HOTELS
LA: The Standard Hollywood
Let the Sunset Strip set the stage for your next big Hollywood scene. Yes, this is a young hangout, but really, everyone can fit into The Standard in West Hollywood, home of the hip.
The mid-century Modern Standard Hollywood makes an excellent home base for checking out the various neighbourhoods both trashy and ritzy, people-watching around the blue AstroTurf-lined pool deck or checking out the view from your semi-circular, retro-style balcony.
Vibe: The Standard is tops with the art crowd, smartly dressed millennials, starry-eyed tourists, film business creatives, young actors waiting to be discovered, and people like me who just want to have a good Hollywood sighting or at least think I might have seen someone recognizable. I saw a total of one celebrity the whole time: Juan Guzman from Narcos. The Box is a celebrated, glass cupboard behind the front desk big enough to fit a person and a few pillows. This art installation is a tableau vivant, sporting a model relaxing or a guest artist making art.
Rooms: Rooms are spartan but comfortable, minimal but warm. Millennials love their creature comforts, so there are plenty: Egyptian cotton sheets, down pillows, floor-to-ceiling windows, decadent mini bars and Bluetooth speakers. Breathing space runs from 300 to 500 square feet; more than you would expect. Bold patterns, blue headboards, little work stations, cute bathrooms and a silver vinyl beanbag chair round out the room.
F&B: The restaurant Croft Alley is open around the clock, its menu doting on the Cali cuisine. It also does an amazing breakfast. The Cactus Lounge with its desert mural and round rattan chairs leads out to the Pool Deck, where Hollywood hopefuls have their power lunches and mineral waters. I didn’t come all this way to watch Juan Guzman eat a cheeseburger, but there you go.
Extras: One very cool thing about The Standard Hollywood is that you get to choose your own check-in and check-out times. The pool is really the most fun, very relaxing with great service and terrific view of the hillside—you could spend all afternoon here and many do. Have fun eavesdropping to get the gist of the callbacks or at least play spot the accent to guess where people are from. Juan Guzman is from Puerto Rico, but I think he lives in Vermont.
Off-Site: In the heart of arty West Hollywood on legendary Sunset Boulevard, The Standard is walking distance from all the cool Hollywood haunts—Chateau Marmont, The Griddle Café, The Comedy Store, Whisky a Go Go, The Viper Room and more. As well, it’s an easy cab to the Hollywood tourist traps like Grauman’s Chinese Theater. Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive, and the retail therapy of Robertson Boulevard, are also within easy reach.
Rate: $$$
