L.A. Live hotel prompts upgrades to downtown L.A. inns
When a 54-story, glass-sheathed hotel complex next to the L.A. Live entertainment center opened last year, it altered the skyline of downtown Los Angeles.
It also changed the landscape for the city's hotel industry. Owners of existing downtown hotels are launching multimillion-dollar upgrades to keep pace with the upscale JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels that operate out of the glass tower.
Across the street from L.A. Live and Staples Center, the humble three-star Holiday Inn has nearly completed a $10-million makeover, becoming a four-star property with a fancy new name: Luxe City Center.
At least seven other downtown hotels — including the Westin Bonaventure and the Omni Hotel — have either begun or are gearing up for major renovations.
-- Hugo Martín
Photo: The Westin Bonaventure’s lobby fountains, which have appeared in movies including "True Lies” and “In the Line of Fire," are being redesigned. Credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times