Compact in size but oversized in influence, West Hollywood is the rare L.A. enclave that functions as both scene and setting. With a population of less than 40,000 and a footprint of less than two square miles, West Hollywood easily could be overshadowed by its Hollywood and Beverly Hills neighbors. Yet, it commands international attention thanks to its starring roles in hospitality, cuisine, wellness, design, and yes, inclusivity. WeHo is where the entertainment industry decompresses, recalibrates, and gets red carpet ready. This is where the business of entertainment meets the pleasure of it. But here, anyone can partake in power lunches on Sunset and transformative spa treatments. Visitors come for the electric mix of old-school glamour and cutting-edge culture. They stay for the walkability, the style-conscious hotels, and the sense that anything could happen on any given night—and often it does.
A Bit of History
Before it became a cultural flashpoint, West Hollywood was a patchwork of ranch land, railway stops, and prohibition-era speakeasies. It was an unincorporated stretch that thrived on being just outside the reach of L.A.’s stricter laws. By the 1920s, it had attracted Hollywood studios, mobsters, and movie stars in equal measure. The Sunset Strip gained notoriety for its glamorous clubs and clandestine dealings, while the area’s early embrace of LGBTQ+ rights set the stage for a progressive, proudly independent identity. Officially incorporated as a city in 1984, West Hollywood has always preferred character over conformity, a reputation it continues to embrace, and cultivate.
Hospitality: Check In, Tune In
For such a small city, West Hollywood boasts an outsized hospitality scene: 20 hotels, many of them firmly in the luxury category. It’s a staggering concentration, and a testament to WeHo’s role as both playground and power center for the entertainment world. And from here, guests are within easy reach of L.A.'s most iconic venues such as the Hollywood Bowl, Dodger Stadium, and Griffith Park.
Few properties capture the town’s golden-era allure quite like the Sunset Tower Hotel, a 1931 Art Deco landmark whose understated facade belies its long history of Hollywood intrigue. The Tower Bar remains a favorite for dealmakers and actors trying not to be seen, while the hotel's hallways double as a visual archive—lined with black-and-white portraits of stars who helped build the myth of L.A.
With its art-filled hallways, velvet settees and dreamscape rooftop, Petit Ermitage feels like the private lair of a well-traveled eccentric. It’s less a hotel and more a curated, bohemian-glam fantasy with intriguing social energy.
Just down the Strip, newer icons offer a contemporary counterpoint. 1 Hotel West Hollywood leans into eco-conscious luxury, with reclaimed wood, native landscaping, and a breezy rooftop that frames the city skyline in cinematic proportion. A few blocks away, The West Hollywood EDITION brings Ian Schrager’s signature polish and nightlife pedigree to a high-design tower with sweeping views from the rooftop pool to downtown and beyond.
Whether you prefer old-school discretion or glossy modernism, West Hollywood’s hotels deliver both ambiance and access.
Cuisine: Star Power on the Plate
In West Hollywood, dinner isn’t just dinner—it’s casting, networking, people-watching, and sometimes, history in the making. The city’s restaurants span generations and genres, from industry institutions to award-winning newcomers, all united by the possibility that the next table over might seat a producer or pop star.
Barney’s Beanery has anchored Santa Monica Boulevard since 1927, a rowdy, memorabilia-stuffed landmark where Jim Morrison once carved his name into the bar and legends came to unwind. For those chasing the modern-day buzz, Merois at The Sun Rose Hotel West Hollywood (formerly Pendry West Hollywood) delivers Wolfgang Puck’s signature polish with a side of sweeping views. Craig’s remains a paparazzi-favorite for its high end comfort food and reliably starry clientele, while Ladyhawk—led by celebrated chef Charbel Hayek, winner of Top Chef Middle East & North Africa—infuses Levantine flavors into a high-energy space that’s quickly earned accolades.
Where the Stars Get Red Carpet Ready
If Los Angeles is obsessed with wellness, West Hollywood is where that obsession becomes art. With a heavy number of spas, gyms, cryo chambers, IV lounges, and fitness studios packed into its compact borders, this is the city where Hollywood comes to fine-tune itself, sometimes on a daily basis. Being “camera-ready” isn’t a cliché here; it’s a calendar entry. In fact, an entire month is dedicated to wellness: September is Mind+Body Month, a full 30 days of curated health, fitness, and relaxation offerings from the more than 50 participating venues. You’ll find special packages, promotional rates, unique value-adds, and one-off wellness experiences designed to reset both body and mind.
The Spa at The West Hollywood EDITION offers a quietly luxe take on pre-event prep, including the GLOW Jet Peel facial—a no-downtime, jet-stream treatment designed to hydrate, exfoliate, and leave skin as radiant as the illuminated Strip. Silver Springs is a heated studio that offers yoga, pilates, and HIIT classes. At Strong Pilates, the reformer meets cardio for a heart-pumping, muscle-sculpting session that’s as efficient as it is addictive. And at Kinrgy, founded by dancer and wellness entrepreneur Julianne Hough, you’ll find high-energy that’s part workout, part catharsis. In West Hollywood, even self-care comes with a bit of star power. Here, looking good is serious business—and the resources to maintain it are just a power walk away.
The Design District: Where Style Lives
Between famed Melrose Avenue and Beverly Boulevard, the West Hollywood Design District is more than a shopping destination; it’s a curated experience that blends fashion, art, interiors, and architecture into a walkable, highly photogenic neighborhood. It’s where stylists pull last-minute looks, designers source statement pieces, and visitors discover the brands they’ll be name-dropping back home.
Flagship boutiques like Jacquemus, Staud, and Toteme channel modern L.A. style with colorful silhouettes, while iconic Jay Wolf offers up curated collections beloved by the fashion set. Around the corner, MadHappy has become something of a Gen-Z style pilgrimage—part streetwear label and part social clubhouse. Its in-store coffee counter draws locals and creatives who treat the space like an unofficial headquarters.
The district is dense with art galleries, luxury furniture showrooms, design studios, and destination dining, all set against a backdrop of palm-lined sidewalks and bold-faced billboards. It's easy to spend a full day here without doubling back. For visitors looking to understand what makes West Hollywood tick (its taste, its edge, its unapologetic love of aesthetic pleasure) the Design District delivers it in full color.
Spirit: Come As You Are
For all of its star power and curated polish, West Hollywood’s most defining trait may be its inclusivity. Within its two square miles, there’s a rare sense of ease, an unspoken invitation to be exactly who you are, without explanation or adjustment. It’s a place where individuality isn’t just accepted, it’s celebrated.
After years of community recognition, the City Council recently gave an official name to one of West Hollywood’s most storied stretches: the Rainbow District, running along Santa Monica Boulevard between La Cienega and Doheny. This celebrated corridor, which also happens to sit on historic Route 66—set to mark its centennial next year—has long been a nightlife beacon. The new designation comes with plans for fresh street banners, themed murals, and a boost for the local businesses that keep the area’s energy humming well past midnight. The move isn’t just symbolic; it’s a reaffirmation of West Hollywood’s rare blend of openness, cultural vibrancy, and unabashed celebration.
Walk its streets and you’ll see it in action; creative expression is on full display in everything from fashion to storefront windows. Visitors often remark how safe it feels here, how light the air seems, and not just because of the nearly always ideal climate, but because of the freedom that comes with being seen. This spirit isn’t merely performative; it is foundational. It’s what draws people in and keeps them coming back. Not just for the views or the food or the nightlife, but for the feeling that here, whoever you are is enough.
Photos courtesy of Visit West Hollywood
For more information: visitwesthollywood.com
