PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

The Elan is truly a find: It's not only one of L.A.'s best boutique-style hotels, it's one of the city's best values as well. Rebuilt and freshly renovated from the bones of a 1969 retirement home, the modern structure blends elements from the original facade with a modern, sophisticated decor. Inside, a mod, loungey lobby leads to handsomely appointed guest rooms done in serene earth tones. The design merges form and function beautifully, resulting in amenity-laden and surprisingly luxurious accommodations, considering the price. The standard rooms aren't huge, but high ceilings and thoughtfully designed custom furnishings create the illusion of space, while plush textured fabrics, beautifully made beds -- with cushioned headboards, goose-down comforters, and 350-thread-count Egyptian cotton linens -- bathrooms with cotton robes, and the thickest, plushest bath sheets in town elevate comforts well beyond the moderate price point. On the downside, there's no view, no pool, no fitness center (although you can purchase an $8 pass to the nearby health club), and this stretch of Beverly Boulevard isn't exactly the hippest strip in town. But double-paned glass ensures that even boulevard-facing rooms are quiet, and the location in central L.A. is ideal (shoppers will love the walking-distance proximity to the Beverly Center).

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Los Angeles 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

Find Hotel Deals on Yahoo Travel»