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“We wanted to celebrate the everyday life of Los Angeles, not just the glamour of Hollywood.
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Zobler aimed to celebrate Los Angeles authentically as a multicultural melting pot, full of diverse neighborhoods. “We have a lot of subtle nods to Korea in the design and the food offerings,” explains Zobler. “It is really important to us that we be a part of the fabric of the neighborhood,” says Zobler, “We love the idea of a big lobby that is a living room for the neighborhood.” It’s that enthusiasm that led to many collaborative partners helping to develop these hotel concepts in the middle of the bustling Koreatown. Together, Knibb and Sydell Group founder Andrew Zobler set out to infuse the hotel with the social makeup of LA-wanting especially to honor and represent the Korean and Latino communities in Koreatown. We love the idea of a big lobby that is a living room for the neighborhood. The concrete 1960s Brutalist architecture bones of the building became one of the chief inspirations for the transformation into The Line Hotel. He then peeled back the layers of the wall to find the hidden concrete structure.
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Knibb turned the bed around to face the windows and imagined a large executive desk to give each guest the feeling that they owned the city.
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He immediately started moving around the furniture to figure out how to best highlight the view. Designer Sean Knibb visited the building before a design meeting to discover these windows hidden behind large drapery. Each room features floor-to-ceiling windows with jaw-dropping views of the north hills of Los Angeles and picturesque vistas from the southern-facing rooms. While the lobby is the heart of the hotel, the guest rooms reveal its soul. This summer, Commissary restaurant will open on the second floor pool deck in a custom-built greenhouse, and later in the year the Houston Brothers will open Speek-a nightclub in the style of a mid-century lounge. Towards the back of the lobby, Choi’s restaurant POT serves giant tofu hot pots, noodles, dumplings and Korean BBQ dishes. In the few months since this Sydell Group property has opened its doors, the goal of becoming an inviting gathering place for the locals and hotel guests has led to quiet mornings of sipping coffee to vibrant evening gatherings for drinks in the expansive lobby.ĬaFe-one of chef Roy Choi’s food and beverage options at The Line-flanks the lobby with a menu of coffee and tea and an eclectic variety of pastry, snacks, and congee.
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All of these elements help to tell the story of The Line Hotel in Koreatown, Los Angeles. A neon Poketo sign glows from their store that’s stocked with colorful contemporary designs next to the elevator. Next to the valet, a bike-rack filled with Linus bicycles sits waiting for riders. The large arrow-shaped sign on Wilshire Boulevard reads “caFe…free wifi” and points visitors directly to the door of a coffee shop serving habanero mochas and red bean buns.
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