NoMad Los Angeles

"Set the scene.Vintage Hollywood glamor with a hint of current West Coast cool. The building was erected in the 1920s as the HQ for the Bank of Italy and many original neoclassical details remain, such as the soaring lobby with its blue and gold Italianate ceiling and the fluted Corinthian column façade. The atmosphere inside plays along with the period—in the lobby, lights are dim and designer Jacques Garcia dialed up the moody opulence with lots of jewel-toned velvet and rich leather. Just off the lobby, there’s the Giannini Bar (named for Amadeo Giannini, founder of The Bank of Italy), a Deco number mixing strong, classic cocktails—the sort of place you can picture Bogart and Bacall unwinding after the day’s filming. What’s the story behind it?It’s part of the Sydell Group, founded by Andrew Zobler, with various strands. The two other NoMad properties are in New York and, opened in 2018, in Las Vegas. Like the New York and Vegas NoMads, this one is also designed by French architect and designer Jacques Garcia. Sydell is also behind the very cool Line group, with hotels in DC, Los Angeles, and Austin, and the hipster Freehand properties (Miami, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago), as well as part-owner, along with Nick Jones of Soho House, of The Ned in London. What can we expect from the rooms?Bedrooms are a sort of sunny modern-day California answer or a calm counterpoint to the more cinematic communal areas. In the classic queen rooms, an almost jet-black vestibule leads into a compact but light-filled space with oak floors and pale mint-green walls that are arranged with clusters of contemporary art and photography. The tech is enough and considered—good Wi-Fi and USB outlets on either side of the bed—but not overwhelmingly complex. How about the food and drink?The lobby-level restaurant is overseen by chef Daniel Humm and restaurateur Will Guidara, the team behind the original NoMad restaurant as well as the three-Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park in NYC. Plates with lots of fresh herbs and bright citrus notes star on the menus (lemon-Parmesan chicken, black-truffle tart), with now obligatory avocado toast and chia seed pudding make appearances on the breakfast one. Cocktails mix up Aperol and vermouths. The food is solid and the bar is great, but DTLA and nearby Little Tokyo and the Arts District are such great eating-and-drinking neighborhoods—don’t eat every meal in. Anything to say about the service?The staff was incredibly well-trained and the service flawless—on the right side of attentive without being claustrophobic. Who comes here?A smart after-work crowd hitting the ground-floor bar on the Friday night. On Saturday, things feel stepped up, with the crowd dressed up and either stopping off for pre-dinner drinks or locked down for a proper, old-school night of drinking in a fabulous hotel. How does it fit into the neighborhood?Downtown has been changing at a rapid clip over the past five years, but it’s still a far cry from feeling scrubbed and continues to struggle with a major homeless presence here. But it is also one of the most vibrant parts of the city in terms of food and art—Grand Central Market and The Broad are both a half-mile walk from the hotel while the Arts District, with its bars and restaurants, shops and galleries, is an easy five-minute ride. Anything we missed?There’s a small but well-equipped gym in the basement for guests only and a lovely rooftop pool area designed by Jacques Garcia with fantastic views of the city—with a bar made for late-afternoon spritzes and snacks. The concept store Please Do Not Enter has a boutique on the ground floor for a tight curation of home items, fragrances, and clothing. Worth it?Absolutely. Los Angeles can be an over-priced city for hotels and this is real value for money." - Matthew Buck