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Hotels

Los Angeles boasts a full spectrum of lodging options to suit almost any budget, from boutique bungalows to grand beachside hotels to refurbished '60s motels. Like most cities of this ilk, you're toughest choice will involve deciding which neighborhood you want to stay in – if you want the beach, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, or downtown. We've outlined our favorites in luxury, moderate, and budget categories. For a full list of our favorite Los Angeles hotels (and current deals), see our Shermans Top Los Angeles Hotels directory.

A diverse array of luxury options are scattered throughout the city. We recommend basking in the chic '20s glamour of the Chateau Marmont, which is steeped in Hollywood lore (John Belushi overdosed in Bungalow No. 3; Greta Garbo and Errol Flynn were regulars). This well-kept whimsical castle features 63 units – suites, bungalows, cottages – and no two are alike. For a more intimate and contemporary stay, try Beverly Hills' elegant Mosaic Hotel, located around the corner from Rodeo Drive. Each of its 49 rooms is luxuriously furnished without being pretentious. Located directly on the beach at Santa Monica Bay, the superb Cape Cod-style Shutters on the Beach features 198 guestrooms, a spa with six treatment rooms and two wet rooms with built-in tropical rain showers. The entire hotel has been completely reinvented from the ground up, with added amenities including in room wine cellars.

Our favorite moderate options include both of André Balazs' affordably hip, minimalist Standard Hotel properties, one located in the standard oil building downtown (great rooftop views) and the other in an old mid-century motel in Hollywood on the Sunset Strip (great poolside people watching). Just down the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, we also recommend the Sunset Tower (formerly the Argyle), a 15-story Art Deco gem with 74 rooms, most of which afford panoramic views of the twinkling city below, as well as a fantastic pool deck/bar. Also in Hollywood, and the site of the first Academy Awards, the Roosevelt Hotel, located across the street from Grauman's Chinese Theater, celebrated its 75th anniversary with a $15 million renovation; 65 new cabana rooms surround a swimming pool painted by David Hockney.

Good budget options also abound, including downtown's Moroccan-inspired La Figueroa, which offers incredibly stylish accommodations straight out of Casablanca, not to mention great bars and lounge areas, at an affordable price. Another appealing spot is Hollywood's Magic Castle Hotel, a spruced-up motel with a pool in its courtyard; a night here grants you access to the exclusive Magic Castle, a Victorian mansion-turned-clubhouse for the world's most famous magicians, some of whom perform nightly Houdini séances and magic shows.

See Los Angeles Travel Guide