One Night in a 1950s Motor Lodge Turned Los Angeles Hot Spot

Welcome to One Night In, a series about staying in the most unparalleled places available to rest your head.

There’s no shortage of hotels in L.A. that scream "Cali vibes"—the slickness of the Ace, the celebrity history of Chateau Marmont, or the simply iconic Beverly Hills Hotel—it just depends on which ones you want. Another part of the equation is where you want to be located (as I like to say, thank god everyone in L.A. has the traffic to talk about, since the weather is always the same). I’ve been visiting family there since I was born, so usually don’t get to avail myself of the options. But on a recent trip, I wanted a taste of what a true visitor might get. So I arranged a stay at the new Palihotel Hollywood.

Right on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, the 74-room hotel is the latest in a string of West Coast Palisociety properties (several of which are also in L.A.), founded by Avi Brosh. ("What we like to say is that Palihouse is not a boutique hotel and not a stylish residence, it’s the very best of both," Brosh has said of the brand’s residential-style properties.) The hotel markets itself pointedly as paying homage to Old Hollywood and vintage L.A., describing itself as having "a spirited aesthetic that nods to Los Angeles’ storied irreverence and Hollywood’s one-of-a-kind personality." Particularly appealing to me is that it’s a former 1950s motor lodge—too many viewings of Grease have done nothing to dampen my affection for that period of time. So I reached out to the team about setting up a visit, in the hopes that I would find out whether my stay there would feel retro in a nostalgic way, or just kitschy.

Wednesday

3 p.m.: My partner and I check in, and immediately recognize that this place is as it seems—perfect for Instagram (that’s a compliment!). Most recently a Days Inn, the current iteration of the Spanish-style building is nearly unrecognizable, a testament to what some good decor and a coat of paint can do, the new Palihotel lettering on the facade a seeming nod to its midcentury history. After dropping your car with valet (the parking lot is under the hotel, we later learn) you’re greeted by reception, which is also a bar, featuring arched openings, light woods, and floral wallpaper—retro with a nod to current trends, and the ever-popular Beverly Hills Hotel wallpaper. 

Gingham curtains across the room mark the opening to the indoor/outdoor café Benny’s on the Blvd., which continues the Bradbury ceramic tile (inspired by L.A.’s landmark 1892 Bradbury Building) in Spice from Waterworks. Overall, the interiors scream Palm Springs, a mix of peachy pinks and greens, which feel like a modern homage to the, yes, Beverly Hills Hotel. Notably, the team does all the design for their hotels in-house.

We drop our stuff off in the room, which is a non-pool facing suite alongside an alleyway filled with plants. There’s great furniture—a slouchy set of velvet chairs and a matching couch circle a mirrored coffee table in the sitting area. The sink and vanity are tucked into an arched alcove next to the bed with an emerald green scalloped velvet headboard, while the toilet and shower are in their own room. This is a hotel that clearly had to use limited space creatively; you can, for example, book a Night Owl room, which, as the hotel describes, "has no exterior windows but does have a window that looks into an interior hotel hallway. It’s quirky and it’s cozy!" I’m impressed by the Diptyque products.

4 p.m.: We’re super close to Runyon, everyone’s favorite stereotypical L.A. hike, so my cousin picks me up and we do the chiller version of it (the less steep) route. No celebrities are spotted, disappointingly.

5 p.m.: I immediately throw on a suit and situate myself at the pool, which many of the rooms look out onto. It’s all peach-and-white checkerboard tile, matching umbrellas, string lights, and more incredibly comfortable light wood lounge chairs covered in striped fabric. The music is vibing and my partner and I sit and have a drink while taking in the slowly setting sun—and the rooms with balconies that overlook us.

7 p.m.: We get changed, and head to drinks and dinner at The Dresden, a 15-minute drive east, continuing our classic L.A. vibes night. Though the longtime husband-wife pair Marty and Elayne no longer perform at the 1950s Hollywood landmark since Marty died last year, it’s still a blast, and we knock back shrimp cocktail and meatballs to our hearts’ content.

10 p.m.: We get ready for bed, discovering a few of the quirks that come with staying at a refurbished motel—for one, brushing your teeth in the same room as someone trying to go to sleep. Since we were there just a few months after opening, our room also doesn’t have a phone yet. And in keeping with it’s former, lower-key life, the walls aren’t the thickest (are the guests above us moving furniture around?).

Thursday

7 a.m.: We’re up early working east coast time; painful, but it does give you more daylight to enjoy in the afternoon. I work from bed for a while—my preferred zone—then head to the pool to order some breakfast tacos and fresh OJ from Benny’s, which slap.

12 p.m.: The rest of the morning and early afternoon are spent working some more—eventually the music by the pool is too thumping and I retire back to my sitting room—before I go for a walk and pick up a smoothie. (Nothing to write home about.) Then I lie down in bed and happily use the Spectrum On Demand to catch up on the weeks of Bravo I’m behind on—pure bliss. A brief dunk in the pool, and it’s time to get ready for dinner.

7 p.m.: We drive out to meet friends in Highland Park at the new Italian-Mexican restaurant Amiga Amore; during dinner, one claims he invented the concept of Italian-Mexican fusion foods by naming all the things he’s mashed together (I believe spaghetti tacos might have been involved). Thankfully for us, he’s not cooking, and we demolish everything in sight. After dinner, we walk off our meal by going to get some soft serve, and then head home to immediately pass out.

Friday

8 a.m.:  We check out early to drive to Malibu to visit family; the pool is quiet, the plants swaying. While I can see why this has been boasted as a place to party, given the thumping pool vibes, for us, it was the perfect taste of an L.A. I had long only dreamed about: nostalgic, but somehow low-key, fresh, and new (ish).

Top photo courtesy of Palisociety

Previously in One Night In:

One Night in a New Boutique Hotel From Baltimore’s Most Beloved Design Shop

One Night in Palm Heights, the Internet-Crowned "It Girl" Getaway