The Hollywood Roosevelt

The Hollywood Roosevelt opened in 1927 at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard, a 12-storey Spanish Colonial Revival tower by Fisher, Lake & Traver, financed by a syndicate including Joseph Schenck of United Artists, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Sid Grauman. On 16 May 1929 the first Academy Awards were presented in its Blossom Room, in a ceremony of about fifteen minutes. Marilyn Monroe is said to have lived in a poolside cabana here for two years early in her career, the City of Los Angeles listed the hotel and its pool as a Historic-Cultural Monument in 1991, and it turns 100 in 2027.

There are about 300 rooms in two buildings. The tower rooms were redesigned by Yabu Pushelberg from 2015: the Tower Room is 300 sq ft (28 m²), with hardwood floors, a work desk and a stocked minibar, and the Premiere Room is 380 sq ft (35 m²). The cabana rooms around the pool have mid-century furnishings: the Garden King is 265 sq ft (25 m²) with a private patio on the garden path, the Poolside King 275 sq ft (26 m²) with a patio overlooking the pool, and the Balcony King 275 sq ft (26 m²), the only one of the three with a private balcony. Suites include the 480 sq ft (45 m²) loft-style Tower Suite and the 750 sq ft (70 m²) Marilyn Suite, with a wraparound balcony and pool views.

The pool is what it is chosen for. The Tropicana is heated year-round, and David Hockney painted its floor with sweeping blue brushstrokes, since restored by conservators. Registered guests swim from 8am with loungers free on a first-come basis, the Tropicana Café and a pool bar serve the deck, and day-pass guests aged 21 and over share it, so it is a scene rather than a secret, with weekend DJ sets and seasonal programming. Indoors, Gable, a live-fire restaurant off the lobby, opened in August 2026 and serves dinner Tuesday to Saturday, and The Spare Room is a cocktail bar with two vintage bowling lanes.

The trade is noise, space and extras. The hotel runs restaurants, bars, private events and pool programming, music and pool activity can be audible in the cabana rooms, and the pool can close for private events or film shoots. Entry rooms are compact, and a $37 nightly destination fee and $79 valet, the only parking, come on top of the room rate and 16 per cent tax. On an early December Tuesday the entry room starts at $235 before those. Book it for a first Hollywood trip, a film-minded weekend or a stay built around the pool, and skip it if you want a silent night or a large room.