Beaux-Arts terracotta ornament frames the entrance arch of a 1920s office building on the corner of Olive Street and Fifth in Downtown Los Angeles — a facade so elaborately worked that the tall dracaena and columnar cacti flanking the door feel less like decoration than a continuation of the building's own botanical exuberance. That counterpoint between historic architecture and desert planting sets the terms for everything inside: the Proper Hotel Los Angeles, which opened in 2021 within the former Hamburger's department store building, gives Kelly Wearstler her most theatrically layered commission to date, the interiors moving between a coral-washed, hand-painted lobby corridor and 148 guest rooms furnished with an accumulated warmth that suggests a serious collector rather than a hotel decorator. Wearstler's signature is the productive collision of references — woven-check upholstered headboards paired with worn Oushak rugs, rush-seated dining chairs pulled up to oak tables beside checkered tile columns planted with full-canopy olive trees, rooftop loungers in broad stripe linen facing the downtown skyline across a Talavera-edged pool. The palette throughout runs from terracotta and sage to warm walnut and cream, grounded by wide-plank timber floors and a density of textiles that prevents any single surface from dominating. Where most hotel design resolves into a legible mood board, Wearstler's rooms at Proper sustain a productive tension — old and new, refined and rough — without ever quite settling.

No travel notes provided yet.

With city lights and vintage brick as its backdrop, this 147-room luxury hotel reimagines a historic landmark in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles’s South Park District. Designed by Kelly Wearstler, the property artfully blends past and present through richly layered interiors, vintage influences, and curated local art. The hotel offers a refined culinary experience anchored by a ground-floor restaurant and bar, alongside an intimate lounge for cocktails and conversation. Upstairs, a rooftop pool and open-air restaurant and bar provide sweeping city views, creating a striking setting from day to night. Among its most distinctive features are two one-of-a-kind suites, thoughtfully crafted from the building’s former basketball court and indoor pool—an homage to its legacy as a historic sporting club.