Time for a new luxury hotel review, this time from Hotel Per La in Los Angeles Downtown. It was our very first stop in Los Angeles. There were a couple of things in Downtown that we wanted to see and visit. We stayed at Hotel Per La for 5 nights, and in this blog post I’ll take you through the experience from arrival to departure.

Arrival

Arrival & Check In

We arrived by taxi and were welcomed by the bell staff. They took out our luggage and escorted us inside. I loved the entrance, and the mirror hallway that you had to go through to arrive at the front desk. The lobby and the front desk was decorated with a living room feel, I loved it. The front desk staff was so kind and checked us in. 

But then, my card decided to not work. I did everything in the preparation of going to the US, so it should’ve worked. But the room was already pre-paid, so it was just the deposit. I had to call the bank and it took us about an hour and a half to sort it out. It would’ve been great if they had just given us the key to the room to sort it out there, and then have me come back later for the deposit, since we just had an 11-hour flight and we were exhausted. But eventually I spoke to someone from the bank, which was a miracle because it was already evening there. And we finally could go to the room.

The front desk staff escorted us to the room, and explained a little bit about the history of the hotel. It used to be an Italian bank, and you can still see that in a lot of details.

The room

We booked the Skyline View Salon and paid €1340 for 5 nights. As soon as you enter the room you immediately see the details from the Italian bank. I love that they kept a lot of it, it makes it feel special and not just like any other hotel. The room itself had the cutest colors, and a gorgeous bathroom. The bed, don’t even get me started on that. It was heaven. I was ready to just buy the whole bed, including pillows and sheets. I slept like a baby there.

Swimming pool

A Los Angeles luxury hotel without a swimming pool, is no luxury hotel, haha. The swimming pool was such a vibe. It was located at the rooftop. It didn’t necessarily have an amazing view, since you basically only have tall office buildings in the area, but the pool itself was lovely. I truly loved the statue at the end of the swimming pool. The weather also was so amazing for that time of year for us North-Europeans, haha. It’s usually pretty cold already in the first weeks of October, but in LA it was still 23-28 degrees. Like you went time traveling back to summer, but with Halloween decorations. 

They have Bar Clara attached to the swimming pool, so you could enjoy amazing cocktails while being at the pool. But you could also choose to leave the pool and just go sit at a table there. Of course, I chose the pool. How often can we sip a cocktail by the pool around October 5th? Easy choice.

Café Ora

They had a small coffeeshop inside the hotel – that was also open to people from outside the hotel – where I got my cappuccino and croissant each morning. I would choose this any time over a lousy cup of coffee inside the hotel room. 

Sometimes I would just sit there in peace when I had enough time, other times I would take it back to the room because we had to get ready for the day.

Ristorante Per L’Ora

We had dinner at the restaurant on our day of arrival. It’s gorgeously decorated with lovely details, even in the ceiling. There was a musician playing the piano. It was such a vibe. We had pasta and a cocktail, but we almost fell asleep while eating because we hadn’t slept for almost 24 hours. So sadly I don’t remember much of the menu, what kind of cocktail and what kind of pasta I had, because I was about half asleep there, haha. I just know that it was good, and we wanted to stay and sit there if we weren’t so tired. But we left pretty quickly, and then went to bed.

Conclusion

The hotel itself was lovely. I’m not a big fan myself of the neighborhood, but if you’re looking for a good luxury hotel for a good price in Los Angeles Downtown, then Hotel Per La can be just the one that you’re looking for. Just make sure that your card works before you leave home, haha. Looking for the best lunch and dinner spots in LA? Then check out this blog post here, where I’ve added 6 amazing lunch/brunch spots, and 5 iconic dinner spots. For more LA content, visit my Instagram. You can book the Hotel Per La through this link.

See you next week!