Los Angeles Experiences Boutique Hotel Explosion
<B>Los Angeles Experiences Boutique Hotel Explosion</B>
By Maria Lenhart
They may be small in size, but there is nothing small about the impact that boutique hotels are having on the hotel scene in West Los Angeles. From the Sunset Strip to Rodeo Drive, an ever-growing number of boutique properties are finding a ready market among business travelers who like their personal feel, hip décor and close proximity to restaurants, shops and clubs.
If the Los Angeles boutique hotel scene has a capital, it is West Hollywood, where at least 14 boutique hotels have opened in recent years, with more on the way. According to Bill Hines, vice president of sales and marketing for the West Hollywood Convention & Visitors Bureau, boutique hotel occupancies reached 81 percent in April and are enjoying an average daily rate of $197.
"The market for boutique hotels is really booming in our area," he said. "There is major money being invested in new properties and renovations of older properties."
Hotel analyst Bruce Baltin, senior vice president of PKF Consulting in Los Angeles, also noted the trend, citing figures that show occupancies at boutique hotels throughout Los Angeles averaging 75 percent to 80 percent. "Boutique hotels are a really good fit for business travelers in such areas as advertising, entertainment and design, all of which are important markets here," he said.
Baltin also noted that nearly all of the boutique properties in West Los Angeles are conversions of apartment buildings, retirement homes or existing hotels. "It's hard to find sites for new construction in West L.A., so this is the more practical way to go," he said.
One example is the 107-room Grafton hotel, which opened in June on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood following a $5 million conversion of the former Park Sunset Hotel. Managed by Outrigger Lodging Services, the hotel features a whimsical design inspired by 1950s Hollywood. With rates of $99-$125, the hotel is considerably less expensive than most other boutique properties nearby.
Accommodations at the Grafton include five individually decorated Executive Suites, named for Jayne Mansfield, the Rat Pack and other Hollywood legends. The suites and rooms feature walk-in closets, plantation shutters and chaise lounges that convert into extra beds.
Amenities at the hotel include a fitness center and a central courtyard with a swimming pool and Venetian-style garden planted with cypress and citrus trees. There is also a 20-seat boardroom, bistro-style restaurant and lobby lounge.
Representing another hotel conversion is Maison 140, which opened in July in Beverly Hills in the former Beverly House Hotel, a property dating from the 1930s that was owned by silent film star Lillian Gish. The luxury bed-and-breakfast hotel has 46 individually decorated guest rooms with imported linens, cordless phones with dataports, high-speed Internet access, safes and mini bars.
Maison 140 is under the same ownership as the 88-room Avalon, which opened last year following a $6 million conversion of the former Beverly Carlton hotel, once the residence of Mae West and Marilyn Monroe. In its new incarnation, the Avalon features guest rooms with amenities that include fax machines, three-disc CD players, speaker phones with two lines and voicemail, safes and other amenities. One of the hotel's three buildings features apartment-style units that include kitchenettes.
Other amenities at the Avalon include in-room massage treatments, full-service concierge, 24-hour room service and a fitness center. Rack rates begin at $185.
A boutique property currently under construction is the Élan Hotel, a boutique property expected to open later this year in West Hollywood. While featuring a retro 1960s décor, the hotel will offer high-tech amenities that include a Cyber Lounge with tables equipped for Internet connections. Guest rooms will have high-speed Internet access, two phones with voicemail, 25-inch televisions and videocassette recorders.
Other features of the Élan will include a fitness center, 24-hour room service and complimentary continental breakfast. The hotel will be located a block from the Beverly Center shopping complex.
Recently completing a $3 million renovation, the Le Montrose Suite Hotel in West Hollywood has refurbished its 60 guest rooms and added such in-room business amenities as fax machines, copiers, printers, high-speed Internet access and portable telephones. The hotel also has renovated its lobby, exterior entrance, 825-sq.-ft. meeting room and restaurant. A former luxury apartment building, Le Montrose features an all-day dining room, fitness center, tennis court, sauna and a rooftop swimming pool.
Also completing a renovation is the 86-room Luxe Hotel Rodeo Drive, which will reopen in August. The hotel, formerly called the Summit Hotel Rodeo Drive, has been closed for over a year to allow for a major redesign and refurbishment of all guest rooms and public spaces.
At its sister hotel, the 162-room Luxe Summit Hotel Bel Air, construction will start in November on a conference center designed to accommodate meetings for up to 500 people. Work is expected to be completed next May.