Elizabeth Taylor had six of her eight honeymoons at the Beverly Hills Hotel, which has reigned as one of the city’s most exclusive stays since it opened in 1912. The “pink palace” – nicknamed for the dusty hues of its walls – is all about old-world glamour, from the red carpet you walk up to enter the hotel to the tangle of tropical gardens. Be sure to book your table at The Polo Lounge, its legendary restaurant, sooner rather than later. 

Sustainability is at the heart of this luxurious retreat, a fact that’s instantly visible in a design that utilises 75 tonnes of wood salvaged from fallen trees across California and the organic garden and beehives supplying produce to the onsite Southern Californian-style 1 Kitchen restaurant. Each of 1 Hotel’s rooms and suites adopts a warm approach to industrial-chic decor, from the raw timber furnishings to the exposed concrete ceilings. The hotel’s second floor houses an outdoor pool overlooking the city, as well as the Bamford Wellness Spa where treatments utilising the ancient practice of gua sha will leave you feeling refreshed. The best part? The hotel offers complimentary fitness and wellness classes for all guests.

Reopened in 2023, design-centric The Georgian has reclaimed its status as one of Santa Monica’s darlings, towering over Ocean Avenue in a Wes Anderson-style combination of electric blue and mustard. On the inside, you’ll find Gallery 33, a rotating exhibition space showing works by artists including actors Sharon Stone and Billy Zane and a cosy reading room – complete with complimentary aperitifs and wine – offering books written by authors who knew Los Angeles intimately, such as Joan Didion and Christopher Isherwood. Decked out with marble-topped tables and dusty pink chairs, Italian-inspired Sirena overlooks the Pacific Ocean and plates up silky vongole pasta and roasted Alaskan halibut, while underground bar and restaurant The Georgian Room offers a cocktail list featuring the apricot-and-yuzu-infused Geez Louise. The hotel’s 84 rooms are equally as sumptuous: pastel ocean hues with burnt orange accents, blonde timber and brass details create a calm oasis just footsteps from Santa Monica beach.

You’ll feel like an A-lister at this self-described “exclusive oasis” in Beverly Hills. The Peninsula is renowned for being one of LA’s finest stays and is host to a regular roster of jetsetting stars, who come for the chateau-style surrounds, huge rooms and incredible service.

Get ready for a classic Tinseltown experience the moment you set foot inside this West Hollywood – WeHo, to locals – retreat. After checking in, head straight for the heated rooftop pool and bar fringed by striped green-and-white umbrellas and day beds – you’ll earn a bird’s-eye view of Sunset Boulevard and the Sunset strip, best enjoyed while sipping an Aperol Spritz. The Fitting Room restaurant plates up buttermilk pancakes for breakfast and Los Angeles-style fish tacos and steak frites for lunch and dinner. And when it comes to turning in for the night, The Chamberlain offers 115 rooms, each kitted out with a private balcony and cosy fireplace. There are also four suites designed with accessibility in mind. 

Looking for a slice of Kyoto in LA? Nobu Ryokan offers 16 rooms styled after traditional Japanese inns, all set on the pristine shores of Malibu’s Carbon Beach. It’s an exclusive destination that vets its visitors – to be invited to book, guests must first send an enquiry through the website.

Many of LA’s best sleeps are outside of the city limits, in Malibu or nestled in the ‘burbs of Beverly Hills. Not Petit Ermitage. This luxury hotel is bang in the middle of West Hollywood, the city’s most happening neighbourhood. As for the space? The walls are lined with Dalí and Miro artworks from the owner’s personal collection while the saltwater rooftop pool offers 360-degree views of the Hollywood Hills.

There’s beachfront hotels and then there’s Casa Del Mar, which backs right out onto the sand of Santa Monica. The setting alone is reason enough to book a stay at the 129-room, Mediterranean-style hotel but the large marble bathrooms, serene inner courtyard, rooftop Jacuzzi and four-poster beds seal the deal.

Fans of the film Pretty Woman will remember the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons as the place Richard Gere and Julia Roberts stayed; in real life the hotel has played host to everyone from Elvis Presley to the British Royal Family. It’s not hard to see why it’s a favoured haunt of the rich and famous – every detail is thought out perfectly, from the marble bathrooms to the luxurious spa and pool, which was reportedly based on Sophia Loren’s Tuscan villa. 

Set in the middle of the Sunset Strip, The Mondrian is a fun and friendly base for exploring LA. You don’t even have to leave the hotel to soak up West Hollywood at its whirlwind best – stop in for a meal at its on-site restaurant, Casa Madera, or catch the view over the city from the hotel’s sky-high rooftop bar.

Location, location. Malibu Beach Inn is positioned on a privately owned strip of sand in LA’s most exclusive beachside neighbourhood, with its guest rooms and restaurant both offering uninterrupted views over the Pacific Ocean. 

Immortalised in everything from Lana Del Rey songs to Sofia Coppola movies, Chateau Marmont is as iconic as hotels come. The likes of Hunter S. Thompson and F. Scott Fitzgerald produced work within these walls, while many more celebrities have stowed away here to get up to no good. This is more than a hotel; it’s a piece of Hollywood history.

Whether you’re staying in one of the plush guest rooms or going all out in the presidential suite that comes with a baby grand piano, the The Maybourne doesn’t disappoint. Say yes to a soak in the mineral pool, have dinner at Dante while the lights of the Hollywood Hills sparkle in the background and check out the whiskey den on the hotel’s second floor.

Old Hollywood charm abounds at this Sunset Boulevard hotel, which opened in 1929 and hosted stars including Clark Gable and Frank Sinatra in its early years. Nowadays, guests can eat oysters and lobster tacos at the elegant Tower Bar (where menus come printed with strict “no photographs” instructions so high-profile guests can dine without fear of TMZ finding out) or take in views of the city from the pool. 

Set away from the hustle and bustle of the city in upmarket Rancho Palos Verdes, this hidden resort is an ideal place to retreat and recharge. Terranea boasts a nine-hole golf course, eight restaurants, four pools, a spa and staff can arrange lessons in everything from painting to archery.

There’s a lot of competition for the title of LA’s best rooftop pool but the Waldorf Astoria is one of our favourites. Yes, you'll have panoramic views over the city, but you'll also lounge in cabanas, steam in the sauna and sip poolside tipples. Rooms are large – the smallest is practically palatial at 58 square metres – and its terrific restaurant, Espelette, employs award-winning chefs.

Yes, you can sleep in one of the tallest buildings in Los Angeles. Check-in for the Intercontinental Downtown (set inside the 335-metre high Wilshire Grand Centre) is on the 70th floor, some guest rooms are even higher and the hotel bar, Spire 73, is the tallest open-air bar in the western hemisphere. Even the treadmills come with a view of the city.

For the Beverly Hills Hotel experience in an even more secluded spot, head to the foothills of Bel Air, where its sister resort offers unassumingly elegant accommodation amid almost five hectares of gardens. Many suites come with private Jacuzzi, fireplace and freestanding tubs, while breakfast is served on your personal patio.

Just 38 rooms make up the Palihouse, a boutique manor house-turned-hotel in the beachside suburb of Santa Monica. The property dates back to 1927 and was designated a historic landmark in 2001; the exterior has been beautifully maintained and is fringed by a charming courtyard. 

The rooms are great at this effortlessly cool hotel but it’s the extras that really sell it. The rooftop at The Delphi is a late night playground complete with pool, weekly live jazz and views of Downtown LA, while downstairs, its diner-style restaurant serves up cocktails and fried chicken all night long.

Playful irreverence is at the core of everything at Montrose at Beverly Hills, in-room giant hand-shaped gold chairs and a daily complimentary wine hour at 5pm sets the tone. Work up a sweat on the in-house pickleball court then head to the rooftop heated pool for a post-match swim and a sip or two of the refreshing Sunset Mule – vodka, ginger beer and a dash of blackberry – while lounging in a cabana. Located four-minutes by car from the city’s glitzy Sunset Strip and an eight-minute drive to shopping haven, Rodeo Drive, you’ll get a glimpse into living like a local when you make this your home base.

The first-ever Academy Awards were held at the Hollywood Roosevelt but that’s not all that makes this a bucket list-worthy stay. The hotel comes with trimmings including a two-lane bowling alley, 24-hour burger counter, library-themed cocktail bar and views of the Hollywood sign. If the cabana-lined pool looks familiar, that’s because it’s served as the setting for a famous Marilyn Monroe photoshoot and featured in the Leonardo Dicaprio film Catch Me If You Can.

It’s the view that makes The LINE Hotel one of LA’s best places to sleep. From the suites at this stylishly minimalist hotel you can look out at The Hollywood Hills through floor-to-ceiling windows – the perfect way to contemplate the enormity of the City of Angels. Easy access to Openaire, its (very photogenic) restaurant in a greenhouse, sweetens the deal.

Don’t let the name fool you – The London is set in the middle of West Hollywood. It does, however, bring a bit of British charm to La La Land with first-class service and an attentive concierge desk prepared to bring all your Hollywood fantasies to life.

With just 38 rooms, suites and apartments on offer – some include full-sized kitchens and walk-in wardrobes – the Palihouse Santa Monica is an intimate stay that’s welcomed visitors since 1927. A 15-minute stroll from Santa Monica State Beach, the hotel pairs colourful wallpaper and coastal chic furniture with Moorish-inspired Mediterranean Revival architecture, creating the ideal home away from home. Pop into the in-house all-day restaurant for zingy smoothies – the Pineapple Express packs a ginger-lime punch – avocado toast or a classic American burger before taking the five-minute drive to Santa Monica’s iconic pier.

The Leading Hotels of the World is a consortium of select luxury hotels held to the highest quality standards. Cameo Beverly Hills is a member and it takes its commitment to pampering seriously, from poolside cabanas with attendant service and flatscreen TVs to the in-room spa treatments.

Celebrities are known for checking into L’Ermitage when they need a little R&R – after, say, a few nips and tucks – but it’s just as good for out-of-towners seeking a relaxed, private Beverly Hills stay. The oversized rooms (most are a full 60 square metres) and 24-hour rooftop pool are nice but the complimentary chauffeured car is even better.

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