Westward Bound! (+ A Peek Inside My Favorite Hotel)

The Chamberlain Hotel’s Exterior

I’m heading to LA tomorrow for work and am psyched to be staying at another one of my favorite hotels…The Chamberlain in West Hollywood. You must know that I’m admittedly a bit of a hotel snob. I love to stay in hotels with gorgeous interiors, a great restaurant and, if it’s in a warm weather locale, it has to have an amazing pool. I also really appreciate a quiet, low-key ambiance. I hate to stay in a hotel that’s so hip and cool you feel like you’re in a nightclub. Fortunately, The Chamberlain encompasses everything I could ever want in a hotel. Aside from its stylish decor, it’s tucked away on an quiet, inconspicuous residential block and the vibe is so tranquil you’d never know you were right around the corner from some of LA’s busiest streets. It’s the perfect place for the busy business traveler, the paparazzi shy celeb seeking a quiet refuge, or the stylish vacationer looking for chic and relaxing retreat.

Top, the hotel’s reception area. Below, a sitting area in the lobby.

The Chamberlain’s interiors were designed by David McCauley, a Kelly Wearstler protégé. The fact that McCauley is KWID alum is not surprising as The Chamberlain’s decor is very Wearstler-esque with it’s Hollywood Regency meets Asia feel. McCauley worked with Wearstler on the Viceroy hotel in Santa Monica among other projects, and interestingly, The Chamberlain and The Viceroy are both owned by Wearstler’s husband, hotelier Brad Korzen. Many of the interiors in Korzen’s other Kor Hotel Group properties were done by Wearstler including Maison 140 in Beverly Hills, The Avalon in Beverly Hills, the Viceroy in Palm Springs and the Tides South Beach among others.

A guest room

The Chamberlain’s 112 rooms feature a very serene blue and gray color scheme. Another feature I love is that every room has a fireplace…not that you ever need one in LA but it’s such a luxury and makes the rooms feel extra cozy. The only drawback is that the views from the rooms aren’t that great. I’ve stayed there several times and each time my room had a horrible view. But in the hotel’s defense, it is only a four story hotel so I doubt any of the rooms have truly spectacular views. Since we’re on the subject of views let’s discuss the hotel’s pool.

The uber chic rooftop pool

The INCREDIBLE 360 degree view from the hotel’s rooftop pool more than makes up for the bad views from the rooms. From the pool area you can see Beverly Hills, Downtown LA as well as the Hollywood Hills. The pool is on the small side but it’s oh-so-stylish, surrounded by chic cabanas and lounge chairs as well as a large lounging cabana off to the side which you can’t see in the photo. Even if you’re not up for a swim it’s the perfect place to lounge and have lunch in the daytime or chill out with a bottle of wine and some friends in the evening. I’m kind of bummed because the weather won’t be quite warm enough for laying out during my visit:-(

The Bistro

The Chamberlain’s intimate restaurant bistro is equally as chic as the rest of the hotel and has amazing food as well. I love the green tufted leather banquettes. The restaurant also has an outdoor patio that’s surrounded by palm trees. I love dining al fresco…especially in beautiful, sunny places. I’m so looking forward to getting out of cold New York and can’t wait to check in to The Chamberlain!

***UPDATE***

So after reading this blog entry my mom called me immediately to tell me that  in the early 70’s she used to LIVE in the building that is now the Chamberlain! At the time it was just a rental apartment building. How ironic?! She lived there for 2 years in her early 20’s and just after she moved they turned it in to a hotel called Le Dufe, then it was the Summerfield Suites and now it’s the Chamberlain. She also said that when she lived there she and her then boyfriend once found a dead man on the rooftop sitting in a lounge chair by the jacuzzi. They called the police and afterward learned that the man had suffered a heart attack and had been dead for several hours. Creepy. Anyway…just thought I’d share!