3 Boutique-Style Hotels Proposed
Three boutique-style hotel projects are taking shape in the Los Angeles area as hoteliers woo affluent guests by offering smaller properties packed with amenities and service.
The three--in Beverly Hills, Long Beach and West Hollywood--are seeking to replicate the success of similar properties in San Francisco, Boston and New York, where boutique hotels with unique character and personalized service have performed well.
Bruce Baltin, a lodging specialist in the Los Angeles office of PKF Consulting, said the boutique hotels have focused their efforts on catering to guests from the entertainment, advertising and design industries.
“Those are the kind of [guests] that are . . . looking for something out of the ordinary,” Baltin said.
In Beverly Hills, the property now known as Summit Hotel will undergo a $20-million renovation starting next month to become the 86-room Luxe Hotel, according to Effrem Harkham, chairman of Luxe Hospitality Corp., which recently acquired the Rodeo Drive property. The Luxe’s interior design and furnishings are intended to resemble those of a house rather than a hotel, according to the owners. In addition, the project will include new storefront space on the well-known shopping street.
“Emerging next January will be a European-style boutique hotel offering all the comforts of home amid extraordinary luxury,” project manager Mike Kamenir said in a statement.
Crescent Heights of America, a Beverly Hills-based developer, is seeking government approval to build a 185-room luxury property on the Sunset Strip at Hammond Street in West Hollywood. Restaurants and stores would be situated on the ground level on Sunset Boulevard and cottages--which would be available for long-term stays--would be at the rear of the property.
In Long Beach, a group of French investors who failed in their effort to build a condominium project now plans to construct a 162-room hotel on the Promenade in the city’s downtown area. The D’Orsay hotel will cost $30 million and include stores and an upscale restaurant, according to Long Beach Plaza Associates, which is seeking city approval for the project. Plans call for the hotel to open in early 2001.
