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Preview data: all rankings, scores, votes, refresh labels, methodology, testing and editorial-process statements in Top 49 are illustrative demo content, not live measurements or documented reviews.
Rank 114Up 4
#11 in Boutique Hotels
of 16 ranked entries
Ace Hotel Downtown LA
Los Angeles, California, USA · est. 2014
Converted from a 1920s United Artists theatre and office tower, with the original movie palace preserved as a working performance venue downstairs rather than gutted for hotel amenities. Helped anchor a genuine revival of a downtown LA district most Angelenos had written off a decade earlier. Recorded specifics: city Los Angeles, opened 2014, nightly rate 280. Panel highlighted original 1920s theatre preserved as a genuinely working venue, not a gutted lobby feature, played a real, documented role in downtown LA’s district revival and strong value relative to design-forward hotels in comparable cities. The reservation on record is downtown LA location still requires a car for most other parts of the city.
Design-ledArt-filled
Score breakdown
How Ace Hotel Downtown LA earned 80.4
Each criterion is scored independently, then combined using the weights published on Boutique Hotels.
- Design & characterweight 30%
- 82.9
- Service & personal touchweight 25%
- 77.9
- Locationweight 20%
- 79.3
- Value at rateweight 25%
- 80.8
On the record
Recorded detail
| City | Los Angeles |
|---|---|
| Opened | 2014 |
| Nightly rate | $280 |
| Rooms | 182 |
| Rating | 8.4 |
Panel verdict
Strengths and reservations
What it gets right
- Original 1920s theatre preserved as a genuinely working venue, not a gutted lobby feature
- Played a real, documented role in downtown LA’s district revival
- Strong value relative to design-forward hotels in comparable cities
Where it gives ground
- Downtown LA location still requires a car for most other parts of the city
1 appearance
Where this entry ranks
From the same list
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92.5/100 Top 49 score—No change
Rank 05Amangalla
Galle, Sri Lanka · est. 2005
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90.7/100 Top 49 score1Up 1
Rank 06Azulik
Tulum, Mexico · est. 2011
Curved wooden villas built without right angles or, by design, electricity in some rooms — a deliberate provocation against conventional hotel comfort that either converts guests completely or sends them elsewhere by the second night. Divides opinion more sharply than almost anything else on this list, on purpose.
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Rank 07Editor’s pickCOMO Uma Ubud
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Rank 08Wickaninnish Inn
Tofino, British Columbia, Canada · est. 1996
Built to face the Pacific storms rather than shelter from them — winter storm-watching packages are a genuine seasonal draw, not a marketing invention, with floor-to-ceiling windows positioned to catch the worst of the weather safely. Owned and run by the same family since it opened.
85.9/100 Top 49 score1Down 1
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