La Peer California, USA
Los Angeles is famed for being a leader in the style stakes, and a stay at La Peer in the city’s West Hollywood neighbourhood puts you in the heart of the design district.
The hotel’s design blends classic Art Deco and modern interiors by the award-winning Icelandic-born designer Gulla Jónsdóttir, who draws inspiration from the architecture in California in the 1920s and ’30s. The property is part of the Kimpton chain, a group famous for ensuring every venue is unique and reflects its location and community. And its West Hollywood addition is no exception, perfectly positioned between Santa Monica Boulevard and Melrose Avenue.
With only 105 rooms, La Peer is considered a boutique operation, which is part of its charm. You enter via a private off-street courtyard – made for A-list arrivals – where the design fun really begins. The bold communal spaces to warehousestyle rooms instantly lure you in – think leather walls, white oak herringbone floors, art installations and Juliette balconies with views over West Hollywood. The shaded pool area is decked with Gaudí tiles, leafy olive trees and a vertical garden wall for a casual WeHo vibe. It’s design-forward LA urban style at its finest. Yet its secret masterpiece is the 3,900-square-foot roof deck. If you’re arriving here in the summer months, it transforms into a hip pickleball court, making for an ‘‘only-in-West Hollywood’’ experience.
My King Studio Suite is a spacious 42-square-metre corner room dressed in muted tones, with a king bed, writing desk, chaise lounge and cocktail shelf with mid-sized bottles ready for refreshment. A rainfall shower with a separate bathtub is tucked behind a frosted-glass wall with Atelier Bloem bath amenities designed exclusively for Kimpton Hotels.
Downstairs in the hotel’s restaurant Ladyhawk, Top Chef Middle East winner Charbel Hayek draws on his Lebanese roots with modern Eastern Mediterranean cooking and Californian hospitality. Expect mezze dishes like spicy hummus, garlic labneh and seared halloumi, as well as meats from the wood-grill (try the dry-aged Rohan duck with honey and rose); the olivecrusted rack of lamb is also a favourite. The food is particularly tasty when matched with a small production list of Mediterranean and Californian organic and biodynamic wines. The Middle Eastern theme continues in the Courtyard Bar with a heady list of spice- and herb-based cocktails.
Meanwhile, in the Drawing Room you’ll meet the latest artist-in-residence, fitting for this creative area. Here you can book experiences and activities to unleash you’re inner Picasso. When you’re done, head out to explore LA’s ‘most walkable neighbourhood’. start from $550 per night. lapeerhotel.com