Come for the celeb sightings, stay for the brioche French toast.
Los Angeles’ Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel has a long and glamorous history. But a new restaurant and an innovative redesign show the iconic hotel is also poised for a fashionable future.
The hotel that Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift called home just emerged from a $25-million makeover led by internationally renowned design firm Yabu Pushelberg. The results are as sleek and fresh as the starlets that sun themselves by the refurbished David Hockney pool area while drinking cocktails served by staff in custom-designed, high-fashion uniforms.
Now the Hollywood Roosevelt has just opened its newest addition: the Tropicana Café, which promises all-day brunch and power lunches (or power lounging) next to the pool. Think: brioche French toast and vanilla-buttermilk pancakes eaten under the palm trees, or Cobb salad and crudo under the stars. If you prefer to save your indulgence for a cocktail, pair one of the café’s signature Bloody Marys, mimosas, or bellinis with a healthier brunch option, like a bowl of steel-cut oats or an egg-white scramble topped with grilled tomato. Lunch offerings include savory fare like root beer–braised short-rib omelets, Hamachi crudo, and a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich sure to win over the Hollywood A-list.
The best part is that you don’t even need to be a hotel guest to enjoy the beautiful and historic pool area. After noon on most weekdays, locals and those staying at other Hollywood hotels can stake out a lounge chair by the pool with a $50 minimum on food or drinks. (On Fridays through Sundays the minimum goes up to $100.) For the chance to sunbathe while sipping a martini in a spot once frequented by Hollywood royalty like Charlie Chaplin and Clark Gable, it seems well worth the price.
More good reads from T+L:
• The Stylish Traveler’s Guide to Shopping in Los Angeles
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• World's Best Hotel Spas
