Formerly known as the Riot Hyatt on Sunset,  the latest  Andaz West Hollywood hotel is soon to take Los Angeles city dwellers by storm.  Welcome the newest flavor from Hyatt, a refreshing hotel haven that seeks to offer “personal attention to detail and a dedication towards individual preferences.” A nod to Generation X business travelers and young hip professionals, there will be plenty of room for private retreat and making new friends. Boasting a personalized ambience and an open community restaurant, the second North American launch is already generating buzz and promoting its unique designs.

The Andaz West Hollywood private reception brought together a poised, intelligent crowd responsible for the second launching of the luxury brand hotel.  Situated in the heart of Los Angeles on the brightly-lit, energizing Sunset Strip, the newest Andaz is predestined to live up to its eclectic surroundings.  Famously known for rock legends such as Robert Plant in his Led Zepplin heyday posing on the 9th floor balcony, the history of days gone will merge superbly with the hotel’s modernized and funky aesthetic.  Andaz, after all, blatantly promotes “personal style.”  The aura is about you and how you want to enjoy your hotel experience.   Reflecting the brand's essence is the colorful canvas displaying a cluster of facial expressions.  Each face represents a distinct place and style, enticing us to explore ours exclusively inside the white 14-story, 257-room hotel.

Canvas by Brian Cairns peeking through palm trees at night

Keeping with the hotel’s Los Angeles theme, artist Brian Cairns produces illustrative stylish fun in his image.  The artwork on vinyl asks the musical question and clever motto “What is your Andaz?”  According to The Los Angeles Times Travel section, the 190-by-86-foot image will cover the façade until the anticipated unveiling in January 2009. We can only imagine what the hotel will look like once it is unveiled.  Before that day arrives, let me share the details of a truly exciting brand of hotel that will please local dwellers with not-so-ordinary tastes and a vital appreciation for Los Angeles art and culture.

The lobby will boast a 15-20 foot entrance leading into the main bar with a “hotel onto street, street onto hotel” feel.  Andaz West Hollywood architect and interior designer Hal Goldstein credited the transparency of operations and how things flow as inspiration for his design sensibility.  He chose a neutral toned mosaic floor to balance the playful lighting in the bar and designs influenced by Brazilian landscape interiors.  Sticking to a simple and uncomplicated interior will encourage individual tastes to take precedence.  The hotel will also feature art installations and spontaneous gigs from the city’s acclaimed artists and thriving musicians.  Guests can enjoy the bar's dazzling view while sipping wine by themselves or with company.  Bringing locals together to celebrate independence and the palpable Los Angeles lifestyle is the brand's immediate appeal.  Upon arriving at the hotel, guests are given check-in options and undivided care from a host acting as doorman, concierge and all of the above.

mosaic tiling add Brazillian tones to the bar floor

The Andaz chain caters to its multiple locations, therefore, the West Hollywood remake draws inspiration from various cues.  Adding character to the rooms will be hints of 1960s architecture, rock & roll history, Hindi influences and kitschy bits and pieces of California life.  Original work by Japanese American artist Jacob Hashimoto will hang by the bar windows and serve as magical phenomenal decoration.  Best known in the contemporary art world for his paper “kites”, Hashimoto will soon be able to stage metal art forms on a larger scale, infusing a garden element and a refined psychedelic quality for the organic-minded. Hashimoto’s creations will include custom made links, hand-painted discs, and meditative layering.

Communal tables run parallel to the lobby wall

To the left of the main bar and in full view for incoming guests is a restaurant with an open door policy. People are welcome to treat the restaurant-lounge as a hip community hang out. Allowing non-guests to straddle in and make themselves feel at home in a luxury hotel setting was always one of its biggest goals.  Aside from the restaurant’s open door policy, having an open kitchen is the hotel’s most enticing ingredient by far.  Watching the cooks prepare food, hearing rhythmic cutting and smelling fresh aromas are just a few highlights of experiencing Andaz.  With people from all walks of life coming to dine at the restaurant, the kitchen becomes a metaphor for things raw, whole and thoroughly inviting.  Black stainless steel tiles will provide classic footing for diners as well as chandelier light spilling in from the bar.  For a hotel specializing in food, wine and spirits of the local variety, the restaurant is sure to be a hit amongst Angelinos.

Another highlight of Andaz West Hollywood is the private room with a spectacular rooftop view.  An appropriate name is still in the works, however, the room is reportedly considering the moniker “Up Top” to distinguish a room for fun and entertainment on the highest floor.  Directly adjacent to the spacious room is a heated pool flanked by chaise lounge chairs and prominent views overlooking the Hollywood Hills and downtown.  At press time,  the carpeting is a deep red with cypress wood bordering. This room presents the perfect brand of service associated with Andaz, presenting casual yet polished amenities without all the fuss.

Last but never the least, the rooms will certainly stand on their own in terms of comfort and style.  Running from $300 to $550 (the much-coveted suite), rooms at the Andaz come with 19” flat screen tvs, office/desk workspace and ottoman chairs.  Floors are made of marble and nutwood imported from Austria. The most notable feature will be the transformed balconies.  Turned into sunrooms with glass windows, the enclosed balconies will allow for beauty and privacy.  These sunrooms are designed to enhance the comfort and casual elegance that defines the newest Andaz.  Second in line to New York City’s Wall Street location,  Hyatt pitches the hotel as a “luxury lifestyle brand that expresses individual style and personal independence in an environment of casual elegance. It offers local personality, innovative design, and a relaxed atmosphere, plus unpretentious, responsive, personalized service.”  The Andaz hotel chain is aimed primarily at the maturing Gen X demographic who are rapidly becoming a major market segment for business travel.  The rooms as described to me during the tour aptly fit the hotel package of individual, alternative tastes.  Focusing on upscale services and celebrating local differences, Andaz will also support the Xer market by offering organic food and environmentally sound operating principles.  Evolving from their grungy 20th-century adolescence, “the MTV generation” is in for a real treat.

So while we anticipate the opening of Andaz West Hollywood, prospective guests would be smart to ponder, “What exactly is my Andaz?”  The hotel ambience is rooted in personalized freedom and a sense of community.  The art on display is only a reflection of what is in store for West Hollywood city slickers and their next door neighbors.  One look at Andy the dog in Cairns’ image emits LA sunshine and welcomes you home!  Nestled between the corner of Kings Rd and Sunset Strip hot spots, Andaz West Hollywood is destined to suit your style.

Please contact Henry Eshelman at PMG for more information or visit myandaz.com

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