Los Angeles Los Angeles Travel Guide: Best Hotels, Restaurants & Experiences

The Pink Palace on Sunset Boulevard carries decades of Hollywood mythology within its palm-printed walls—Marilyn Monroe, the Rat Pack, Hunter S. Thompson holding court at the Polo Lounge. Private bungalows scattered across hacienda-style grounds offer butler service and complete seclusion, while the retro pool, lined with green-and-white lounges and seahorse topiaries, channels pure mid-century glamour. A complimentary Mercedes ferries guests to Rodeo Drive; the Valmont spa handles everything else.

The Peninsula Beverly Hills deploys a fleet of Rolls Royces and BMWs to ferry industry executives between power lunches at The Belvedere and afternoon tea in The Living Room, where Hollywood's elite commandeer overstuffed couches. Eighteen garden villas, secluded behind lush landscaping with private entrances, offer residential seclusion. The rooftop complex delivers a 60-foot heated pool with downtown, Century City and Hollywood Hills vistas, plus cabanas equipped with Apple TVs that convert into massage treatment spaces.

Santa Monica's 1920s Italianate landmark remains one of just two Los Angeles hotels with direct beach access. The interiors, refreshed by Michael S. Smith—designer of the Obama White House—balance period grandeur with contemporary comfort across 129 rooms. Terrazza's floor-to-ceiling windows frame Pacific views over coastal Mediterranean plates, while two-story penthouse suites evoke Italian seaside villas complete with fireplaces and formal dining rooms.

The Regent Santa Monica Beach emerged from a $150 million transformation to deliver contemporary Mediterranean luxury across 167 spacious rooms with Pacific-facing floor-to-ceiling windows. Egyptian chef Michael Mina's Orla serves Levantine-inflected dishes—Dover sole in phyllo, lamb shank koshary—on an oceanfront terrace, while the 10,000-square-foot Guerlain spa, the French house's first West Coast outpost, offers exclusive crystal sound baths and honey rituals. Complimentary beach butler service and the city's largest hotel pool deck complete the resort experience.

Michael S. Smith's Cape Cod-inspired design brings East Coast elegance to Santa Monica's shoreline, with original artworks by Hockney and Lichtenstein anchoring interiors rich in marine heritage. Ocean-view suites—some with working fireplaces—open directly onto the sand, while 1 Pico serves seasonal California cuisine beneath antique boat hulls and art nouveau lanterns. The lobby lounge draws celebrity patrons and industry insiders for live music and cocktails, cementing its status as a local institution beyond the typical resort.

Chef Aitor Zabala's three-Michelin-starred Somni—Catalan for "dream"—delivers Spanish-inflected Californian cuisine through a procession of meticulously crafted small bites. The shiso tartare tempura and mussel escabeche showcase bold flavors and textural precision, served in a serene dining room marked by creamy tones, light wood, and a striking bull's head sculpture. For serious gastronomes seeking LA's most inventive tasting menu.

A sculptural red steel structure known as 'The Waffle' houses Jordan Kahn's two-Michelin-starred temple to avant-garde dining. The tasting menu unfolds as edible art: scallop adorned with passionfruit and ají amarillo, compositions blanketed in edible flowers and tomato water, desserts that shift through kaleidoscopic flavors. A Michelin Green Star recognizes the kitchen's zero-waste commitment across all operations.

Perched on the Palos Verdes Peninsula with the Pacific crashing below, Mar'sel wraps diners in white linen and ocean breezes. Parma-born chef Fabio Ugoletti draws on Spanish and French traditions, turning supremely tender Wagyu short ribs with celery four ways into a signature, while the sea salt pot de crème closes meals on a saline-sweet note. Sunday brunch brings West Coast oysters, housemade tagliatelle, and pastries still warm from the oven.

Chef Max Boonthanakit's Michelin-starred kitchen delivers French technique sharpened by Southeast Asian spice, served in a high-energy dining room anchored by an open kitchen. The steak au poivre—caramelized to near-black, sliced thick, pooled in Cognac-peppercorn cream—is the signature move, while rigatoni stuffed with artichoke and Comté offers a quieter, equally confident counterpoint. Creative cocktails like the Saint-Germain round out a polished, unfussy experience.

Chef Curtis Stone and his brother Luke honour their grandmother's legacy with this dual-concept venue that operates as a butcher shop by day, then transforms into a Michelin-starred dining room at night. The Art Deco space, anchored by crystal chandeliers and a roaring fireplace, showcases humanely raised meats from local farms—most notably Blackmore Wagyu New York strip grilled over wood fire. House-made charcuterie and a multicourse tasting menu complete the carnivore-focused programme.

This downtown wellness sanctuary spans 7,000 square feet equipped with a Gharieni Welnamis wavetable for touchless massage therapy and private recovery cabins offering NuCalm meditation, Normatec lymphatic compression, and red-light masks. The treatment menu ranges from traditional ayurvedic protocols to biohacking innovations like the 30-minute Quantum Harmonic session—acoustic waves paired with binaural frequencies designed to accelerate stress release. Facials draw on Angela Caglia, Augustinus Bader, and Codage formulations exclusive to this address across Los Angeles.

Hidden within twelve acres of gardens, this 2011 wellness retreat features hand-painted walls, three-dimensional floral ceilings, and warm red oak floors across seven treatment rooms. Valmont facials anchor the menu, including the exclusive Vitality of the Stars treatment combining LED and microcurrent technology. The Enclave—a 570-square-foot private suite with tropical patio, soaking tub, and waterfall—accommodates couples or groups up to twelve for signature Swiss skincare rituals.

This 7,000-square-foot beachfront sanctuary at Shutters on the Beach channels coastal California through porthole-framed treatment rooms and a shell-adorned quiet space. Red Flower and Omorovicza protocols anchor the results-driven menu, while programming extends beyond the spa's walls: yoga sessions unfold directly on the sand, and surf lessons tap into Santa Monica's wave culture, connecting wellness to the Pacific shoreline.

Perched beside the Peninsula's roof garden, this intimate seven-room sanctuary pairs MBR and Subtle Energies formulas with California's open-air culture—poolside cabanas host alfresco massages under warm skies. Inside, sea-foam consoles hold citrus-infused ice water and fresh fruit, while the Serenity Lounge offers honey ginger tea and seasonal mini muffins. Signature services span the Geneo Glam Facial to Biologique Recherche's Detox Algae Wrap, delivered in minimalist treatment rooms lined with dark blue walls and glowing rock lamps.

The Four Seasons Swe-Thai massage fuses yogic stretching with deep tissue work and pressure point therapy, while the traditional Turkish scrub layers thermal salts and mineral exfoliation for total resurfacing. Treatments unfold poolside in private cabanas, in-suite, or in dedicated treatment rooms, with the California Cabana offering a 60-minute open-air session beneath the Southern California sun. In-room appointments extend the ritual to manicures and facials tailored for post-shave sensitivity.