Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

Class: First

Style: Icon

Rooms: 300

Once a faded monument to to a golden age long past, the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel is born again. Fresh off a massive renovation, it’s now a part of Jason Pomeranc’s New York–based Thompson hotel group, and its once slightly kitschy Old Hollywood personality has been toned down and classed up accordingly. The location hasn’t changed, of course; the Roosevelt still looks out over what’s probably the most-visited stretch of Hollywood Boulevard, facing Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. The lobby is still resplendent in prewar Spanish Colonial style, and the enormous pool, lined with cabanas, is still a classic — apparently David Hockney didn’t just make paintings of swimming pools, but in them as well, including the mural work that lines this one. Guest rooms, by contrast, are a bit more on the contemporary side — by no means minimal but warm and rich in décor. Space is plentiful and amenities are unashamedly high-end, including Sferra linens, Bigelow bath products, Dean & DeLuca snacks replacing the standard minibar, and the latest in high-tech conveniences. It’s not a place to shut yourself in, though — the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel is a popular party spot as well, with two restaurants, the Dakota steakhouse and the 25 Degrees burger bar, and two bars: Teddy’s, a clubby hideaway beneath a vaulted ceiling, and Tropicana, the pool bar, is blissful by day and bustling by night (something to keep in mind if you’re booking a poolside cabana suite).