The L.A. Hotels Where Celebs Stay, Celebrate and Kick Back and Count Their Trophies During Awards Season
Los Angeles is a “City of Stars” year round, as La La Land points out in it’s Oscar-winning Best Original Song, but come Awards Season, the city is stuffed to the gills with A-listers attending endless ceremonies, popping up at after parties, and of course crashing in its many impressive hotels. Even stars who reside in the City of Angels full-time often make use of the luxurious accommodations on offer for pre-show preparations and seamless delivery to the red carpet. Here, a guide to some of Hollywood’s favorite haunts for living it up — and recuperating in style.
The frequent celebrity haunt hosted Vanity Fair and Barneys New York’s dinner in celebration of La La Land on Wednesday as well as their Hollywood Issue party on Thursday. (The magazine’s famous post-show fete took place at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.) During Globes weekend, Natalie Portman, Emma Stone, Barbra Streisand and Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel all attended the W Magazine and Audi party held here. The storied hotel has hosted every sort of Hollywood affair, from the scandalous to the downright musical-worthy: say, a Lady Gaga sing-a-long.
The members-only club on Sunset Boulevard is always fertile celeb-spotting ground. After the Oscars, it hosted Lionsgate’s celebration, which saw attendees including Emma Stone and La La Land director Damien Chazelle, Darren Criss and Vince Vaughn.
The Beverly Hilton complex has long been the epicenter of the Golden Globes action. (Angelina Jolie made her famous post-show leap into the hotel’s Aqua Star Pool here in 1999, and George Clooney and Brad Pitt are frequent visitors, according to a hotel spokesperson.) In addition to hosting the awards ceremony itself, the hotel was also the main after-party destination, hosting events for HBO, Fox, NBC Universal, Netflix and the Weinstein Company, and Warner Brothers and InStyle.
During Oscars week, Denzel Washington, Mandy Moore and James Corden were on site for an impressive lineup of parties, lunches and award ceremonies.
Celebs who choose to stay on-site frequent the Penthouse Collection rooms on the 8th floor of the Wilshire Towers, which contain 16 luxury suites ranging from 830 to 3,750 square feet. Rooms are equipped with a virtual concierge service so stars don’t need to leave, but those who do can indulge in a beauty treatment invented just for the event: the Red Carpet-Ready facial.
The Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills
The L.A. outpost of the luxury hotel chain lures A-listers during award season with not-to-be-missed events including the AFI Luncheon and the BAFTA Tea Party, which this year hosted Emma Stone, Michelle Williams and Stranger Things favorite Millie Bobby Brown among others. During Oscars week, the hotel hosted the Australian Oscar Nominee Reception, where Lion star Sunny Pawar stole the show, and a Merecedes-Benz viewing party attended by Tracee Ellis Ross, Anthony Anderson and Kenya Moore.
Stars usually stay in the Presidential East, Presidential West and Royal Suites (the hotel’s crown jewels) and can indulge in chocolate creations courtesy of chef Federico Fernandez awaiting them in their room and themed for the Globes, Grammys and Oscars. Every nominee who checks into the hotel receives one, according to a hotel spokesperson. Sarah Jessica Parker even shared hers on Instagram.
Celebrity guests including Kerry Washington, Pharrell Williams and Billy Bob Thornton, who took home the Golden Globe for Best Actor – Television Series Drama, have all stayed at this West Hollywood haunt, which is an equally short limo ride from both the Beverly Hilton and the Dolby Theater, where the Academy Awards are held.
Stars checking into the exclusive address tend to occupy the 3,200-square-foot, two-story Presidential Villa, which boasts a private screening room, a grand piano and a dining room that can seat ten.
Renowned for it’s homey accommodations — including private-access townhouses — and luxury hotel amenities, AKA Beverly Hills is a favorite stay of Jennifer Lawrence, Empire director Lee Daniels and Richard Gere.
Room service aficionados also appreciate that they can order up from Wolfgang Puck’s Spago (Justin Bieber and Julia Roberts are fans) while staying at the Beverly Hills property. Puck has not allowed this option at any other property, a spokesperson for the hotel says.
Sean Penn chose this impossibly stylish hotel for his star-studded Haiti Rising event for the fifth year running. Leonardo DiCaprio, Nick Jonas and Lily Collins were on sight for a pre-Globes gathering. The hotel also boasts a steady flow of A-list guests year round. Most appreciate the privacy of the property, but not all: Justin Bieber once serenaded Selena Gomez with “My Girl” in the hotel’s lobby bar.
Long a trusty gathering spot in the city for extra-private celebs (Jennifer Aniston, Johnny Depp and Sean Penn have been spotted here), hotelier Jeff Klein’s Sunset Tower even has a famous maitre d’, Dmitri, who tends to the A-list visitors at the Tower Bar. The property was the site of Vanity Fair’s Oscar party for several years (last year it was held at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills), but kept a relatively low profile during Golden Globes weekend, hosting only one public event for agency CAA. However, one of their biggest clients, Jimmy Fallen, was busy over at the Beverly Hilton hosting a party of his own with NBC.
