Best Luxury Hotels in Los Angeles
Los Angeles hotels sell more than a room — they sell a role in the city's own mythology. A handful of addresses, mostly clustered between Beverly Hills and the hills above Sunset, have spent the better part of a century hosting the industry that built the city, and each has its own well-worn legend to prove it.
The Beverly Hills Hotel
Open since 1912 — six years before Beverly Hills itself was officially incorporated — The Beverly Hills Hotel is instantly recognisable by its pink-and-green banana-leaf motif, a look now shorthand for old Hollywood glamour. Its 23 private bungalows have sheltered generations of stars seeking discretion, and the Polo Lounge remains one of the city's defining power-breakfast rooms. Maintained to AAA Five Diamond standard under Dorchester Collection stewardship, it is as much a monument as a hotel.
Chateau Marmont
Modelled after a Loire Valley château and built in 1929 on a bluff above Sunset Boulevard, Chateau Marmont built its reputation less on formal accolades than on eight decades of Hollywood mythology — the kind of hotel where guests come specifically for its history of discretion. Its 63 rooms and bungalows surround Bar Marmont and the hidden Japanese restaurant Chateau Hanare, and its position at the edge of the Sunset Strip places it directly inside the nightlife scene covered in our Los Angeles nightlife guide.
Hotel Bel-Air
Set among gardens that predate the hotel itself, Hotel Bel-Air has operated since 1946 as what is often called Los Angeles's most private celebrity hideaway — just over 100 rooms tucked into Bel-Air's canyon greenery, a world away from the visibility of Sunset or Rodeo Drive. Its restaurant, where Wolfgang Puck reportedly first served his signature tortilla soup, connects it directly to the culinary legacy detailed in our restaurants guide. The property has held AAA Five Diamond status since 2019.
The Peninsula Beverly Hills
Open since 1991 and AAA Five Diamond-rated continuously since 1993 — the longest unbroken run of any hotel in the city — The Peninsula Beverly Hills pairs 195 rooms, including 17 private villas, with The Belvedere restaurant and the Peninsula Spa. A 2025 design refresh modernised its interiors without disturbing the quiet, garden-courtyard character that has defined the property for over three decades.
Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills
Completed in 2017 on the former site of Trader Vic's, Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills is the newest of the city's grand hotels — a Streamline Moderne tower designed with interiors by Pierre-Yves Rochon, its roughly 170 rooms and suites topped by Gemma, a rooftop Pan-Asian restaurant, and paired with the Tuscan steakhouse Baldi and a La Prairie Spa. It offers a more contemporary counterpoint to the historic properties nearby, all covered together in our guide to Los Angeles's areas.
Choosing Where to Stay
Beverly Hills' three grand hotels — Beverly Hills Hotel, Peninsula, and Waldorf Astoria — put guests within walking distance of Rodeo Drive, detailed further in our experiences guide. Chateau Marmont suits travellers who want to be inside the Sunset Strip's energy, while Hotel Bel-Air remains the choice for those who value total seclusion above proximity to anything at all.
