Hotel Bel-Air

Los Angeles Hotel: The Hotel Bel-Air is a 5-star boutique hotel located in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California.

Since opening in 1946, the 91-room Hotel Bel-Air, located on Stone Canyon Road, has served many celebrities, heads of state and dignitaries. It was founded and owned by Texas born and Southern California real-estate magnate Joseph Drown.

The hotel has been on Mobil five star list more than any other hotel in California and enjoys numerous accolades including "#1 in the U.S." by Travel and Leisure, rated "#1 Boutique Hotel in the U.S." by Departures Magazine, and was recently listed as one of the "Top 25 Hotels, Past 25 Years" by Institutional Investor.

In addition to the completion of a $20M renovation of all guest rooms, suites and public areas, Hotel Bel-Air will be unveiling a 12,000 day spa featuring individual spa suites, outdoor Jacuzzis and world-class treatments (Fall of 2008).

The hotel is owned by Hassanal Bolkiah, the current Sultan of Brunei.

Dunbar Hotel

Los Angeles Hotel: The Dunbar Hotel, originally known as the Hotel Somerville, was the focal point of the Central Avenue African-American community in Los Angeles, California during the 1930s and 1940s. Built in 1928, it was known for its first year as the Hotel Somerville. Upon its opening, it hosted the first national convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to be held in the western United States. In 1930, the hotel was renamed the Dunbar, and it became the most prestigious hotel in LA's African-American community. In the early 1930s, a nightclub opened at the Dunbar, and it became the center of the Central Avenue jazz scene in the 1930s and 1940s. The Dunbar hosted Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Lena Horne and many other jazz legends. Other noteworthy people who stayed at the Dunbar include W.E.B. Du Bois, Joe Louis, Ray Charles and Thurgood Marshall. Former heavyweight champion Jack Johnson also ran a nightclub at the Dunbar in the 1930s.

In 1974, the Dunbar was designated as a Historic-Cultural Landmark (no. 131) by the city’s Cultural Heritage Commission. The plaque called the hotel “an edifice dedicated to the memory and dignity of black achievement.” It was also added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.