What’s it like staying at one of the best hotels in West LA? In this Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel review I’ll share my own perspective as a local. It offers the perfect combination of location, vibe, space an amenities to satisfy even the most discerning visitors. We stayed there on our wedding night a million years ago and more recently on a family trip, so we’ve seen the Luxe from multiple angles over the years.
Bottom line up front: for these former Angelenos, the Luxe sets the bar incredibly high. Read on to find out why we love it, the details about different room choices, dining… and the one small thing I hope they’ll change before our next visit.
Disclosure: We were guests of the Luxe for part of our stay this time and found a great deal on the rest of our stay here.
Why the Luxe Hotel vibe is what every Angeleno (and visitor) needs
Anyone who has ever set foot in LA knows two things: there are tons of people and there’s tons of concrete. Those features often make Angelenos and visitors alike feel all the feels about Los Angeles, and not in a good way.
The Luxe Sunset Blvd Hotel offers the respite you need to feel good about being in LA. From the moment you drive up, the whole building is covered in greenery. The lobby seamlessly blends indoor and outdoor living while water features around the exterior give you a sense of tranquility. The marketing materials call it an oasis in the city, and for good reason.
Psssst… Angelenos can grab a day pass to chill at the hotel and enjoy all the amenities!
Location, location, location
Apart from all the wonderful things about the Luxe that I’ll share with you in a minute, one of the most compelling reasons to stay there is the unbeatable location right at Sunset and the 405. What makes this an ideal location?
First, it’s about halfway between the 10 and 101 freeways right near Brentwood and Westwood. That gives you reasonable access to West LA (including the beaches) and the Valleys (including Universal, WB Studios and more).
Second – and anyone who has spent much time driving around LA will understand this – you can hop on the 405 with virtually no time wasted on surface streets. Many mid-city locations, while convenient for certain attractions, can leave you ensnared in unbelievable backups on Wilshire, Santa Monica, Fairfax and more. The 405 gets a bad rap nationally, but it’s the surface street traffic that can really do you in sometimes! The Luxe smartly put a cut-through under its main building that plops you at a light with direct entry to the 405S and requires just a few hundred feet to get on the 405N. The cut through is between the two hotel buildings so it’s easy to miss, but a much better choice if you want to go anywhere other than Sunset Blvd west.
Third, if you want to stay close by there’s plenty to keep you busy. Even without driving on a freeway you can visit fantastic museums like The Getty Center and Skirball Center, stroll and dine in Brentwood, shop with celebs on trendy Montana Ave or hike to beautiful Inspiration Point at Will Rodgers State Historic Park. These were our stomping grounds for a decade and there’s no better area to fall in love with LA.
When is the Luxe not an ideal location? If you’re focused on things to do in downtown LA or really want to have your toes in the sand every day, it might not be the most convenient place to stay in Los Angeles.
Luxe Sunset Hotel guest rooms
During our most recent stay at the Luxe we got to try out three different room types for our crew: a standard double-double, a Junior Executive Suite and a Family Suite.
If there’s one common adjective that describes all of these rooms, it’s “spacious”. Even the standard room, which is the hotel’s smallest, felt just fine for our family of four at over 500 square feet. Even if our kids were young enough to need the addition of a Pack N Play it would have been fine. Space is used efficiently through tricks like mounting the refrigerators in the wall.
But the furnishings and colors have all been chosen to convey a sense of tranquility and airiness, just like in the hotel’s common spaces. All three of our rooms also had an entire wall of windows that opens to a patio or balcony (depending on the level of the hotel).
Our favorite room (unsurprisingly) was the wonderful family suite. At 700 square feet, it felt absolutely enormous. Ours was outfitted with a king bed and a full-over-full bunk bed (with a rail) in a recessed alcove. Each bunk even has its own reading lamp, which is perfect for kids with different bed time needs. Families with more bedding needs can opt for two double beds on the floor in lieu of a king – on the hotel website it says the occupancy is 4, but I confirmed with the hotel’s reservation team that it can accommodate 6. It’s so rare to find a high-end place to stay for large families without needing two rooms or an insanely expensive suite!
It’s worth keeping in mind that the Family Suites are all located in the Getty Building, up the hill from the main Sunset Building. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – Getty has the pool and tennis courts plus its own valet – but reception and the main restaurant are in Sunset.
If you don’t need bunk beds, the Junior Executive Suite at the Luxe Hotel Sunset Blvd is essentially the same as the family suite. The main difference is a sofa instead of the bunk bed. This room type can come with either a king bed or two full beds. The room above was in the Sunset Building and made Grandma feel like true royalty!
Luxe Hotel dining
When push comes to shove, there’s basically one restaurant at the Luxe hotel… so thankfully it’s good! Other than drinks from Bar Luxe, full meals come from Sirocco located in the Sunset building lobby. You can opt for poolside dining, which in 2022 seems to be basically Sirocco delivery. Again, that’s not a bad thing.
Sirocco offers an extensive breakfast menu from 7 to 11 and then transitions to lunch/dinner service from 11 to 10.
Our breakfast selections were wide-ranging, and thankfully they had something for everyone. Between us we tried the Belgian waffle, avocado toast, smoked salmon platter, pancakes, fresh fruit, (very expensive) smoothies and more. It was a satisfying way to start the day, and the portions were generous enough to serve as brunch. The kids menu options were priced at $8 and suitable for even challenging eaters with options like pancakes and cereals.
We opted to take lunch poolside, and honestly I can’t imagine a more relaxing way to spend a gorgeous afternoon in LA. The kids chose among budget-friendly pasta, pizza, burgers and chicken tenders.
The adult offerings were much more sophisticated, including my ahi tuna tartare wrapped in grilled zucchini, but also offered comfort fare like burgers (beef or Beyond). Next time I’ll complete the experience with a cocktail by the pool as well!
A note for my fellow coffee lovers: each room has a Keurig with two regular French Roast pods and two decaf pods (restocked daily). In addition, the lobby of Sunset and the hallway of Getty have freshly brewed coffee until 10am daily.
If you’re looking for non-hotel dining options nearby, don’t miss these great places to eat in Westwood.
Our room was constantly restocked with bottled water. While it’s a nice touch, the conservationist in me would have preferred a large water dispenser in the common areas to refill our favorite insulated bottles. I also couldn’t find recycling anywhere accessible to guests, which added to the sting of all those empty single-use bottles. There was an ice water dispenser at the pool but it was removed at 3pm when food service wrapped up. If there’s one area where I hope to see improvement at the Luxe, this is it!
Luxe Hotel Los Angeles amenities
Whether you’re looking at a week-long stay or the perfect place for a Los Angeles staycation (or daycation!) you’ll definitely want to plan a little time to linger on-property at the Luxe. I think this will forever remain one of our favorite places to stay in Los Angeles when we know we need some r&r.
The pool is a main attraction and has plenty of lounge chairs, couches and even a few cabanas for rent. You can choose full sun or relax in the shade of an umbrella or the huge tree in the middle of the pool deck!
There are lots of ways to keep your body moving. The Getty building houses a small fitness room, and just outside there are tennis courts that guests can reserve at the desk. You can also sign up for yoga and Pilates on the pool deck!
Of course there’s nothing wrong with whiling the day away with a good book in the sunny, verdant courtyard either!
Luxe Sunset Hotel Los Angeles review FAQs
Parking for hotel guests is $47 per night and valet service is provided.
Obviously prices vary by date, but you can get a regular room for as little as $200 per night for an off-peak weeknight stay or as much as $400 per night for a holiday weekend. Depending on the dates and number of guests, the price to bump up to the Family or Junior suites ranges from around $75 to $125.
There used to be a sibling hotel, the Luxe City Center Hotel. It’s now the E-Central Hotel DTLA.
Plan your trip
When you’re scouting out where to stay in Los Angeles, the Luxe should be at the top of your list. Be sure to shop around for the best price on Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel reservations! I’ve seen great deals on all of these sites: