Party in Koreatown? Opening discounts at a stylish new L.A. hotel

The Line hotel, a fashion-forward new hotel at 3515 Wilshire Blvd. in Koreatown, will kick off a “soft opening” on Jan. 1 with rates of $168 nightly.

Before you rush to book -- and from the looks of the hotel’s website, it is tempting to rush -- bear in mind that the place isn’t finished. In January, while those discounts are offered, the hotel’s two restaurants-to-be, nightclub and pool won’t be open. In fact, there may be some construction on site. (The hotel’s opening has been delayed a few times.)

But in the longer term, the temptations are great. The 388-room lodging is surrounded by a big night-life scene, blocks from a snazzy 24-hour Korean spa, three miles west of downtown, six miles east of Beverly Hills. When they open, the hotel’s restaurants are to be Pot (hot-pot cuisine) and Commissary (vegetarian focus), run by Roy Choi, the prolific purveyor of Mexican Korean street food.

But there are no opening dates for these, a sales representative said. Once the place is fully operational, sales staffers have estimated room rates will rise to the $240 range.

The 1964 building, across the street from the Purple Line subway stop at Wilshire and Normandie, used to be know as the Wilshire Plaza Hotel. Now its guest-room walls are raw concrete, with orange pillows abounding. The Sydell Group, developer of the hotel, is also connected with the Ace hotels in New York and Palm Springs, the Saguaro hotels in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Palm Springs, the NoMad Hotel in New York, and the Freehand Miami hostel in Miami.

Meanwhile in Wilshire’s Miracle Mile section, about four miles west of the Line, another reborn hotel is about two years into its own new life. The 74-room Hotel Wilshire was converted from a medical office building in 2011 by a previous owner, then sold to the Kimpton chain in late 2012. It stands three blocks west of LACMA; its rooms for two about $225 to $320.