Hotel Guide: Los Angeles InterContinentals - Downtown and Century City
Always Fly Business
Editorial Team
Published
December 6, 2018
AI Executive Summary
InterContinental Downtown Los Angeles and InterContinental Century City in Los Angeles offer distinct experiences for luxury travelers. The Downtown property boasts modern rooms with stunning views and excellent dining, while the Century City location features spacious balconies in a quieter setting. Pros include the rooftop bar at Downtown and large balconies at Century City; cons include complex elevators Downtown and the aged feel of Century City.
The two Los Angeles InterContinental hotels are an excellent option for travelers looking for modern luxury accommodation in the city of Angels.
InterContinental Downtown Los Angeles
The newer of the two hotels is InterContinental Downtown, one of the highest buildings in Los Angeles and the western United States. It’s very easy to spot when driving through DTLA area, for example on Interstate 110. However, it might not be clear on which side to enter the building. During my 2018 trip, I took a Blacklane taxi from the LAX airport and the driver dropped me on the Wilshire Boulevard side of the building. You can enter the building from there as well, but the main entrance is on the opposite side of the building, on 7th Street.
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Intercontinental DTLA Building
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Hotel Entrance on the 7th Street side
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</figure>Once in the correct building, you need to get to the hotel reception, which can be found from the 70th floor.
Check-in
The check-in process was handled promptly. Despite my early arrival, my room was already available, and I was guided to a King Deluxe room on the 51st floor.
The Lobby bar and the reception, 71st floor
The elevator system is a bit complicated. To visit the gym, pool or street level, you have to go through 70th-floor reception first. And the same thing on your way back.
Dining and Bars
There are several restaurants in the building plus a massive amount of Downtown Los Angeles restaurants in a walking distance.
The restaurants of InterContinental Los Angeles
- Elegant steakhouse La Boucherie on the 71st floor
- International buffet dining Dekkadence on the 69th floor
- Sushi restaurant Sora on the 69th floor with excellent views and an extensive selection of Japanese whiskeys
In addition to the above restaurants, there are also three bars
- The tallest open-air bar in the western hemisphere - Spire on the 73rd floor
- Lobby lounge on the 70th floor
- No dive pool bar on the 7th floor
On a way to my room
The King Deluxe Room
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InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown . The bed was very comfortable. And the views…
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30 second video tour of InterContinental Downtown Los Angeles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX-h4-etn6Y
Bathroom and Amenities
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Keurig Coffee Machine
Entertainment
InterContinental Los Angeles uses Stayconnect entertainment system, which makes it possible to control the television through the mobile phone. In addition to Stayconnect, the TV is also equipped with Google Chromecast, so streaming own content (like Netflix) is possible with just a few clicks. Definitely a pleasant surprise for an entertainment enthusiast like myself.
Pool and Gym
Pool and gym were located on the 7th floor. The pool area looks nice but is often in the shadow of other buildings. If you want to get some tan, time your visit properly. During my visit, it was about 18 Celsius (64 Fahrenheit) degrees outside, so I didn’t stay at the poolside long enough to worry about tanning.
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Club InterContinental Lounge
Club lounge on 70th floor, access for club room members. The lounge is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. In addition to breakfast (until 10:30 a.m.), you can enjoy afternoon tea there (from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.) as well as evening appetizers like champagne, cocktails, and canapés (from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.)
Conclusion of IC DTLA
- Modern highrise hotel in the heart of Los Angeles
- Fantastic views
- Excellent entertainment options
- Plenty of restaurants in the walking distance
Absolutely fantastic night view of Los Angeles
InterContinental Century City Los Angeles
The older hotel of the two Los Angeles InterContinentals can be found in Century City, which is in the western part of the city, next to Westwood and Beverly Hills. The area itself is nice and quiet, but there’s hardly anything within walking distance. Luckily the hotel offers a complimentary town car service to nearby (within about 1.5 miles from the hotel) destinations.
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InterContinental Century City building
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InterContinental Century City entrance
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</figure>I stayed in the hotel before flying out of Los Angeles, but it’s definitely not an airport hotel. Even without much traffic, it can take 30 minutes to get to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), so reserve plenty of time if you are heading that way.
Check-in
The reception desk was empty during my arrival, so the whole process took only a few minutes. During the check-in, I was upgraded to Deluxe Terrace Room, due to being an InterContinental Ambassador.
InterContinental Century City lobby area
The Room
Ambassador greeting and a fruit plate were waiting for me inside the room. The room was relatively small, but there was a huge balcony - almost the size of the room itself.
If you are planning to watch movies, this is not the best room for that purpose. The TV is on the left side of the bed, so lying on the bed while watching is not the best option. Next to the TV screen was a Keurig coffee maker, an unofficial trademark of InterContinental hotels.
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Pool and Gym
The quiet pool area is located on the second floor. The pool itself is relatively small, but there is plenty of space for lounging in the area. There is also a well-equipped (but a bit aged) gym on the pool floor.
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Conclusion of IC Century City
- Classy but a bit aged hotel in the western part of Los Angeles
- Massive balconies with fantastic views
- A car is needed to get around the city
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