Score: 90.10
Los Angeles is a star-studded town, but it’s not just celebrities that draw attention to California’s largest city. The best hotels are major players here, and they’re so much more than just places to lay your head at night. The restaurants, spas, and lounges are hangouts for guests and locals alike, whether in the leafy, secluded enclave of Bel-Air or right in the middle of Hollywood near the legendary Walk of Fame.
Every year for our World’s Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Hotels were rated on their facilities, location, service, food, and overall value. Properties were classified as City or Resort based on their locations and amenities.
Beverly Hills is well represented on this year’s Top 10 list. The Peninsula is the classic luxury choice, just a few blocks from the shops of Rodeo Drive. One reader was blown away by the fact that the hotel “will monogram your pillowcases, and allow you to take them when you leave!” The Viceroy L’Ermitage Beverly Hills, which one reader described as a “hidden gem,” is fresh off a 10-month renovation that transformed the 116 guest rooms and added a French-Mediterranean bistro, Avec Nous.
Just a few miles away in Hollywood, the Redbury feels worlds away from genteel Beverly Hills: its 57 rooms are decorated with scarlet walls, rock posters, and vintage turntables. In neighboring West Hollywood, Petit Ermitage also embraces an eclectic, bohemian vibe via handwoven Turkish rugs, Italian tiling, and artwork on the walls by the likes of Willem de Kooning.
Cloistered in one of L.A.’s toniest neighborhoods, Hotel Bel-Air is a legend in its own right, and a celebrity haunt since the 1940s. After a comprehensive revamp in 2012, the 12-acre property added a La Prairie spa and a Wolfgang Puck restaurant, but it still retains its distinct Old Hollywood glamour — especially in the perfectly lit, Art Deco–inspired lounge, where guests can listen to a live jazz pianist while sipping sparkling rosé. So which property among these contenders earned the coveted No. 1 spot? And the award goes to…
1. Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles
Score: 92.32
A staple of the L.A. social scene for decades, the Hotel Bel-Air is famous for its away-from-the-fray, romantic setting. “They facilitated our proposal three years ago, with a private lunch overlooking a lake with swans,” said one reader. Indeed, the paradisiacal grounds act as an oasis from the bustle of the city, and a stay here can feel like entrée into an exclusive private club, especially when having lunch by the signature oval swimming pool or getting a treatment at the La Prairie spa. The 103 residential-style rooms, meanwhile, reflect the sunny California setting in clean, bright shades of cream and white.
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