Koreatown, with is prime location, great restaurant scene, and crucial transit access, is on the cusp of a big-time boom. The Vermont towers are on their way up, trendy hotel The Line is moving toward an opening, but nothing says "rebirth" like a boutiquey historic hotel saved from a trashy, stucco-y fate. In 2010, the 1928 Hotel Normandie at Sixth and Normandie was set to become a weed-friendly "pot-tel," which sounds fun but also stupid. Instead, the hotel was bought by a group of architects who peeled away years of insensitive updates (that lovely fireplace was totally obscured!) and rehabbed the property into what you see above. BroughtonHOTELS is now managing the 94-room hotel and several restaurants will be moving in on the ground floor soon (so far only Cassell's, a Ktown burger institution formerly down the street, has been announced). The Hotel Normandie was designed by Walker & Eisen, the same guys behind Downtown's United Artists Theatre building, aka the forthcoming Ace Hotel, and the new owners kept as many original details as possible--the neon sign and brick facade; the tile floors, fountain, and fireplace in the lobby; tile, tubs, and toilets in many of the hotel room bathrooms; and hardwood floors throughout.
The hotel also has a roof that may be opened for private events, a ballroom (still being restored as you can see in the last photos), and a little lobby library open to the neighborhood. In the mornings, Cassell's will serve coffee and pastries, and in 2014 it'll be joined by a couple of big-deal restaurants and a very interesting-sounding bar situation from a well-known barkeep (we're sure our pals at Eater LA will keep you updated on all that). Only 60 rooms--kings/double doubles/junior suites/full suites--are open right now; the rest should arrive by New Year's. There are 25 percent introductory discounts on a lot of rooms right now, but here are the standard rates:
Single king: $189 (weekday), $209 (weekend)
Two doubles: $199 (weekday), $219 (weekend)
Junior suite: $259 (weekday), $279 (weekend)
Full king suite: $289 (weekday), $309 (weekend)
Oh, and we know there are some monster Malcolm Lowry fans out there, so FYI he wrote Under the Volcano while living at the hotel in the 1930s.
· Hotel Normandie [Official Site]
· Ktown's Hotel Normandie Getting Less Weedy, More Boutiquey [Curbed LA]
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