This New Los Angeles Hotel Has Impeccable Style — and a Hidden Sushi Bar

Lifestyle brand Palisociety just opened a new spot in West Hollywood, California — and founder Avi Brosh showed us around.

It’s midweek in early December, and hoteliers Avi Brosh and Kirsten Leigh Pratt are, it seems to me, glowing like new parents. But it isn’t an infant that has arrived, it’s Palihouse West Hollywood, the newest hotel from their family-owned lifestyle brand, Palisociety.

Open to guests as of Dec. 2, 2022, the 95-room property marks a significant transformation of a 1984 structure (formerly The Orlando Hotel) set in the popular West Third Street shopping district.

Brosh, Palisociety’s founder and creative leader, and Pratt, who heads up Palisociety's branding and marketing, have touched every surface in the hotel. They have a knack for shining up diamonds in the rough; Every dark corner of this hotel has been brought to life, and in their signature style that they describe as quirky yet sophisticated.

Even the drive-up entry, where our tour begins, was once “dowdy,” Brosh says. Now it sparkles with marquee lights and an oversized green door. Inside, the lobby space is crowned with brilliant, eye-catching flower wallpaper on the ceiling and further made lovely with custom banquettes on either side, each one guarded by life-size dog statuettes. Fresh wood paneling brings warmth to the room, as do wall sconces in the shape of shells. It’s decidedly quirky, yes, but also charming.

“One of our first early moves here was to do a huge array of light fixtures, but to not make it look like a lighting showroom,” Brosh says with a small smile. Many fixtures are custom made, others were purchased then styled; he points to the brand’s signature “P,” which was added to the lobby’s central globe pendant.

To the right, what was once a window-less storage closet has been turned into a moody lounge with custom couches and vintage finds, a faux fireplace and more fun-to-look-at wallpaper of jungle flora and fauna. If guests head left from the lobby, the hotel’s on-site restaurant options await.

The Lobby Lounge Cafe and Bar makes up the first floor and is many things at once: a coffee shop with brass-rimmed, low-top tables great for guests or locals living the remote-work life, a dazzling bar with a checkerboard backsplash, and stools repurposed from the old hotel (and reupholstered with fabric that speaks to Brosh), and a pretty outdoor patio facing Third Street.

And again, thrifted and custom furnishings delight here, especially the curved banquette the hoteliers dreamed up to make use of the building’s wide, rounded corner. It’s a full-service restaurant to boot. Pair avocado toast and brûléed grapefruit to start your day, then come back later for burgers, lobster tacos, or tuna tartare. For dessert, Magnolia Bakery treats are on hand. With its white bricks, unique furnishings, and decorative dish wall, being here is a bit like lounging in your favorite aunt’s home: cozy, welcoming, and easy.

On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, guests might climb the stairs to experience the basically hidden Mezzanine Sushi. There’s sake galore, a central u-shaped counter reminiscent of what you’d find in a hand-roll bar (think KazuNori) and Japanese-inspired small plates, all served to the tunes of a live DJ. Pratt says you’d be remiss to skip the garlicky, fish-sauced chicken wings, or the yellowtail collar. Chef Casey Lane helms this venue and the cafe below. A to-go window for sushi rolls is a bonus, and great for passersby on Third Street.

The guest rooms, set on floors two through five, are further testament to Brosh’s ability to spin gold from straw. He has designed and curated all of the furniture and décor, including the brushed velvet beds, side tables, and lamps. His favorite item in each room is his play on the farm table, which he has topped in an almost poker-table green vinyl (easy to clean, he points out) inlaid in the wood, and flanked with cushy benches that can comfortably seat four.

“I’m not a big fan of desks in hotel rooms – they’re just a place where people put all their collateral. Instead, with this table, you can work on your computer, have a bite to eat, invite a friend over.”

For great views of West Hollywood and beyond, north-facing rooms are best. There’s even a 660-square-foot suite with a sprawling patio looking at Third Street and the Hollywood sign on Mount Lee. South-facing rooms look toward the redesigned pool deck – a pretty place to while away a warm Southern California day. There’s complimentary lemonade, tea, and candies here as well, a sweet perk to any stay.

As we walk around the pool, Brosh adjusts a patio chair to his liking – he’s done this throughout our tour, scooting a planter one inch this way, smoothing a lump from a rug. Pratt giggles and tells him to “stop futzing.” Not easily done, he says.

“I notice everything. You might not, but if you walk through your own house, you’re so intimate with it that you note every single little thing," Brosh adds.

Really, Brosh and Pratt are prolific; They own and operate 14 properties currently, with nine more set to debut in the next 18 months. To lead all of this – both creatively and from the business side – seems like a Herculean task.

“We’re a little more homemade than most,” Pratt says at the end of our tour.  “We talk over wine and go, ‘Let’s do a plaid thing, and I want it to look like this.’ It’s more organic, and hands-on.”

Rooms at Palihouse West Hollywood start at $295 per night, and you can book your room here. To keep up with Palisociety as it grows, follow @palisociety on Instagram.

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