A Quieter Riot

In Los Angeles, shorthand for West Hollywood -- the tiny, trendy city abutted by the metropolis on three sides, and by Beverly Hills on the fourth -- is WeHo . The nickname is fitting since West Hollywood is where many Angelenos go to get laid. Separated by a steep hill, Santa Monica and Sunset boulevards are the main prowling grounds, with gays hunting at the former, straights at the latter. The Santa Monica scene is almost completely devoid of hotels, so if you're visiting WeHo, it often means you're laying your head in the midst of Sunset's overpriced hotel-bar scene -- basically an aggressive, hetero meat market. But with the January opening of Sunset Boulevard's Andaz Hotel, an outpost of sophistication and gay sensibility has finally arrived on the Strip.