Roosevelt Hotel, Hollywood

There's a lot worse you could do, as far as places to stay and things to do in Los Angeles are concerned, than book a room at the storied and much ballyhoed Roosevelt Hotel on 7000 Hollywood Blvd. For starters, its got history - Over 80 years of catering to Hollywood and sheltering a roster of stars including Clark Gable (he's got a penthouse named after him) and Marlyn Monroe (she's got a suite in her name), and, to top it off - The first Academy Awards in 1929 was hosted by the Roosevelt. Photo by idogcow via Flickr.

Secondly, the Roosevelt is now a Thompson hotel. What that means is that the hotel, in addition to its heritage, now offers discreet luxury, a choice selection of world class amenities and a unique 'atmosphere' which only a Thompson Hotel can offer. If you look at the Thompsons around North America - The 60 Thompson in Soho, New York, or the Thompson Beverly Hills, for example - you'll find a common thread running through all of them - Exclusivity, solid luxury with heavy and classy furniture (no plastic stuff here), a swanky rooftop bar with a scintillating view open only to select members and hotel guests and other little luxuries which are part and parcel of a Thompson hotel. As the hotel says, the Roosevelt is now a place where old Hollywood meets young Hollywood. Translation - Old moneybags studio head meets 20 something starlet ....

It's location along the Walk of fame and slam-bang in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre, is particularly appealing to wide-eyed star struck celeb chasing tourists, and the hotel makes no secret of using its historical past to extract every possible dollar out of these tourists, with a couple of scalding hot and trendy star magnets in the form of the poolside Tropicana bar and the more stately and upscale Teddy's Lounge helping to add to the Roosevelt's aura of being the real Hollywood 'deal'. There's no way the Roosevelt can compete for trendiness and sheer heat with hotels like the Standard Downtown LA Hotel, but it still does have its share of Hollywood glitterati - Enough to keep the tourists and out-of-towners happy.

As far as amenities go, in addition to the bar and the lounge, the Roosevelt offers a steakhouse called Dakota, a burger bar called 25 degrees, an olympic size outdoor swimming pool with an original mural painted by David Hockney and poolside cabanas, a fitness center, spa and jacuzzi, 24 hour room service and concierge, along with the usual laundry and dry cleaning services.

After the massive renovation in 2005, the 12 story hotel offers 302 guest rooms and suites with cutting edge furnishings and the latest gizmos and luxuries like Fresh bath products, a workdesk area, coffee maker & coffee, iron / ironing board, complimentary high-speed wi-fi Internet access, Sferra linens, spacey bathrooms and hair dryer and Plush terry embroidered bathrobes, an in-room safe and a minibar refrigerator. Room rates start from $279 and onwards upto $479 for a suite. The upper level rooms have views of the city skyline, while the cabama rooms down below have private patios with poolside views.

Info: 7000 Hollywood Blvd Los Angeles CA 90028; (323) 466-7000; www.hollywoodroosevelt.com/