Best hotels in Los Angeles: where to stay, from Santa Monica to Pasadena

Right on the sand

Shutters sits directly on Santa Monica beach, with white shutters, verandas facing the ocean and a lobby that feels like an elegant beach house. The pier is a few minutes' walk along the promenade, and you can hire bikes and ride south to Venice.

It is our family pick: the sand is right outside and the mood is relaxed without being sloppy. Street-facing rooms are less exciting, so ask for an ocean view. Rates are high and parking costs extra. Early in the morning the promenade is almost empty, which is when Santa Monica is at its best.

A 1920s beach club

Casa del Mar stands a few steps from Shutters, in a 1920s beach club building of brick and terracotta. The lobby has soaring ceilings and huge windows facing the ocean, and its bar is one of the finest places in the city to watch the sunset.

This is our romantic pick, older and more elegant than its neighbour. The pool is small, and the public beach gets busy at weekends. Come for the atmosphere and the view.

The pink legend

The Beverly Hills Hotel is the pink palace on Sunset Boulevard, with banana-leaf wallpaper in its corridors and bungalows in its gardens. Its Polo Lounge has been a meeting place for the film industry for generations, and the pool with its striped cabanas is just as famous.

It is right for travellers who want Hollywood history and calm in a big garden. It is very expensive and the atmosphere is classic and a little formal. If you want the beach or nightlife close by, there are better choices, but if you have one night to spend on a legend, make it this one.

At the foot of Rodeo Drive

Beverly Wilshire stands where Rodeo Drive meets Wilshire Boulevard and is famous from the film Pretty Woman. It is run by Four Seasons, and the service and rooms are excellent, with an Italianate pool on the roof of one wing.

It is a strong pick for shoppers and those who want to walk to the restaurants of Beverly Hills. It is a city hotel with plenty of traffic outside, so if you want a garden retreat, its neighbour on Sunset is the better bet.

Greenery above Sunset

1 Hotel sits on Sunset Boulevard, with views across the whole city from its south-facing rooms. It is built with reclaimed wood and plenty of plants, and has a rooftop pool and a garden that screens out the street.

It is our pick for a first visit: central, modern and with a great view, and both Hollywood and Beverly Hills are a short ride away. Weekends are lively, so ask for a room on an upper floor. The hills with their views of the Hollywood sign are close too.

Rooftop bar and nightlife

EDITION stands on the Sunset Strip as a white, clean-lined design hotel with a rooftop bar that is one of the area's well-known nightspots. Rooms are light and minimalist, with big windows facing the city or the hills behind.

It appeals to couples and friends who want nightlife on the doorstep. It is not the place for families or early nights. Come for the view and the buzz.

The 1920s and a coffin-shaped pool

Hotel Figueroa was built in the 1920s as a hotel for women and keeps its Spanish-inspired architecture of tiles and arches. The pool in the garden is shaped like a coffin and is one of the most photographed in the city.

It gets our vote as the value pick and suits travellers who want to be near the arenas and restaurants of Downtown. The area is busy on game and concert nights, and room sizes vary. In return, prices are lower than by the beach and you get a lot of history for your money.

A rooftop pool above the city

Proper occupies a historic building Downtown and was designed by one of Los Angeles' best-known interior designers, with patterned tiles, warm colours and big plants. The rooftop pool looks out over the towers of the city centre.

It takes our design pick and suits couples and friends who want Downtown's restaurants and bars around them. The streets right outside can feel bleak late at night, so take a taxi home.

A garden hotel in Pasadena

The Langham Huntington sits in a residential part of Pasadena, in a grand early twentieth-century hotel surrounded by gardens and an old covered wooden bridge. The Huntington Library and its botanical gardens are nearby, and Old Pasadena has restaurants and shops.

It is well suited to travellers who want calm and another side of Los Angeles, and who have a car. The beach and Hollywood are a long way off, so it works best for a couple of nights at the end of a trip.