Normally I spend Labor Day weekend in Napa Valley wine tasting with my girlfriends but now that we’re limiting social interactions and keeping our inner circles as small as possible, we had to get creative.
This Labor Day weekend, David and I decided to stay local and do a little staycation. Staying and lounging around in an air-conditioned hotel room with a Star Wars marathon seemed quite enticing during this crazy heat wave.
Typically when the two of us decide on where we’re going to go, we always agree on where we’d like to stay and we agree rather quickly. In this particular circumstance, where we stayed was more of an important factor since we weren’t planning on going out at all. Here’s where it got a little dicey.
Our two major concerns were the safety protocols these hotels were following and of course, parking in Los Angeles.
I wanted to stay at The Hoxton and David wanted to stay at the infamous Ace Hotel. Since neither of us would back down, we decided to do both! A good ol’ battle royale – hotel edition.
Round One – The Hoxton, Downtown Los Angeles
As David put it, “If you were a hotel, you would be The Hoxton”. This was probably the nicest compliment he’s ever said to me. I am a SUCKER for boutique hotels. I love all the attention to detail and omg this place really took the cake.
The building itself is beautiful and reminded me of the hotel we stayed at in Paris, the Hôtel Saint-Jacques. The exterior has a Parisian flair to it and when you enter the lobby it feels like Old Hollywood glamour meets a modern twist. If you take a look around, the baggage room next to the check-in counter is labeled ‘Emotional Baggage’ which honestly resonated with me because I definitely wanted to leave all my emotional baggage at the door.
Upon check-in, they give you a little kit with masks and hand sanitizer which was greatly appreciated! They have plexiglass surrounding the check-in counter and the service we received was top notch! Since they’re limiting the amount of guests in the elevator, it can get a little busy and a line may form but not to worry, everyone is wearing masks and there are signs that make sure you’re 6 ft away from everyone.
When you make it to your floor, (again with the signs but omg it’s too cute – their supply closets were marked ‘Stuff’ and the one next to it ‘More Stuff’ lol – very me) when you enter your room, get ready for cuteness galore. I LOVED the little retro telephone & radio on the nightstands and the Smeg water kettle. The bathroom and shower rooms are separate which is my jam. Plus, the shower has a waterfall shower head!
Long story, short, we loved this room. If you stay here, definitely explore the rooftop pool, it is only accessible to hotel guests (this might be a Covid thing) The pool itself is pretty small but the view is stunning during sunset! If it’s not too busy, grab a bite at their restaurant, Pilot. If you’re by the pool, they have signs with QR codes and you can look up the menu and order right from your phone. Your spot by the pool will have a number by it so they can deliver cocktails and food right to you! (no contact necessary)
Round Two – Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles
The Ace Hotel is located right in the Fashion District. It’s a beautiful historic building with gothic style architecture located next to the Theater. The Theater used to be the famous United Artists theater in the 1920’s and was an icon during the Golden Age of Hollywood. This was where silent movie icons formed an independent production house. Seriously, so cool. The building itself is gorgeous and historic. When you enter the lobby, they check every guest’s temperature and they also have plexiglass surrounding the check-in counter. They handed us extra masks along with our room keys.
We were on the 13th floor and had a great view from our two massive windows. The rooms are definitely more simple and minimalistic compared to the Hoxton hotel. It reminded us of hotels in Japan. Natural lighting was amazing in these rooms! The one thing that kind of threw me off was that the sink was located right next to the entry way separate from the bathroom and shower.
The service here was a bit mismanaged and I’m sure Covid has to play a big part in that. They also have a rooftop pool with a restaurant and bar, which they call the Upstairs. If you decide you want to visit (which you should since you are paying the resort fee!) make sure to visit the host there to schedule a reservation. The pool itself is open to hotel guests from dawn to 2 PM but after that it is open to the general public. We didn’t go up there during the busy hours and weren’t planning on it since it didn’t seem like the safest option. You do get a fantastic view of downtown LA up there so try to go up there during sunrise or sunset.
And the winner is…
The Hoxton, Downtown Los Angeles! I liked how the pool was only open to hotel guests so it felt a lot safer and more well-managed during these Covid times. We adored the rooms and amenities here. We loved both hotels but service and decor definitely made Hoxton the winner here.
Parking tip –
Parking at the Ace hotels is about $50/night and they do not have valet available at the Hoxton. We ended up parking at the Broadway Palace Apartments which is about a 5-minute walk from each hotel. They offer parking for $12/night. But be warned…the pay stations did not work for us and we ended up getting stuck in the structure (lol this would happen to us). But HEY! We alerted security and they freed us! PLUS we got free parking so ….not too mad about that.
Jessica Uchi 