A Quieter Riot

Upstairs, the Andaz hallways are dark and sexy, with lighted room numbers to guide your way. Where some "hip" hotel rooms greet guests with disco lighting and pounding techno, the Andaz rooms are quiet and white; entering one produces a dreamy, ethereal sensation. Rooms facing Sunset run 352 square feet (rooms directed toward the Hollywood Hills are a bit smaller), with a mirror behind the bed, a tasteful desk, a 42-inch flat-screen TV, and a sunroom -- giving new life to those former balconies. Within the sunroom, two plush black chairs are angled diagonally toward the cityscape, and there's an additional 20-inch flat-screen TV. The hotel's 257 rooms include 19 corner suites and a colossal presidential suite on the top floor. And then, like a cherry on top, there's the hotel's heated rooftop pool. Surrounded by lush cabanas, a stocked bar, and a sweeping vista that stretches from the Hollywood Hills to downtown Los Angeles, the Andaz's pool scene has easily overtaken that of the nearby Standard hotel (tiny pool, weak view, crabby service). Cloistered in the Andaz, the annoyances of Sunset and the lures of Santa Monica will be inconsequential. You're already in your element.