Fairmont Century Plaza

The Hotel

The Century Plaza Hotel opened in 1966 as a defining statement of mid-century Los Angeles confidence — Minoru Yamasaki's curved tower on the Avenue of the Stars, host to every president from Nixon to Obama and to the city's most consequential social events for half a century. The Fairmont's 2021 restoration brought the building back to its full authority after a $2.5 billion renovation, preserving the architectural integrity while adding the infrastructure of a contemporary luxury hotel. The 400 guest rooms each have private terraces — a detail so rarely delivered at this scale that it remains the hotel's single most compelling feature.

The room design is clean California modernism with the warmth of high-quality materials: marble, warm wood, soft textiles, and the specific quality of light that comes through terrace doors in a city with more than 280 sunny days per year. The Premiere Suites offer four balconies, a marble bathroom, a six-person dining table with kitchenette, and a walk-in closet of executive proportions. At the scale of a 400-room hotel, the differentiation between room categories matters — the corner rooms and suites, with their extended terrace footprints, are worth the premium.

Lumière, the hotel's signature restaurant, operates with the culinary ambition appropriate to a hotel of this standing — California-sourced ingredients, a wine programme of genuine depth, and a dining room that handles both the working lunch and the special occasion without altering its register. The lobby bar is a legitimate destination: the cocktail programme is thoughtful, the crowd is the kind of Century City professional mix that makes for interesting overheard conversations, and the terrace connects to the hotel's outdoor pool deck. The spa is among the more comprehensive in the city — 50,000 square feet of treatment rooms, fitness facilities, and a lap pool that functions as a legitimate training resource rather than a decorative amenity.

The location on Avenue of the Stars positions the hotel at the geographic heart of Century City's legal, financial, and entertainment industry concentration. Beverly Hills begins two blocks north; the Westfield Century City mall is adjacent; the 405 freeway is 10 minutes. For guests arriving from LAX, the hotel is 20 minutes in reasonable traffic. The combination of location, scale, and infrastructure makes this the most capable large-format business hotel in the western half of the city.

Best for Business

The Fairmont Century Plaza is the business hotel argument that Beverly Hills cannot make: scale, meeting infrastructure, and a location at the epicentre of Century City's deal-making without the parking and access limitations of Wilshire Boulevard. The meeting and event spaces handle 10-person boardrooms and 1,000-person ballrooms with equal competence. The executive rooms and suites provide workspace that actually functions — large desks, ergonomic chairs, reliable WiFi, and the terrace for the call that requires uninterrupted air. For sustained business stays, the all-day dining and room service reliably support a working schedule.

Best for Proposal

The hotel's management understands proposal logistics with the practised efficiency of an institution that has overseen several hundred of them. A Premiere Suite with four terraces, an in-suite dinner arranged by the hotel's catering team, and a view over Century City toward the Hollywood Hills provides the setting. The jewellery concierge partnership with Beverly Hills dealers eliminates the ring-logistics problem. For proposals that require a combination of glamour, discretion, and operational competence, the Fairmont Century Plaza is the most reliably executed option in the city.

Rates from $430/night. Check availability at fairmont.com/century-plaza-los-angeles.