into a 44-room, "park-like" hotel. And as the renderings show, it will be "park-like" indeed: an abundance of trees, plants and ivy will sprout from the hotel's courtyard and landscaped rooftop, giving it a Secret Garden-type look.
Though, aside from all the shrubbery, another detail that caught our eye was the "separate glassed-in structure for an artist-in-residence" that will hang over Hope St. And writers-in-residence? Where will their structure go?
Killer View / Sweet Suite / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Downtown LA Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / → All Tags
It's Good to Be an Executive...Suite at The Ritz-Carlton at LA Live
We are suckers for a room with a killer view. We find that we are even more likely to forgive some minor hotel inconveniences if we can stare out the window at something pretty--yeah we are that shallow. Let's help out our fellow hotel mavens by uploading rooms with killer views to the HotelChatter/Flickr photo pool, or by sending the photo along to us. We will feature our favorites in this space from time to time. Remember to tell us the name of the hotel and the room number of the hot view.
Occupy Wall Street might be against executives but when it comes to killer views, we have nothing against them. Executive suites, that is.
Today's killer view can be found from the sweet suite at the Ritz-Carlton at LA Live. Up on the 23rd floor is this Executive Suite which, aside from killer views of the Staples Center and downtown Los Angeles below, features a dining area for six, a wet bar, a powder room, two 42" HDTVs (one in the living room, one in the bedroom), a large master bedroom with a separate dressing area complete with a wall of closets and vanity table and one ginormous master bathroom with a walk in shower and separate tub, dual sinks with marble vanities, built-in mirror TVs and Bulgari toiletries.
VMA Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / Celebrity Scoop / Hotel News / Rock n' Roll Hotels / → All Tags
MTV's VMAs Are Taking Over The JW Marriott at LA Live
It's been years since we've gotten excited about MTV's Video Music Awards but for the first time in a long time, we're a little psyched for this year's show on Sunday--namely because MTV is taking over the lobby area at The JW Marriott at LA Live in order to roll out the black carpet for celebs and singers. (The show is happening across the way at the Nokia Theater.)
The black carpet is actually part of some crazy space-time continuum theme the show's planners have created and will travel through the hotel leading up to the theater. Despite its color, the black carpet will essentially function as a red carpet with all of today's popsters, hipsters, rappers, and reality stars expected to strut down it.
As for the hotel, a rep tells us that all of the food and beverage outlets are closed as the preparations are underway but that swank Wolfgang Puck restaurant, WP24, at the adjacent Ritz-Carlton is now serving breakfast and lunch.
Snapshot / Pet-Friendly Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / → All Tags
What's On The Room Service Menu at the Ritz-Carlton...For Pets
While staycationing at the Ritz-Carlton at LA Live the other month, we were flipping through the in-room compendium looking for some room service grub when we stumbled upon this--a pet room service menu!
We knew that hotels have been rolling out the red carpet for cats and dogs for a long time but we were still taken aback reading items like Spot's Chicken Meal and Lassy's Salmon Meal on the menu. Then we noticed how affordable these "entrees" were. Nine dollars for the chicken and six for dessert? Man, some dogs have all the luck. Now excuse us as we pick at our $15 fruit plate.
Downtown Los Angeles Hotels / Hotel Rebrandings / Luxe Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / → All Tags
Downtown LA is Looking a Lot More 'Luxe'
Even just six years ago, there wasn't much going on in Downtown Los Angeles. Sure, there was the Staples Center, home to The Lakers, The Clippers and the must-stop for any big concert touring act along with several big chain hotels like Westin as well as the downtown outpost of The Standard.
But with the arrival of LA Live in late 2007, an entertainment complex that includes restaurants, bars, a bowling alley, the intimate Club Nokia venue, a movie theater, the awesome Grammy Museum and the adjacent JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton, downtown LA is pretty awesome these days. In fact, we prefer it to the tourist trap that is Hollywood Boulevard.
While the JW Marriott and the Ritz are located on LA Live, meaning you exit the hotel and a plethora of restaurants and bars are just steps away, there is another affordable yet still "luxe" option across the street from Staples Center--The Luxe City Center.
Sports Hotels / Hotel Packages / Los Angeles Hotels / JW Marriott Hotels / → All Tags
X Games Fans Can Have an Xtreme Stay at the JW Marriott at LA Live
If you were looking to go to the X Games 17, the JW Marriott at LA Live can hook you up. The hotel is partnering with ESPN to offer a special weekend pass for July 28 to 31 that will give you exclusive access to special events an put you right in front of the skateboarding, BMX biking and other action that will go down at the Staples Center.
The pass will get you three nights at the hotel and events like an intimate breakfast with an X Games superstar at JW Marriott's LA Market restaurant and VIP status in the Staples Center Lexus Club.
Snapshot / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Hotel Housekeeping / → All Tags
This is An Easy Way to Remember To Tip Your Housekeeper
Tipping the housekeeper. We all want to do it regularly, we really do. Each hotel stay we glance guiltily at the nightstand before we head out for the day, telling ourselves, "Do not forget to put a tip down for the housekeeper when you get back," but sometimes, you know, we just forget.
However, this nifty turndown card seen at Ritz-Carlton at LA Live in Los Angeles helped us to remember. Place on the nightstand, the card also came with two chocolates, a cute quotation and a helpful weather outlook. And we especially liked how it listed our housekeeper's name, Tracy.
Of course, Tracy may have been the one who did the turndown service for that night and there probably was a different housekeeper who cleans the room during the day but it's still a good reminder to pay respect to the people who lift the heavy mattresses, replace the towels, organize our belongings and place those seven giant pillows on the bed.
Hotel Bargains / Hotel Deals / Los Angeles Hotels / JW Marriott Hotels / → All Tags
Warm Your Fingers Up To Nab a $1 Room at the JW Marriott at LA Live Tomorrow
The Chairman Suite. Yours for $1
We thought the £1 Hoxton room sales were as good as things got, but it appears that LA has trumped London – because the JW Marriott Los Angeles at LA Live is offering rooms for just $1 tomorrow. And not just any rooms – the top suite, no less – valued at nearly $4,000.
See, tomorrow is the first anniversary of the hotel, and to mark it, they’re offering 10 Happy Birthday packages for $1 a pop. For your moneys, you get a night in the 1,566 square foot Chairman Suite, two glasses of bubbly, breakfast for two and – miracle of miracles in LA – free valet parking (which at LA prices is pretty much the $4k itself).
Celebrity Scoop / Downtown LA Hotels / TV Set Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / → All Tags
The Girls of '90210' Head to The 90015 for New Episode
As if you didn't hate those 90210 plastics enough for reminding you of the mean girls in high school, they get to hang by the Figueroa Hotel pool while you freeze in the snow. Actually, the California girls were shooting scenes for an upcoming episode for the second half of the third season.
Reports of 90210's filming only identified the shooting location as a "downtown LA hotel," But thanks to On Location Vacations, we found out that cast members Jessica Lowndes and Jessica Stroup were hiding out in the Figueroa, which sits across the street from the Staples Center.
Hotel Restaurants / Wolfgang Puck / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / LA Live / → All Tags
Splurging With Wolfgang Puck at Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles's WP24
Earlier this week, we told you about our recent stay at the Ritz-Carlton at L.A. Live. Today, with this photo gallery of dishes, we’re going to take you along on the over-the-top dinner we enjoyed at the hotel’s signature restaurant, Wolfgang Puck’s WP24.
Hotel Video Tours / Photo Gallery / HotelChatter Reviews / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Los Angeles Hotels / LA Live / → All Tags
Inside The Ritz-Carlton at L.A. Live
Last month, we had the opportunity to spend the night in one of the Ritz-Carlton at L.A. Live's 123 guest rooms, and check out the experience for ourselves. Here’s the photo gallery we took of our room, a quick video walk-through of it, and our thoughts.
Snapshot / iPad Hotels / JW Marriott Hotels / Free WiFi / Los Angeles Hotels / → All Tags
Thanks to Free WiFi at the JW Marriott at LA Live, We Can Show Off Our iPad
Yet another reason why choose to visit hotels with free WiFi? Because they give us an excuse to whip out our iPad and do some serious online shopping, work web browsing.
We snapped this picture today during breakfast at Market inside the lobby at The JW Marriott at LA Live. Internet is free in the lobby which is a good thing because there are plenty of places to sit and hang out like the Market restaurant, the gLAnce wine bar, the Mixing Room cocktail bar and the Espressamente Illy coffee shop. The connection usually bumps you off after an hour but all you have to do is sign in again and you'll be back on the web in no time.
A glass of wine, your iPad and free WiFi--what more could you want? (Except for maybe courtside seats to the Lakers game next door.)
