Sunset Tower Hotel
an Art Deco tower of 1929 by Leland A. Bryant, standing on the Sunset Strip and listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 30 May 1980
The place
The white fifteen-storey tower has overlooked the Sunset Strip since 1931. On the ground floor, the Tower Bar occupies the former apartment of the gangster Bugsy Siegel, with a pianist every evening.
The rates recorded range from 375 to 811 USD a night depending on the sources consulted. To these the operator’s website adds a 51.98 USD facility fee and 70 USD of valet parking per night.
A 1929 apartment building converted into a hotel, over fifteen floors
The building has fifteen floors. Wikipedia and the archive site waterandpower.org give a height of 195 feet, about 59 metres; the buildingsdb.com database states 289 feet, about 88 metres: the two sources contradict each other, and the first is the more widely repeated. According to Wikipedia, construction cost 750,000 USD and the building ranks among the first reinforced concrete high-rises in California. Plaster friezes run along the facade, depicting plants, animals, zeppelins and legendary creatures.
The architect Leland A. Bryant drew the plans in 1929; it opened in 1931. The operator’s website states that Bryant had specialised in upmarket apartment buildings. Howard Hughes, John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra and Bugsy Siegel lived there, according to Wikipedia and the operator’s website. After a decline in the 1980s, the building carried the names St James’s Club and then The Argyle before taking back its original name in 2004. A reservation on the listing status often claimed: the sources consulted mention no City of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument status. The address falls within the city of West Hollywood, incorporated in 1984; Grokipedia describes it as a cultural resource designated under the West Hollywood preservation ordinance adopted in 1989. The verifiable designation is federal: listing on the National Register of Historic Places on 30 May 1980, reference 80000812.
The number of keys is also disputed. Wikipedia, Tripadvisor, Oyster, The Real Deal, The Hollywood Reporter and CLADglobal all give eighty-one rooms and suites; the Five Star Alliance site states seventy-four, of which thirty-four are suites. The figure of eighty-one is the most consistent. The operator’s website lists ten categories: Superior Queen (about 350 square feet, 33 m²), Premier King and Deluxe King (about 400 square feet), Studio Suite (550), Deluxe King Suite and Deluxe Queen Suite (700), Grand Deluxe Suite (750), Premiere Suite (800), Townhouse Suite (1,750 square feet, a duplex under 20-foot ceilings) and Penthouse Suite (2,000 square feet, wrap-around terrace).
What happens at the bar, by the pool, and what gets added to the bill
The Tower Bar occupies Bugsy Siegel’s former apartment, according to CLADglobal. The operator’s website dates its opening to 2005 and mentions a bar, a rethought restaurant and an upgraded pool area. Vanity Fair (January 2025) reports a live jazz pianist every evening and recalls that the Vanity Fair Oscar Party was held there for several years from 2009. The operator’s website imposes an unusual rule: “photography and filming are not permitted anywhere on the hotel property without the general manager’s consent”. A second dining outlet, The Terrace, looks onto the pool.
Oyster describes a heated outdoor pool of 40 feet by 20, about 12 metres by 6, with a view over downtown Los Angeles. Tripadvisor lists the small size of the pool among the recurring criticisms. The Joanna Vargas spa measures 7,000 square feet (650 m²) according to CLADglobal, which places it in John Wayne’s former apartment; Oyster adds a private steam room. A divergence worth flagging: the travel site Roomer (May 2026) instead places the gym in John Wayne’s apartment. The fitness equipment is described as Cybex by CLADglobal and Precor by Oyster, two sources that do not agree; Oyster notes that the gym is open to the public and often busy.
The operator’s website details the supplements. Facility fee: 51.98 USD per room per night, taxes included, covering internet, a Nespresso machine, minibar restocking every three days, turndown service, gym access and local calls. Valet parking: 70 USD a night, continuous service, unlimited in and out. Extra bed: 55 USD a day. Cot: 35 USD a day. Pet under 40 lb (18 kg): 100 USD non-refundable per stay. Breach of the smoking ban: 500 USD. Coffee and tea are complimentary in the Terrace Room from 6.30am to 9.30am. Breakfast is not included; Telegraph Travel advises budgeting 30 to 40 USD per person.
The Sunset Strip starts at the foot of the building, but the airport stays far away
The hotel stands at 8358 Sunset Boulevard, on the Sunset Strip section. Telegraph Travel places it less than a mile from the historic venues Whisky a Go Go, Rainbow Bar & Grill and Roxy Theatre. Oyster notes that the Saddle Ranch is directly opposite and The Comedy Store a little further on, and counts ten minutes on foot to Sunset Plaza, ten minutes by car to Rodeo Drive, twenty to Universal Studios and around thirty to Santa Monica and Venice Beach. Roomer points out that the House of Blues, still cited in older guides, has closed.
On the ownership side, the capital history is documented. Jeff Klein and Peter Krulewitch bought the building for 18.5 million USD in 2004, according to The Real Deal and The Hollywood Reporter. Krulewitch sold 80% to a Thai entity for 75 million USD in 2015. In 2017, Klein exercised his right of first refusal: The Real Deal puts the figure at about 95 million USD, close to 1.2 million per key, while The Hollywood Reporter wrote on the same day that the price remained unknown. The two sources diverge on this point.
Recent developments: the operator’s website reports an upgrade in 2018, after the restoration entrusted to Paul Fortune in 2004-2005. In January 2025, Vanity Fair reported that the hotel had housed residents evacuated during the Los Angeles fires, pets included. In April 2026, Cultured Magazine described Jeff Klein as occupied with the expansion of his San Vicente club on the east coast. In July 2026, Resy magazine devoted an article to the Tower Bar martini, with Klein saying he refused to “reinvent something that is already perfect”.
What to take away
- The plaster friezes on the facade, with plant, animal and zeppelin motifs, described by Wikipedia
- The heated outdoor pool of about 12 metres by 6, open to the downtown skyline
- The Tower Bar, dark woodwork and deep banquettes, with live jazz every evening
- The bathroom wallpaper designed by the illustrator Donald Robertson, according to the operator’s website
The supplements pile up: a 51.98 USD facility fee plus 70 USD of valet parking bring the floor to nearly 122 USD a night before the room, and in February 2026 resortfeechecker.com ranked those charges the twelfth highest in Los Angeles. The rates quoted vary sharply from one source to another: 375 to 475 USD according to Telegraph Travel, 420 to 735 USD in one Tripadvisor query and 486 to 811 USD in another, from 378 USD on Kayak, from 599 USD on Priceline. The ratings do not agree any better: 4.7 out of 5 on Tripadvisor, from 1,484 reviews in one query and 1,505 in another; 9.2 out of 10 from 197 reviews on Agoda; 9.4 out of 10 from 270 reviews on Kayak. The Booking.com listing exists but its content could not be loaded during our checks, anti-bot protections being what they are: the Booking rating is therefore not attested here. The address gives directly onto the Sunset Strip, a heavily trafficked artery with dense nightlife; Kayak notes reports of noise and dated rooms, and Roomer describes reduced volumes, narrow corridors and cramped wardrobes, inherited from the 1931 apartment building. The pool is judged small by several Tripadvisor reviews. Finally, photography is prohibited everywhere on the premises without the general manager’s consent, and the gym is open to outside clientele. Administratively the property belongs to West Hollywood, not the City of Los Angeles, which explains the absence of a municipal Historic-Cultural Monument listing.
We have not stayed at this property. This entry is written from verified sources, including the operator's own website, rather than from a visit.
Practical information
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is about 26 kilometres away by road. Telegraph Travel counts 45 minutes of driving; Oyster warns that it can take up to an hour at peak times. Agoda names Hollywood Burbank (BUR) as the nearest airport, at 11.4 kilometres. Two sets of coordinates are in circulation: 34.09512 / -118.37206 according to buildingsdb.com, against 34.0976 / -118.3265 on Tripomatic, the latter placing the point several kilometres east of the actual address.
Metro line 2 serves Sunset Boulevard between Westwood and downtown, according to the City of West Hollywood website, which also flags the free Cityline and WeHo PickUp shuttles. There is no free parking: the operator’s website charges 70 USD a night for valet parking, on a continuous service.