3 Best Hotels in Los Angeles, California

A quaint surprise in Southern California, the Channel Road Inn is every bit the country retreat bed-and-breakfast lovers adore, with four-poster beds, fluffy duvets, and a cozy living room with a fireplace. Rooms are fresh and feminine; each has a private bath (and a few have hot tubs). A sumptuous home-cooked breakfast for two is included (which you can enjoy downstairs or in your room), as well as a wine-and-cheese hour every afternoon and home-baked cookies. Walk a block to the beach, or borrow a bicycle to pedal the 2 miles to the Santa Monica Pier. Unwind in the rose garden, in the Garden Spa Sanctuary (a delightful tiny cottage in the garden), or in one of the landscaped nooks scattered throughout the property. There's one dog-friendly room.

Set right on exclusive Carbon Beach in a stretch known as Billionaire's Beach, Malibu's hideaway for the superrich remains the room to nab along the coast, with an ultrachic look thanks to designer Waldo Fernandez and an upscale restaurant and wine bar perched over the Pacific. Third-floor ocean-view rooms, with wood-beam ceilings and private balconies, are instantly calming and definitely romantic. Feather beds, crashing waves, inset lighting, original artwork, and custom-made furniture add up to designer-perfect rooms. Sleep Suites come with a state-of-the-art Sleep Number 360 i8, Therabody SmartGoggles, Vosges truffles and a menu of sleepy time cocktails, to allow even the most dedicated insomniac a new lease on night. For something even more exclusive, stay in the Dierberg Suite, which partners with the Dierberg Estate and Star Lane Ranch to provide the best wine adventure imaginable; guests receive a private tour of this normally closed-to-the-public winery and its subterranean caves, followed by a tasting from the family’s own private cellars and a gourmet lunch. The inn's CBC (Carbon Beach Club) presents California cuisine and a well-curated wine list. The hotel has an on-site day spa, and for a fee you can access the Malibu Health Club across the highway. Beach loungers, umbrellas, and towels are provided. On holiday weekends, multi-night stays are required.

A vestige of Venice's founding days, the newly renovated, circa-1911 Venice Beach House and its nine rooms drip with beachy cottage chic and California history; think piles of fluffy Parachute linens, dark leather Chesterfield sofas, and nubby rugs. It was one of the seaside enclave's first mansions, and many Craftsman-era details remain—dark woods, a glass-enclosed breakfast nook, a lattice-framed portico, and a fleet of stairs. Each of the nine rooms is individually decorated and fully appointed. Historic charm radiates from this bungalow and the location, steps from the beach and boardwalk, is what Southern California is all about.