Best hotels near the Hollywood Bowl and Universal Studios - Los Angeles Times
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A bell and hotel key in the foreground with the Hollywood Bowl and a starry night sky in the background
(Patrick Hruby / Los Angeles Times)

Need a hotel near the Hollywood Bowl? 9 cool, Angeleno-approved picks

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You’re headed to a show at the Hollywood Bowl, or maybe a day at nearby Universal Studios, and you want to make it an overnight adventure. Where to stay?

The one with sex toys in the lobby merch cabinet?

The one with free popsicles?

The one between Universal and the Brady Bunch House?

I know. It’s a tough call. And if you don’t live nearby, bear in mind that the streets of Hollywood harbor more pathos and pandering than glamour and romance. But the hotel landscape has been changing, and there are several solid possibilities in the area that might surprise you — mostly smallish properties whose names don’t include the words Hilton, Holiday Inn, Hyatt or Marriott.

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The nine hotels here (listed alphabetically) are all within two miles of the Hollywood Bowl and east of La Brea Avenue — a territory that’s also convenient to Universal Studios, the Greek Theatre and the Hollywood Pantages Theatre. While a couple of them might be walkable from the Bowl, using a rideshare will be a better option for most.

Over the last few weeks I have looked at each of these hotels (guest rooms and public spaces), eaten in some of their restaurants and spent a night at one (the Garland, where I wanted to see its kid-friendliness in action).

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All the rates quoted here are before hotel taxes, which add 14% in the city of Los Angeles. But these rates do include resort fees, amenity fees and assorted other hotel fees. Since July 1, California hotels have been required to include those charges in their initial rate quotes.

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The Adler is a mid-range hotel on Franklin Avenue in Hollywood.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

If you want all things Hollywood, try The Adler

Hollywood Hills Hotel
From Hollywood Bowl: 1.1 mile

From Universal Studios: 3.1 miles

If you’ve seen the Hollywood sign, you’ve probably seen this place. It’s the freeway-adjacent hotel near Beachwood Canyon with the words “Last Cappuccino Before the 101” painted on its side. It’s not fancy, but it’s got a pool, a hip coffee shop and an impressive collective of autographed 8-by-10 glossies.

The Adler has 86 rooms. The four-level main building (with the 101 sign) includes the Clark Street Diner, which trembles with Mid-Century Modern vibes and was a key location in the 1996 movie “Swingers.” On the walls of just about every room, hall and stairwell landing, you’ll find photos of Hollywood stars and movie scenes. You might hear rock ‘n’ roll piping through the lobby sound system.

The hotel’s second building (with parking below) wraps around a pool and is just as drenched in showbiz tchotchkes. (A life-sized Esther Williams covers one wall of the pool-adjacent elevator. A life-sized black-and-white Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dominate the wall of some guest bathrooms.)

From the hotel you can walk up Beachwood Canyon for a fine Hollywood sign view (or a people-watching meal at the Beachwood Cafe). Or stroll east on Franklin Avenue to the trendy commercial strip that includes the Daily Planet bookshop, Birds restaurant, La Poubelle Bistro and the Oaks market and cafe. Be warned that traffic can get tight on Franklin.

In recent weeks, its website has often been down for redesign; the hotel has been directing travelers to reserve through booking.com.

Rates: Summer weekdays start at about $220. Overnight parking: $35 by valet.
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The Cara Hotel is a small lodging with restaurant in East Hollywood.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

If you want a grown-up oasis of calm, try Cara Hotel

Los Feliz Hotel
From Hollywood Bowl: 2.1 miles

From Universal Studios: 4 miles

Cara is a hotel, bar and restaurant in Los Feliz, even closer to the Greek Theatre than it is to the Hollywood Bowl. It’s easy to miss, because it’s on Western Avenue, surrounded by uninspiring mid-city commercial jumble.

But inside, it’s elegant — an upscale couples sort of place, beginning with the checkerboard marble floor of the lobby. Beyond that lies a courtyard with plenty of greenery and a water feature that looks like a lap pool but isn’t. It’s a reflecting pool, about a foot deep, occasionally used by guest pets.

The hotel opened in late 2020, upgrading the former site of the Coral Sands Motel. A pair of 100-year-old olive trees throw shade on two secluded patio areas. The bar offers live jazz on Sunday afternoons, salsa on Wednesday nights, most cocktails $18. The restaurant, whose tables are in the open-air courtyard, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, brunch on weekends. The eclectic dinner menu (pasta, shawarma, steaks) runs $24-$78 for most main dishes.

The hotel has 56 rooms (including one suite) on two levels, with shades along the outside walkways to keep guests focused on the bright elegance within, not the urban jumble all around. Most guest rooms have wood floors and measure 215 square feet. (The owners are Irish and Cara is Gaelic for friend.)

Rates: Summer weekday rates start at about $290. Parking (by valet) is $38 overnight.
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The Garland hotel, North Hollywood.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

If you want a family-friendly option with '70 vibes, try The Garland

Studio City Hotel
From Universal Studios: 1.4 miles

From Hollywood Bowl: 3.8 miles

Now let us travel to the San Fernando Valley, circa 1972.

That’s when veteran TV and movie actress Beverly Garland (who played Fred MacMurray’s wife on “My Three Sons” in the early ‘70s) teamed with her husband, Fillmore Crank, to open this hotel on a spacious seven-acre plot near Universal Studios. (And because this is L.A., the former owner was Gene Autry.)

Garland and her husband are gone now, but the hotel has remained in the family, shedding a former affiliation with Holiday Inn. Nowadays it’s a more upscale space, leaning hard into its ‘70s roots (you’ll see a lot of orange) and very much family-focused.

Roaming the property, you’ll find a swimming pool (about 20 by 40 feet) neighbored by the hotel’s emblematic outdoor fireplace. The property has about 270 guest rooms, which begin at about 250 square feet. Near the pool, there’s a courtyard full of games like Foosball, Jenga and cornhole, a lobby bar, a well-curated shop full of souvenirs and housewares made in California and a lively main restaurant, the Front Yard, that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

By far, the Garland is the family-friendliest option on this list. And in the restaurant, poolside, in the shop, on a neighborhood tour and in the lobby, we got excellent service.

There’s daily yoga, “dive-in” movies in the pool on summer nights, two hot tubs (one adults only). On summer Tuesday mornings, staffers lead a two-mile neighborhood walk through several leafy residential blocks of Studio City (including the Brady Bunch House on Dilling Street).

A note: The hotel backs up to the 101, so if your room faces that direction, you’ll want to keep the window closed to avoid the dull roar of traffic.

Rates: Summer weekdays begin at about $305. AAA and AARP discounts available. (Dog fee: $75 per week for one dog up to 40 pounds.) Parking: $36 self-parking overnight or $39 by valet. A free shuttle runs frequently, taking guests to Universal Studios and the Universal City Metro station.
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The Godfrey Hotel Hollywood opened in 2021.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

If you're looking for a rooftop pool that's buzzing with action, try Godfrey Hotel Hollywood

Hollywood Hotel
From Hollywood Bowl: 1.7 mile

From Universal Studios: 3.4 miles

This hotel, opened in 2021, has one of the busiest rooftops in Hollywood: It includes two bars, swimming pool (4 feet deep), fire pits and an enormous wall for screening movies. There’s room for 750 people.

Downstairs, the hotel begins with a small lobby and ample bar and restaurant ALK (breakfast, lunch, dinner and frequent live events, including jazz on Saturday nights).

It has 220 guest rooms, which start at a snug 194 square feet. Sales and marketing director Tiffany Young noted that corner rooms are 295-320 square feet. Many guests are business travelers headed to the Netflix offices across the street.

If you join the Element Lounge (which adds $35-$75 to your bill), you get access to snacks, games and lounging chairs in a central courtyard area.

The Godfrey name may be new for many travelers, but the brand has hotels in Boston, Chicago, Detroit and Tampa.

Rates: Summer weekdays start at about $240. Parking: $50 valet overnight. Or park across the street in the public structure for $35.
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The Kimpton Everly is a boutique hotel in Hollywood. It stands near the Capitol Records building with views of the Hollywood sign.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

If you want a pet-friendly respite with views of the hills, try Kimpton Everly Hotel

Hollywood Hotel
From Hollywood Bowl: 1.3 miles

From Universal Studios: 3.3 miles

Here’s one place where you can get a room with a Hollywood sign view.

The hotel, built in 2017, has 216 rooms, a contemporary design and generous public space on its lower levels. That includes the Living Room, which has a bar, pool table and sometimes live music; and JANE Q restaurant a level below. (If you’re in the Living Room between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., you can get a complimentary happy hour beer or glass of wine.)

Guest rooms begin at about 350 square feet — much larger than the industry average — and the property’s 11 suites are even larger. Every room comes with a yoga mat. For best Hollywood sign views, ask for a high-floor room on the north side of the hotel.

Also — are you listening, pet owners? — the hotel charges no deposit or advance cleaning fee for guests arriving with pets. There’s also no limit on the size or number of pets, which sounds to me like the set-up for a Disney movie.

On the fifth floor of the 15-story hotel is a swimming pool, along with a poolside bar looking out over the flats of Hollywood. The hotel is one block east of the Capitol Records building, a block north of the Pantages theater. It’s also less than a block south of the Hollywood Freeway, but even in a north-facing guest room, I heard no freeway roar.

Rates: Summer weekdays start around $280 nightly. Parking: $60 overnight.
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Magic Castle Hotel, Hollywood.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

If you want access to the Magic Castle (and free popsicles!), try Magic Castle Hotel

Hollywood Hills Hotel
From Hollywood Bowl: 1 miles

From Universal Studios: 3 miles

Many of Magic Castle Hotel‘s customers are there because a booking gives you access to the one-of-a-kind Magic Castle next door. But the hotel also puts you close to many other Hollywood assets. Once a 1950s apartment building, it’s painted bright yellow, with an 88-degree pool, pool toys, games and free soft-serve ice cream and snacks.

Most rooms are suites with kitchens and a fold-out sofa in the living room.

It’s a quirky hotel. The furniture and grounds are worn, the interiors plain; I wouldn’t suggest a romantic weekend here. But the emphasis on families is unmistakable, the rates are relatively low and I found the service snappy and upbeat.

Next to the pool is a red phone. Anytime during the day, you or your kid can pick it up and someone at the other end will answer “Popsicle hotline!” Free delivery follows. On Fridays and Saturday nights, the hotel often screens kid-friendly movies on a wall above the pool.

Also, the hotel is a five-minute (uphill) walk from Yamashiro Hollywood, the Japanese restaurant famed for its city views.

Rates: Summer weekdays start about $280. Weekends often book up months ahead. Parking (self): $28
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Mama Shelter is an offbeat hotel in Hollywood, the only U.S. property run by a company based in France.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

If you want a little spice, try Mama Shelter

Hollywood Hotel
From Hollywood Bowl: 1.4 mile

From Universal Studios: 3.2 miles

Don’t come here on a Friday night looking for peace and quiet. This is a place to start the party before a show and continue it afterward.

The hotel has 70 rooms (each with one king bed), along with a ground-floor restaurant and a rooftop bar with views of the Hollywood Hills.

Stepping inside from disheveled central Hollywood, you see colorful lamps dangling and a blackboard ceiling covered with festive chalked-in words and symbols.

Beside your bed, you may find a copy of “Scar Tissue,” a memoir by Red Hot Chili Pepper frontman Anthony Kiedis. In the merch cabinet downstairs, you’ll find not only shirts and hats but penis rings and anal play gel ($15). If you’re headed to the rooftop bar, a security guard will probably wand you first.

“We don’t get a lot of families here,” said rooms division manager Gerald Dobard. “We do get business travelers.”

The Mama Shelter brand was born in Paris in 2008 and the Hollywood hotel (its only U.S. location) opened in 2015. Though it’s a new name to many Americans, the chain now includes 18 hotels worldwide.

“It’s exciting,” said Dobard, who added that many guests are thinking in terms of concerts and nightlife. “If they’re going to a show, they don’t just want to go to a normal hotel. They want a little spice.”

Except for two suites, rooms measure about 215 square feet.

Rates: Summer weekdays start about about $229. Parking: $55 overnight.
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The pool at Palihotel Hollywood.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

If you want modern 'Dwell' vibes, try Palihotel Hollywood

Hollywood Hotel
From Hollywood Bowl: 1.4 miles

From Universal Studios: 3.4 miles

This hotel, part of the fast-growing Pali empire, is urban marvel — proof that you can conjure glamour in a former Days Inn. The hotel opened in 2023 with 74 rooms, a big courtyard pool and a breakfast-and-lunch cafe and bar (Benny’s on the Blvd.).

The two-story building, first a 1950s motor lodge, later a Days Inn, is basically a big two-story rectangle with Spanish-style red-tile roof and a pool in the middle. It shouldn’t be confused with its more architecturally distinguished and pricier sibling the Palihouse West Hollywood, yet it’s so cleverly redone that Dwell did a story on it.

Around the central pool you find peach-and-white checkerboard tiles and striped chaise lounges under peachy umbrellas. Upstairs rooms have balconies overlooking the pool. There’s plenty of floral-print wallpaper. From above the bar, a vintage painting of a beguiling woman looks out at the lobby.

“She’s whoever you want her to be,” a server explained.

Guest rooms start at about 300 square feet (but the six suites, which include sofas the size of twin beds, are larger). A handful of units have two double beds, but most have a single king.

The menu at Benny’s includes five kinds of breakfast taco and five kinds of lunch taco. (It doesn’t serve dinner.) Hotel staffer dinner recommendations include L’antica Pizzeria de Michelle, two blocks away, but there’s also an In ‘N’ Out Burger next to the hotel.)

“Weekends are party friendly,” said general manager Sirley Cuevas. “Weekdays, we get the families on vacation.”

Cuevas also said many guests walk to the Hollywood Bowl, which takes about 35 minutes. When you consider that the drive can take as much as 45 minutes on a rough night, that’s not a bad option.

Pali is an L.A.-based, design-driven hotel management company, founded by Avi Brosh in 2007, that focuses on properties under 150 rooms.

Rates: Summer weekdays begin at about $195. Parking (by valet) is $48 overnight. (If you become a member of Palisociety, which is free, and book direct, you get free valet parking.)
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The Prospect Hollywood is an upscale small hotel in the Whitley Heights area of Hollywood.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

If you want an upscale hidden haven, try The Prospect Hollywood

Hollywood Hotel
From Hollywood Bowl: 0.8 mile

From Universal Studios: 3 miles

This upscale haven, almost invisible from the street, is set in a 1939 Hollywood Regency style building, low-key and gray, shielded by a tall hedge. The rest of this block in Hollywood’s Whitley Heights neighborhood is dominated by apartment buildings (which this hotel once was).

Once you’re inside the two-story structure, things get more playful — bold colors, leopard skin carpet patterns, jungle foliage wallpaper, rooms named for stars of yesteryear, old-school keys made of metal. (The designer is Martyn Lawrence Bullard.)

There are 24 rooms. The smallest measure 250 square feet. Each includes one king bed — no queens, no two-bed rooms, no rollaways, no adjoining rooms. Also no pool. (Couples and solo travelers are the target here.)

There are tables, umbrellas, a fountain and a fire pit in the tiled courtyard. A lobby bar and lounge offers drinks and baked goods from the nearby Tartine bakery.

The hotel opened in 2019. Earlier this year, when the Michelin guidebook people expanded from restaurant rankings to naming favorite hotels, the Prospect Hollywood was one of 124 U.S. hotels to receive top scores.

Rates: Summer weekdays start around $300. Parking (valet) $45 overnight
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