Back in the early 1980s, before West Hollywood became a city, hotel empresario Severyn Ashkenazy (the Mondrian, L’Ermitage …) ran afoul of county height limits when building his new Le Bel Age, just south of the Sunset Strip, and he was forced to leave the 10th floor undeveloped. Bel Age’s successor, the all-suites London West Hollywood, inherited that empty floor. New owners in 2013 obtained city permission to turn the languishing space into the hotel’s grandest suites yet. The London was already a paragon of luxury, with a glamorous marble lobby, a rooftop pool area styled as an English garden, and a restaurant by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. Sleek, retro-styled suites—the smallest is 725 square feet—feature textured walls, embossed-leather furniture, and roomy bathrooms with sunken tubs. Most have balconies, while second-floor suites have full patios (but not much of a view). The service is impeccable without being stuffy, and the concierge desk can pull rabbits out of hats. The new Gate Suites, unveiled in September 2014, were imagined as city flats surrounding London’s Hyde Park. Each is individually designed but feature blue-and-cream interiors, panoramic city views, oversized Waterworks “bath environments,” and butler entrances or studies. Most rates are remarkably moderate for this level of luxury, though the Gate Suites raise the ceiling significantly.
- Frommer's Staff