August 24, 2015
Hollywood’s New Hotel Boom in N.Y. and L.A.: “Upscale, Not Uppity”
LOS ANGELES
After years of false starts, Hollywood (and downtown L.A.) are fully coming into their own, with new boutique hotels as the latest push. Following decades of Hollywood’s renaissance promise — since the Les Deux Cafe years of the ’90s — the number of new branded lifestyle hotels being planned now nearly rival the number of clubs and may prove to be savvier social centers for the neighborhood as well as for guests.
“I’ve always thought the redevelopment of Hollywood was just a matter of time,” notes Brendan McNamara, senior vp marketing at Hampshire Hotels, which is erecting the 10-story, 179-room Dream Hotel (6417 Selma Ave.) just down the street from Mama Shelter. Designed by the Rockwell Group, the Dream has been in the works for five years; it broke ground in late 2014 and plans to open in May 2016. The first Dream, on 55th and Broadway in New York, is a favorite of Rihanna and Leonardo DiCaprio. The new location will take advantage of the California climate: Glass penthouse walls will fold open, while lobby walls will collapse to open ground-floor food-and-beverage venues to the street. “This [will] create a new social hive,” says McNamara. “We want to create a neighborhood out of this.”
Luxury brand Thompson Hotels’ spinoff, Tommie Hollywood, a new micro lifestyle brand aimed at millennials, is debuting early next year in New York City and also will be breaking ground on Cahuenga south of Sunset Boulevard. The 10-story, 200-room establishment will be Thompson’s first new-build hotel; it will include a restaurant and bar, and the penthouse level will include an outdoor pool with a deck, another restaurant and a fitness center.
