Boutique Design - March 2017 - 12

the buzz

LOS ANGELES UPDATE
CENTURY PLAZA HOTEL TO
WAVE THE FAIRMONT FLAG

KIMPTON TO ADD TWO HOTELS IN LA
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants will double its presence in the City of Angels
within the next few months, with the opening of two new hotels. The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) unit plans to open The Everly at the base of the
Hollywood Hills this spring, while La Peer Hotel (shown) is scheduled to make
its debut this summer as the first hotel in West Hollywood's Design District.
The Everly will feature interiors whose design was spearheaded by Ave
Bradley, global senior vice president, design and creative director for Kimpton,
while LA-based Gulla Jónsdóttir Architecture + Design is creating the interiors
for La Peer Hotel.
12

boutiquedesign.com march 2017

thrilled to be returning to our roots and expanding our presence in
Southern California. This is an important project not just for the city and
region, but for our globally recognized brand as well."
Previously managed by Hyatt Hotels Corp., the Century Plaza will be
Fairmont's eighth locale in California and will give AccorHotels a strategic
destination in the U.S. The deal also marks the further expansion of the
partnership between the 70-plus hotel Fairmont chain and Woodridge
Capital Partners, an LA-based real estate development and investment
company headed by ceo Michael Rosenfeld. This transaction was done
under the auspices of Next Century Associates, which Rosenfeld formed to
develop the mixed-use project.

The Everly's design will play up natural light and reference
its home in the Beachwood Canyon neighborhood with a laidback style, project participants say. The 216-key hotel will overlook the nearby Hollywood sign, downtown LA and the Pacific
Coast. Plans include a lobby with 28-ft. ceilings and a 12-seat
bar, as well as an adjacent library room. A street-level California/Italian cafe, a fifth-floor pool deck, meeting and event
spaces, and a fitness center are also on tap.
La Peer will be anchored between West Hollywood's
Melrose Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard. The locally
inspired property will feature 105 guest rooms and suites, a
rooftop event space, a poolside fitness center and more than
8,000 sq. ft. of indoor/outdoor dining and lounge spaces. Its
pool will be accented by landscaping and handcrafted lanterns
hanging from above. Rounding out the project is a new restaurant concept created by Casey Lane, chef/owner of the Tasting
Kitchen in Venice, California, and Casa Apicii in New York.
San Francisco-based Kimpton, which currently operates
two LA properties-Hotel Palomar Los Angeles Beverly Hills and Hotel
Wilshire-says it will continue its Southern California expansion later this
year with the launch of a new property in Palm Springs.
"This is as very exciting time for us as we expand our Southern California influence," says Ed Virtue, Kimpton Hotels area director of operations, SoCal-Los Angeles & Orange County. "LA is an important region for
Kimpton, and we will be uniquely situated with four different hotels and
restaurants throughout town. As Kimpton continues to position itself as a
key player in the Southern California marketplace, we're excited to offer
guests a variety of great locations while introducing some extraordinary
hotel and restaurant offerings that are unlike anything else out there."

C O U R T E S Y O F FA I R M O N T H O T E L S & R E S O R T S ( C E N T U R Y P L A Z A ) ; C O U R T E S Y O F K I M P T O N H O T E L S & R E S O R T S ( L A P E E R )

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is adding another icon to its growing
portfolio, with the signing of a definitive agreement "for the revitalization and management" of the famed Century Plaza Hotel
in Los Angeles. The landmark, crescent-shaped hotel in the heart
of Century City is undergoing a $2.5 billion redevelopment that
includes a complete redesign of the lobby; a reduction/redo of
the guest rooms from the current 726 to 394; construction of two
new 46-story luxury residential towers and the addition of 63
new branded residences; as well as 100,000 sq. ft. of boutique
retail and expanded parking facilities. Completion is slated for 2018.
The public space redesign will be central to the project, ranked as one of the
largest redevelopments in the region. Architects Pei Cobb Freed, Gensler and
Marmol Radziner are collaborating with interior designer Yabu Pushelberg to
visually and functionally connect the lobby to a series of public plazas and
fountains and integrate it with two acres of open space and gardens, which will
be surrounded by restaurants and retail outlets. A 23-ft. tall sculptural head by
Spanish artist Jaume Plensa will be one of the focal points.
"California is in our DNA [opened in 1907, the Fairmont San Francisco was
the brand's first hotel]," said Kevin Frid, chief operating officer, North & Central
America, AccorHotels, which acquired the Fairmont brand last year. "We are

http://www.boutiquedesign.com

Boutique Design - March 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Boutique Design - March 2017