Set amongst Southern California’s highest concentration of restaurants, bars and businesses, the LINE LA seamlessly blends into the buzzing Los Angeles district of Koreatown open 24/7. The hotel has connected with key instigators of the LA scene to ensure their authenticity, celebrating their location and the building’s architecture. Champ team, architect Paul Cournet and designer Sabine Marcelis, explore the modern design and culture-led hotel.

Located between Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles, the LINE LA perfectly reflects the energetic lifestyle of Koreatown. The LINE LA is housed in a beautiful refurbished mid-century building originally built in 1964, now restored and renovated to create a modern design hotel. Besides the hotel, the LINE also offers, an outdoor pool, a cocktail bar, a restaurant, a nightclub, a shop locally curated with art and design pieces, meeting spaces and many other services.

THE ARCHITECTURE

The LINE LA is a perfect refurbishment of an architectural masterpiece from the 1960s. Originally designed by Daniel Mann Johnson + Mendenhall in 1964, the LINE LA was fully restored and renovated. The roughness of the renovation has been thoroughly executed leaving several exposed concrete surfaces which emphasize the character of the original building.

DESIGN-LED

Designer Sean Knibb re-imaged the public spaces and guest rooms of the LINE LA. Effectively using natural materials and organic forms in his design choices, specially-selected designer objects and sculptures can be found throughout the hotel to accompany the open indoor and outdoor spaces.

The lobby is furnished with art works from the duo Chiaozza and other colourful customized design pieces. Sign of the intelligence of the design can also be found in some of the materials used to design the interiors. The ceiling and some of the lobby walls have been entirely covered with recycled T-shirts.

THE ROOMS

Located on Wilshire Boulevard, the rooms of the hotel offer unique views of the LA skyline, Koreatown and the hills of Hollywood, with large floor to ceiling windows. The rooms are also full of natural light and gave us the impression of being literally outside. The city skyline takes one entire side of the room like a gigantic living wallpaper in the room, contrasting perfectly with the roughness of the concrete on the ceiling and the walls of the room. That being said, the roughness of the architecture is well balanced with the well-selected design and art objects present in each room, and the soft surfaces provided by the carpets and the colourful lounge chairs available.

The design of the rooms is inspired by the diverse culture of Los Angeles: handmade furniture and art works from local artists such as Kevin Hanley are creating a unique loft experience. We also loved to find the ceramic vases of fellow Rotterdam-based designer Foekje Fleur that imitate everyday plastic bottles.

DINING

LINE LA’s new restaurant Openaire is led by culinary expert and two-star Michelin chef Josiah Citrin. Citrin is a veteran in the Los Angeles dining scene, also founding 3 other restaurants of his own. With his culinary philosophy In Pursuit of Excellence leading his direction at the LINE LA, the tone is set throughout the hotel.

The menu from the Openaire restaurant epitomize the multicultural nature of Los Angeles while breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in and around the new transparent green-house facing the swimming pool. It’s open to locals and guests alike. The restaurant design is by Sean Knibb, who has  created a luscious greenhouse environment, selecting fragrant plants such as blooming Jerusalem jasmine and rose geraniums for the interiors.

From the restaurant menu, we loved to start with the sautéed mushrooms and the wild Spanish octopus. The menu also offers large plates to share such as the bone-in dry aged New York Steak or a whole steamed fish.

The cocktail bar is a perfect spot to start the night in Koreatown with a menu offering all sort of options. We loved the Cardamon mocktail and the purple haze.

On the ground level of the hotel Alfred Coffee can be found, a specialist coffee store originally opened in LA’s Melrose Place by serial entrepreneur Josh Zad. Here at LINE LA they also offer their signature matcha, and breakfast burritos made by the popular Rooster Truck team, and a convenient menu that guests and locals can take away.

LOCATION

The LINE LA is situated in the pedestrian-friendly neighborhood of Koreatown, walking distance from ideal hotspots such as Hollywood, Amoeba Music and LACMA.

Cycling in the area is made easy with the LINE LA’s collaboration with Linus Bikes who also co-developed local bicycling route maps for guests. Linus also collaborated with the hotel on 25 limited edition bicycles, custom built and designed.

Conveniently, the LINE LA is directly across the street from the LA Metro Purple Line (fast and clean) that connects to Hollywood, Downtown, Union Station and Culver City Pasadena easily.

CULTURAL PROGRAMMING

Together with the local community the LINE LA organises weekly and monthly events for guests and locals alike to interact in the aim of making meaningful connections. A weekly run club is arranged by Koreatown Run Club, a local running club, that encourages guests to stay active whilst exploring the city through a local’s eyes. Spacemakers, a collective encouraging diversity and inclusion for all, come together at the LINE LA on a monthly basis encouraging guests to also converse about social issues whilst creating a safe space for all. Keep an eye on the LINE LA website for up-to-date schedules.

THE POOL, RETAIL AND NIGHTLIFE

The pool is located on the 2nd floor of the hotel. A great place to enjoy LA sunsets and the cocktails from the restaurant.

A design and lifestyle boutique is also found at the LINE LA, curated specially for travelers interested in design, stocking books, magazines, stationary and apothecary items in addition to apparel. The store, Poketo, stocks numerous exclusives only found in the LINE LA store. The name Poketo stems from co-founder Angie Myung’s Korean grandmother’s mispronunciation of “pocket.”

An 80’s themed lounge, titled Break Room 86, takes its inspiration from the hotel’s Koreatown location. The lounge is a throwback to the 80s revisiting the quintessential soundtracks of that era. Created by the Houston Brothers, two twin brothers (of Korean descent and Los Angeles natives) who are behind key nightlife spots in LA such as No Vacancy (a speakeasy-style bar in Hollywood), Good Times at Davey Wayne’s (a “Boogie Nights” style bar where guests enter through a refrigerator door), the club Dirty Laundry and restaurant Butchers and Barbers. They’re making waves in the city and bringing their cultural expertise to the LINE LA. They curate live performances in the lounge and organise special DJ sets. Four karaoke suites are also available in the lounge, available for groups of 10-20.

THE VERDICT

Looking at the colourful sky of LA is always a unique experience. It is in fact possibly the most magical experience that anyone would fall in love with from this city.

Staying in one of the top floors of the hotel offered us this unique experience of watching the changing colours of the sky while falling asleep at dusk and waking up at dawn. The room was being transformed by the reflections on the windows, the play of lights from the city and the green landscape in the background of the city… We can’t wait to visit again.

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LINE LA

3515 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, California, 90010, USA

Visited and reviewed by Champ team designer Sabine Marcelis and architect Paul Cournet

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