Last week I spent less than 24 hours in Los Angeles and honestly, it was perfect, so perfect I had to tell you all about it. I went without children so already the trip was bound for success. I don’t always talk about my travels here unless it’s something I really think you should know about. Even though I only lived there until I was 2, I always consider LA home because both my parents grew up there and my grandparents lived here, but to be honest, I haven’t spent much time there as an adult so there’s a lot to get to know. It’s only an hour and a half away so it’s such a great destination from Utah.
The cutest LA boutique hotel
A work event took me there for an evening so I wanted to keep everything tight and concise to my little area. I picked out a hotel by the event in West Hollywood and though I know LA isn’t technically a great walkable city, I treated it as such and it was perfect! My event was on Melrose Avenue at Melroseplace LA so I chose a hotel that was rather nearby.
My dear friend, Eva Jorgensen, is a travel nut (she’s currently leading impeccably curated tours to Paris right now) who knows everything cool to see and do. On her website she has a list of best things to do and see in LA and she recommended Hotel 850 SVB, which is just a few blocks away. I did a bit of research and started getting butterflies in my tummy. It looked too cute!
The interiors in Hotel 850 SVB
Hotelier Jeff Klein envisioned 850 SVB as a cross between an airbnb and a hotel–something super private and cozy that didn’t feel corporate, but with all the amenities of a hotel. I didn’t even know those things were important to me until I got there and started noticing all the details. He took an old bungalow on San Vicente and fixed it up to charming perfection. The interiors were designed by Rita Konig, one of my longtime favorite designers from the original Domino days. She is the quintessential queen of charm and perfect layouts and this one was no exception.
Single Carriage room
I chose to stay in the 200 sq feet carriage room, which is meant for one person. Even though it’s tiny, it’s so thoughtfully laid out that I began to cry noticing all the details. The layout can’t get any better with the space provided showing that imperfect scenarios oftentimes lead to the most clever solutions. She chose the perfect shade of blue on the walls (my guess is Farrow and Ball Oval Room Blue), great wooden floors, perfectly white linens on the built in bed. I never imagined saying this, but the closet was a masterpiece. It’s built into the bed and is deep enough for drawers with two layers of rods and everything you could possibly need during your stay: yoga mat, robes, umbrella, iron…I know these are pretty common but man, it just felt so thoughtful.
There is a built in desk behind the bathroom with again, everything you could ever want. They used a beautiful marbling pattern for stationery and the room key that I wanted to keep in a frame it’s so beautiful. And the bathroom? Such beautiful details like the antique brass toilet paper holder and faucet.
There are four floors and each hallway has it’s own distinct color palette, a detail Rita said she came up with so that you know exactly what floor you are on. For me it felt like a treasure hunt to discover all the details. She used a wool fabric on the walls with silk trim in beautiful colors outlining the trims. I tried to get pictures but the hallways are pretty dark.
The rooms in Hotel 850 SVB
On the second floor is a communal living space on the 2nd floor where there’s a breakfast area in the sunshiniest yellow color with black and white tiled floor and a great lounge that captures the more cottagey feel of old time Los Angeles. There’s also a sweet terrace eating area. Now, shame on me, I didn’t really look at the website before I went so I completely missed the rooftop, which from it’s pictures, looks amazing. That just means I need to go back 🙂
LA Design District
Ok, ok, I could really go on about the hotel, but another great thing about it is that it’s close to great restaurants and is placed in the design district. I walked across the street to Bottega Louie where I had the best burrata pizza of my life. Make sure you grab an iconic pastry or macaron too. Walking down Santa Monica Boulevard to La Cienega, I then took in some design shops down to Melrose Ave where my event was. Then I spent some time around the street soaking in the inspiration of the clothing stores too, each interior a piece of art in itself.
I brought along our new Casetify collection of cell phone cases so I could shoot them in some of these fun interiors. Our new collection comes out this week so stay tuned!
Food in West Hollywood
I didn’t get to try out the food at Melroseplace LA for our event, but it looked delicious and the views were amazing so try and get a rooftop view!
Take out options in LA
I wanted to spend as much time in the hotel while still feeling like I got a good sense of the city, so I headed back early and did take out/Door Dash for the taco sampler from Guisados, which is a genius idea, you guys. A few of them were way too hot for me but don’t worry, I also ordered a birthday cake shake and slice of cake from Milk Bar, which hit the spot. When in LA, right?!
I intended to go back to Bottega Louie for breakfast since it was so close even though the hotel offered a continental breakfast, but instead I got a green smoothie from Kreation also across the street, which really hit the spot.
At this point, I’ll be looking for any excuse to head back to LA and repeat this itinerary. Let me know if you have any comments/questions!
24 hours in LA Itinerary at a glance
- Hotel 850 SVB
- Bottega Louie for lunch/dinner
- LA Design district for window shopping/home decor shopping
- Melrose Avenue for clothing shopping
- Melroseplace LA for bar/restaurant and great views
- Guisados for lunch/dinner
- Milk Bar for dessert
- Kreation Organic juice for snack or breakfast