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Brad A. Johnson

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Brad A Johnson
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Quick Review: The Line Hotel, Los Angeles

  • June 27, 2014
  • Brad A. Johnson
The Line Los Angeles (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
The Line Los Angeles (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
The Line Los Angeles (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
The Line Los Angeles (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)

Overview: The Sydell Group (the company that developed the Saguaro Palm Springs, the Nomad in New York, and the Freehand in Miami) brings together local artists, designers (Sean Knibb), craftsmen and culinary talent (Roy Choi) to transform a rundown 12-story, 383-room Radisson in Koreatown into the Line Hotel, a trendy urban boutique hotel with stripped-down raw cement walls and very nice beds.

The Location: The gritty heart of what used to be known as Wilshire Center is the anti-Beverly Hills, an unfashionable stretch of Wilshire Boulevard now better known as Koreatown. The hotel is one block away from where Robert Kennedy was assassinated in the ’60s at the Ambassador Hotel, which is now the site of a beautiful new school and memorial. The Line brilliantly romanticizes the neighborhood’s decidedly counter-culture appeal and makes a pretty good case for (re)discovering the “real” Los Angeles.

The Room: Hollywood Hills King View No. 1235. It’s extremely small for the price. However, the mattress is remarkably high-quality, on par with the beds at the Montage or Four Seasons – except for the pillows, which are synthetic but decent. The well-stocked bathroom is tiny. It really pays to upgrade ($20 difference) to the high-floor rooms with a view of the Hollywood Hills, rather than facing south (and Wilshire traffic) on a lower floor. The golden sunset against the Hollywood sign never disappoints, and there aren’t many hotels that can compete with The Line’s top-floor perspective of L.A.’s palm-tree-dotted sprawl.

Food/drink: Credited with inventing the Korean taco, Roy Choi (the Kogi Taco trucks, A-Frame, Sunny Spot) is L.A.’s reigning bad-boy chef. His new restaurant here, called Pot, serves Korean-American food – including hot pots utilizing Spam and canned corned beef – in a bright, windowless cafeteria-like space. The lobby bar inexplicably serves Lancers wine: Is this the new Pabst Blue Ribbon for hipsters? Great little coffee bar/bakery in the lobby.

Public spaces: The lobby/cafe/bar becomes a nightclub after about 9 p.m., with loud club music and a white-hot singles scene filled with beautiful Asiana flight attendants. All the more reason to upgrade to a high floor: The nightclub’s subwoofers vibrate through at least the fourth level. And although the hotel opened in February, the second-floor terrace pool is sadly still under construction with no opening date set.

Wi-Fi: Free Wi-Fi in all rooms and public spaces, but the connection is intermittent and slow, and they don’t give you the option of purchasing anything faster.

Service: The young, trendy staff is incredibly friendly and eager to assist at every turn. But if you end up having to call the front desk or security after 3 a.m. to report a wild, over-capacity party in the room next door, your repeated pleas will simply be ignored.

Cost: $220, plus taxes and fees. Parking, add $35 per night.

Bottom line: The Koreatown location is fun and provides quick-and-easy access to downtown or West Hollywood. But beware: The hotel definitely caters to the party-until-dawn crowd.

Where: 3515 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles
Phone: 213-381-7411
Online: thelinehotel.com

This article originally appeared in the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Register. To view more of my work for the Register, check out the archives. For more dining and travel inspiration, I invite you to follow me and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

Check out The Line Austin
    • Travel: United States

Review: The Line Hotel, Austin

  • Brad A. Johnson
  • January 4, 2019
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Brad A. Johnson

Brad A. Johnson is a writer and photographer specializing in food and travel. His work has been honored by the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, James Beard Awards, World Food Media Awards, Food Photographer of the Year Awards, Society of Features Journalism Awards and others. Based in Southern California, Brad currently serves as Editorial Director of the new luxury consumer travel magazine of the Global Travel Collection (launching Spring 2023).

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Hey, OC. FYI in case you missed it, @ryegoods has opened a new location on Red Hill in Tustin, just down the street from Flight/Mess Hall. Same incredible breads and pastries as the original on the peninsula. No lines here, plus a huge seating area. #sourdough #pastries #coffee #orangecounty 322 9
One more post from our lovely stay at @fstokyo. Delicious lunch at @maisonmarunouchi, the casual sibling to @sezannetokyo. Excellent all around. And clearly popular with Tokyo's ladies who lunch: the clientele during our visit, almost entirely women. Quite the see-and-be-seen crowd. 57 1
I’m not sure which I liked better about the @fstokyo, the valet greeter and escort from the train station, the view of the trains from our room, or the super comfy pajamas. Excellent service all around. #Tokyo #Japan #hoteljunkie 79 3
I think @sezannetokyo ⁠has a #footfetish, and I’m ok with that. Truly fantastic lunch. Impeccable service. ⁠ 63 1
We had a really fun "Lost in Translation" moment at @meatman_roppongi. Google Translate failed hilariously. Delicious meat/fat overload anyway. Great staff, charming hospitality. Lots of sake. Thank you, @fstokyo for securing the reservation! #Tokyo #Roppongi #sake 76 1
Well, that was interesting.  A toast to 2022. And looking forward to ‘23. Cheers, and safe travels to all. 81 1
Brad A. Johnson
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Writer. Photographer. Traveler. Restaurant Critic.

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