The Newest Los Angeles Hotels

Does L.A. have more conventions in store? That's the hope of city officials after a 54-story skyscraper opened near the city's convention center, with two hotels inside: an 878-room J.W. Marriott, designated the center's HQ hotel; and, above it, a 123-room Ritz-Carlton and 224 Ritz-Carlton condos. The double hotel sits next to the L.A. Live complex, which hosts nightlife, restaurants and the Grammy Museum, and it's within walking distance of the Staples Center. Also new in town is the 305-room W Hollywood Hotel at the iconic intersection of Hollywood and Vine-guests enter on a red carpet. In hotel rebrandings, L'Ermitage Beverly Hills will become the Viceroy L'Ermitage Beverly Hills in coming months, and the L.A. Holiday Inn across from the Staples Center has been renovated and renamed the Luxe City Center Hotel. Near LAX, the former Furama has been remade into the chic Custom Hotel, as work continues on the airport's Tom Bradley International Terminal. Earlier this year, a three- year, $737 million overhaul of the aging structure was completed, including a bag-screening system that has eliminated long waits for passengers. Now work has started on the $1.5 billion Bradley West project, another three-year effort that will add 15 more gates and 1.2 million square feet of space and concessions to the terminal.