Cool Hotels

Culver Hotel

For those wanting to walk in the steps of Hollywood luminaries like Clark Gable and Judy Garland, the landmark Culver Hotel offers the chance. Located in Culver City and just steps away from what was the legendary MGM studio, the red brick “skyscraper” has appeared dozens of films and home to countless moments in film history. Most notoriously, the Munchkins trashed the place during the filming of the Wizard of Oz. (This hilarious episode inspired a campy but not quite so hilarious movie.) Beyond that, a half dozen other movie stars once lived here, John Wayne once owned the place and plenty of guests have seen and heard ghosts. No word on whether they are the ghosts of anyone famous.

The Culver Hotel hit hard times as Hollywood’s golden age waned. Thankfully it was restored to its former splendor in the 1990s and was then placed on The National Register of Historic Places. The brightly lit, Deco lobby doesn’t just hint at the hotel’s history, it makes you feel part of it. The rooms themselves are clean and comfortable, although the place has again been a bit worn around the edges. It is, however, undergoing renovations in 2007.

Madonna Inn

When I was a kid, my family did the legendary vacation drive up the Pacific Coast Highway. I wasn’t yet ten years old, but even then I was aware of the San Luis Obispo’s Madonna Inn and desperately wanted to stay there. No such luck. Dad was all for the Fairmount Hotels of the world but wasn’t on board with a restored motel with 109 over-the-top theme rooms. Most famous is probably the Caveman Room, but other choices include The Currier & Ives Room, The Sir Walter Raleigh Room, Barrel of Fun and Floral Fantasy. Okay, it’s all just a bit kinky, and I can see where Dad would get the impression the place wasn’t for kids…but still! I’ll never cease to be disappointed about not getting to choose a theme room.

While lots of restored, historic hotels claim to transport you to another time, the Madonna Inn delivers on the promise. So what if the time it transports you to is the kitsch-laden 1950s? It is a bit remarkable to think of a young couple checking into the Fleur-Di-Lies Room and exclaiming “How classy!” and “How French!” without a touch of irony. I’m sure they also admired the red leather banquets and gilded mirrors in the Gold Rush Steak House.

The Clift

Many years ago I worked at an internet company based in San Francisco’s up-and-coming South of Market District, and when the owners brought the creative team to town, they put them up at Ian Schraeger’s sumptuous, futuristic boutique The Clift. When my bosses ghettoized me to a nearby knockoff, I knew exactly what they thought of me.

But I did get to admire both the rooms and the lobby at The Clift. Like all Schraeger’s hotels, it manages to be simultaneously welcoming and elitist. The decor suggests a big budget Sci-Fi Channel series that mixes the sleek modern design with details that would make Louis XIV proud - and a sense that whether you’re overdressed or underdressed, you’re probably messing with their tableau. The lobby, living room and bar all have that “boutique darkness” that’s so popular, but many of the guest rooms are actually bright white and even relatively cheerful, albeit in a "2001: A Space Odyssey" kind of way.

By the way, the restaurant, Asia de Cuba serves fusion cuisine that’s worth every penny.

The Georgian

The Art Deco Georgian Hotel, right adjacent to the Santa Monica pier, retains its old-Hollywood glamour and rich history while having been transformed into one of the city’s most up-to-date boutique hotels. Built in 1933, the Georgian even housed a speak-easy that was “one of the last great Strongholds” of the Prohibition era, and notorious Hollywood figures like Fatty Arbuckle and Bugsy Segal hung out here. It later did a stint as a residential building and was the home to First Mother Rose Kennedy. One of the great things about The Georgian is how it manages to update itself with every era, without losing its sense of history and or even aesthetics of its founding era. Rooms are decorated in current boutique style, but that style meshes seamlessly with the art deco architectural details. Add to that an ocean view, and you too can escape the gossip and noise of LA the same way that that Carole Lombard and Clark Gable once did.