Earlier this month, Disneyland Resort unveiled significant upgrades to the Disneyland Hotel, marking a milestone in a big remake of the property. New additions to the hotel include an event lawn, a new themed suite, and courtyard enhancements that include a new water-recreation area and poolside restaurant and bar.
Adjacent to the resort’s 136,000-square-foot convention center is the new Frontier Lawn, an intimate venue that accommodates as many as 60 people for receptions. A second lawn is slated to become available in the fall, and will offer an additional 12,500 square feet of flexible space and a permanent stage. MORE >>
These new (and newly renovated) properties in and around Los Angeles have meeting rooms, conference facilities, ballrooms, and outdoor spaces that can accommodate groups small and large. So consider these hotels for events, meetings, seminars, and business entertaining.
1. Hotel brand Mr. C, from the fourth generation of the Cipriani family, just opened on June 1. The 138-room property has 22 Signature and Classic suites alongside spacious guest rooms, ranging from 365 to 800 square feet. All of the rooms have private balconies, many with panoramic views of Beverly Hills and Los Angeles. The interior design includes dark hardwood floors, burgundy and gray palettes, and white accents., and there's vintage black-and-white photography on the walls. There is an outdoor pool for hotel guests and a 12th-floor indoor-outdoor private event space with 360-degree panoramic city views, with a private exterior glass elevator. MORE >>
The Beverly is now open in the former Guys & Dolls space (previously Guy's) in West Hollywood. The new venue marks Guy Starkman’s second collaboration with Darren Dzienciol, Brent Bolthouse, and Jenifer Rosero, who opened their first Sunset Strip space, Trousdale, in 2010. The Beverly is available for buyout with a capacity of 175.
The Beverly is a 4,500-square-foot indoor and outdoor space with an all-new interior design inspired by the industrial revolution. A fireplace is veneered in 14-gauge Pennsylvanian steel and is the focal point of the lounge’s patio built around two willow trees. Other interior design elements include salvaged windows from the New York City Armory circa 1870 and antique-inspired Edison lightbulbs that drape from the ceiling. Faux saber-toothed skulls flank the back of the bar, and the light fixture that hangs over it was crafted to incorporate Ohio piping. Salvaged wood wraps the Beverly’s walls and ceilings, and distressed brown leathers cover the banquettes. Dzienciol enlisted stylist Jessica Pastor to create the vintage-inspired, dressed-down look for the Beverly’s staff. MORE >>
Summer is on its way, which means it's time to start entertaining interns, summer associates, clients, and corporate groups. Check out Los Angeles’s new bars, restaurants, hotels, and outdoor and fresh-air-friendly venues for corporate picnics, company gatherings, and other types of summer entertaining.
1. April marked the return of the Malibu Inn beachside restaurant, bar, and live entertainment venue, under the ownership of brothers Alex and Steven Hakim. Industry vets Kelley Jones and Frank Tucker are the managing partners behind the revival. Angelo Sosa collaborated on crafting an American menu, and designer Andrew Alford is behind the interior. The venue serves lunch, dinner, and late bites from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. MORE >>
After a $12 million restoration project, the Belasco Theater is now open. The 40,000-square-foot venue was originally built in 1926 and is a few blocks from the L.A. Live complex downtown.
The space has a main theater with a towering domed ceiling and a capacity of 1,000. A multitiered balcony overlooks the main stage, and is outfitted with 24 booths. There's a 2,000-square-foot patio and a 2,000-square-foot kitchen. A private ballroom with room for 200 has a 23- by 9.5-foot stage and its own entrance from Hill Street. A wine bar off the main lobby, with room for 150, has three plasma TVs. And a basement lounge with room for 200 has its own bar and dance floor. MORE >>
Adding a new venue to Culver City's ever-growing drinking and dining scene is City Tavern, which opened earlier this month. The space is available for buyout. There is no private room, but the restaurant seats 80 inside and has 30 patio seats, for a total capacity of 110.
The 2,400-square-foot bar and restaurant has distressed brick walls, exposed wooden beams, Edison-inspired bulbs, reclaimed wood floors, and a digital jukebox. There's a vintage leather dining bench, dark-wood tables and chairs, a communal table with pull-out seats, and a copper and walnut bar. Outside, the patio has rustic wood tables and chairs and a cafeteria-style table. But the most conversation-starting elements are the three table-side beer taps, from which guests can serve themselves. City Tavern is the first California-state approved venue to offer booths equipped with the computerized draft beer systems, which have three draft handles at each table and a small monitor that displays how much beer has been consumed per party. MORE >>
A boon for business travelers and conventioneers, downtown's Omni Los Angeles Hotel just unveiled the renovation it underwent last year. The new look puts a more modern twist on the landmark hotel. The newly renovated 453 rooms and suites offer a clean-looking palette in gray, ivory, midnight blue, and chocolate brown, with brushed silver hardware accents.
There are also new flat-screen TVs and luxe linens. The wide hallways offer murals depicting iconic images of downtown Los Angeles and areas beyond, and modern light fixtures and new carpeting with bold geometric lines round out the look. MORE >>
Now open at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is Beacherʼs Madhouse, a Vaudeville-inspired theater in a completely renovated space located on the lower level of the hotel. Guests enter the theater through an inconspicuous passageway, hidden behind a library bookcase. The 3,000-square-foot space holds 160 people (and also can be combined with other hotel venues Teddy’s, Tropicana, Spare Room, the lobby, or ballroom to accommodate as many as 1,200).
The venue comprises 3,000 square feet, with a mirrored passageway, a 1920s-inspired main stage, antique brass accents, and red velvet curtains. Eighteen V.I.P. banquettes of various sizes are available throughout the theater including a birdcage-style booth with seating for 20. Concessions and catering are offered to guests during performances. There's a 9- by 12-foot professional movie screen and digital projector available for private screenings and multimedia presentations. MORE >>
Real Restaurant Group debuted Mezze on Monday in the former Sona space. The new restaurant offers a modern take on Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern fare in West Hollywood. Los Angeles-native chef Micah Wexler (who has done stints at restaurants like Craft, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, and Restaurante Marin Berasategui) helms the kitchen. The main dining room has 50 seats. The bar has 12, a chef's counter six, a private dining room 12, and the patio 16. The entire space is available for buyout.
Waldo Fernandez led the design and renovation of the space, which makes use of wood from Lebanon, handcrafted tiles from Morocco, amber Venetian plaster walls, and skylights that draw in natural light. An open kitchen exposes a wood-burning oven, and floor-to-ceiling walls open to patio seating. MORE >>
The new Fig & Olive on Melrose Place offers cuisine from the south of France, Italy, and Spain. It's the first West Coast outpost for the restaurant group, which also has existing venues by the same name in New York City and Westchester, New York. The venue occupies a split-level, 8,000-square-foot open space, with a variety of indoor and outdoor seating options for as many as 300 guests.
The menu is centered on farmers and hand-selected ingredients picked for their taste and seasonality. Raised in the south of France, Fig & Olive founder Laurent Halasz, along with his mother, Francine, influenced the creation of the menu, which is overseen by executive chef Pascal Lorange and highlights olive oil in every way possible. Each meal begins with a taste of three distinct extra virgin olive oils, which are paired with freshly baked rosemary olive oil fougasse bread. Shareable small plates include zucchini carpaccio with fresh lemon juice, pine nut, Parmesan, and picholine olive oil; and a fig Gorgonzola tartlet with melted Gorgonzola, prosciutto, fig, walnut, arugula, and tomato on a puff pastry. MORE >>
