Los Angeles Hotel: The Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles is a landmark 19-story luxury hotel forming a sweeping crescent design fronting the spectacular fountains on Avenue of the Stars adjacent to the twin Century Plaza Towers and the CAA building.
When the Century Plaza began operating in 1966, its doormen wore red Beefeater costumes. The hotel's ballrooms became the center for numerous high-profile events, including an opening charity gala in 1966 emceed by Bob Hope, who with singer Andy Williams entertained the likes of Ronald and Nancy Reagan and Walt and Lillian Disney. In 1967, 1,300 club-swinging police clashed with about 10,000 Vietnam War demonstrators as President Johnson spoke at a Democratic fundraiser at the hotel.
In 1984, the hotel added a 297-room tower increasing capacity to 1046 rooms. President Ronald Reagan was one of its first guests, and was such a frequent guest that a penthouse unit was named after him and the media named it his Western White House. The tower was razed to make way for the Century condominium high-rise now under construction and slated for completion in fall 2009.
The Century Plaza has played host to various celebrities, foreign dignitaries, and Presidents. Among them, Marshal Tito Josip Broz Tito, Moshe Dayan,Prince Phillip, and David Ben-Gurion. The hotel was the venue for the 1970 and 1971 Grammy Awards.
For its entire history, the Century Plaza had been managed by Western International Hotel, which became Westin hotels. However, in 2006 the property was taken over by the Hyatt brand and is currently a Hyatt Regency. However, the hotel has an iconic value that surpasses whichever hotel chain is managing the property, and the sign above the main entrance still says "Century Plaza Hotel"
On June 1, 2008, Next Century Associates, bought the Century Plaza Hotel from Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. for $366.5 million. The sale price of $505,000 per room is one of the highest paid for a hotel in California. Sunstone bought the Century Plaza for $293 million in 2005 and then spent $22 million upgrading the guest rooms and common areas.