AUGUST 2, 2019 | LIFESTYLE
With stellar design, top-notch locations and the hottest chefs in town on their side, Proper’s new hotels are elevating L.A.’s hospitality scene to soaring new heights.
The June arrival of Santa Monica Proper Hotel (rooms from $450 per night) brought something to the West Side that hasn’t been seen in decades: a new, true luxury hotel. “Nothing about this is typical,” says Proper Hospitality’s president and co-founder, Brian De Lowe, who worked with famed interiors whiz Kelly Wearstler on the design. Consisting of two structures—one a restored circa 1928 Arthur E. Harvey-designed Spanish Colonial Revival building and the other a new build—connected by a bridge, the hot spot has a combined total of 271 spacious guest rooms, three restaurant-bars, an expansive rooftop pool area and an outpost of Surya Spa, the beloved L.A.-based ayurevedic spa led by Martha Soffer. “There’s great light and air throughout the historic building,” De Lowe explains. “And the new building is curved like a wave, so there are atypical nooks within the guest rooms, and private balconies and windows that open to let in the light, air and freshness coming off of the beach.” Design-wise, expect subtle nods to the seaside location via the color palette and luxe, layered materials. And downstairs at Onda, the highly anticipated restaurant by chefs Jessica Koslow of Sqirl and Gabriela Camara of Mexico City’s Contramar, the food follows suit. “It’s almost like Kelly [Wearstler] with texturing and layering that’s unexpected, delicious and beautiful,” says De Lowe of the cuisine. Later this summer, he and his team will open yet another property: Downtown Los Angeles Proper Hotel (rooms from $350 per night). Located on 11th and Broadway, the hotel resides in a former gentlemen’s club built in the 1920s. Boasting a food and beverage program from beloved L.A. chefs and restaurateurs Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne, the building also has some notable guest rooms, like a speciality suite that comes with an original pool, and the Court Suite, built where the club’s original raquetball court was. “It’s unreal to have this kind of space and have it feel like you’re not in Vegas,” De Lowe says. “It’s rich, luxurious and eclectic.”
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF: THE INGALLS
