Motel revival hits Hollywood with Sunset Boulevard property’s revamp

Any Aussie old enough to have listened to the radio in 1976 will probably remember Hollywood 7, a hit for English-born local heartthrob Jon English, about a Tinsel Town hotel where a wannabe star could “dream your dreams for seven bucks a night”.

Retro chic - the Palihotel, Hollywood.

A seven-dollar hotel room might seem like a dream these days, but the Hollywood 7 on North La Brea was very much a reality. One of many low-rise hotel-motels that sprang up mid-century at the feet of the Hollywood Hills, they did indeed provide shelter for a constant stream of dreamers and fame seekers, as well, of course, travelling business people and tourists looking for budget lodgings.

A lot of them have disappeared, including the old Days Inn Hollywood Near Universal Studios (so named to differentiate it from the other Days Inn Hollywood) which closed a few years ago.

But in line with the motel do-over trend, the 1958-built Sunset Boulevard hotel has been thoroughly renovated to become the cute and cool Palihotel Hollywood.

Inhabiting the original double-storey buildings, including the Mexican-influenced front facade facing Sunset and the central pool, the Palihotel Hollywood is part of the Palisociety group, a collection of boutique properties spread along the US West Coast (California, Washington State and Oregon with Florida in the works), founded in 1998 by stylish developer Avi Brosh and his family.

With a neighbourhood-led ethos, no two hotels are alike. Palihotel Hollywood lives up to its name, with touches of Hollywood Regency running through an otherwise retro California-casual aesthetic.

Light and airy - guest room.

The 16th Palisociety hotel has 76 rooms across two floors with Queen, King, King Suite, Double and ADA Accessible accommodations, as well as a signature Night Owl room category. It features black-out curtains and hallway-facing windows with guaranteed 1pm check out, and a $US10 gift card to use at the next -door In ‘N’ Out burger joint for that late-night post-disco snack.

Across all categories there are Diptyque bath amenities, coffee machines, Bellino linens and Smeg mini fridges.

The pool is guest-only, as is the bar and restaurant, Benny’s on the Blvd, overseen by Palisociety Dining Group executive chef, Casey Lane and serving an all-day menu with a taco focus: think breakfast tacos served with cucumber and pineapple, taco salads and housemade guacamole with chips and salsa. (How very LA.)

Palihotel Hollywood, as the property’s previous moniker suggested, is less than a 10-minute drive to Universal Studios. The TLC Chinese Theatre, Hollywood Walk of Fame, and Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel are just some of the many other landmarks nearby.

No two Palihotels are alike.

And if you’re the kind inclined to take advantage of that Night Owl room category, the after-dark delights of the famous Sunset Strip are less than 10 minutes in an Uber away.

Rooms from $US170 mid-week ($248). See palisociety.com