PRICE:
Frommer's Very Highly Recommended

Despite the almost-foreboding scale, I really like this hotel. The spacious lobby lounge is always my first stop for a cocktail and some great people-watching, followed by a walk around the immense pool and garden area behind the hotel (pack swim trunks). The guest rooms are more attractive than you'd expect from a corporate hotel, with contemporary furnishings, gorgeous warm-hued textiles, big closets with terry robes, and almost universally impressive views from the small deck. Hyatt's celestial Grand Bed is a treat, as is the 32-inch LCD flatscreen TV and i-Home radio for iPod connectivity. Breeze, the hotel's beautiful 250-seat restaurant and sushi bar designed by architect-of-the-moment Stephen Jacobs, is popular with the L.A. elite (particularly at lunch), and the X Bar is handy for that late-night cocktail and appetizers craving. Adjoining the hotel is the tony Equinox Fitness Club + Spa (you don't even want to know how much the membership fee is). A $20 daily fee allows guests full access to the state-of-the-art fitness center, fitness classes, and locker room.

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

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