A First Look Inside NoMad Los Angeles

The lobby takes its design cues from the original 1920s bank building that stood on the spot

The brand new NoMad Los Angeles is more than just a West Coast outpost of the posh New York hotel. The 241-room property that opened this month has an L.A. vibe all its own, with a glamorous rooftop pool (still getting its finishing touches) and a swank 1920s neo-Classical atmosphere that’s straight out of old Hollywood.

The NoMad is the most talked about hotel opening on the West Coast this winter

Originally built as headquarters for The Bank of Italy, the gold and blue Italianate lobby ceiling has been fully restored, along with the rest, by French architect Jacques Garcia. With elegant coffered ceilings, indoor potted palms and walls of purple velvet and gold, the sprawling space says as much about L.A.’s current heyday as a culinary, culture and tech capital as it does about days of yore. One glance around the NoMad says it all: These are boom times in Los Angeles.

Getting much of the buzz is Daniel Humm and Will Guidara’s (Eleven Madison Park, NoMad NY) 110-seat restaurant, Mezzanine, featuring modern classics from NoMad NY’s menu, including  roast chicken for two, along with Cal-chic options like a seafood platter piled with Dungeness crab, scallops and Santa Barbara uni. This is Humm and Guidara’s first restaurant venture outside New York.

NoMad Los Angeles says as much as LA’s current heyday as it does about its gilded past

A mirrored coffee bar on the lobby level is modeled after the 300-year-old Caffe Florian in Venice, Italy. The Library is for those who enjoy their craft cocktails under the steely gaze of taxidermied birds (the handiwork of downtown LA taxidermist Allis Markham). The Lobby restaurant is an all-day dining spot with throwback menu items like Lasagnette and Cobb Salad. There are private dining spaces as well, and a rooftop bar set to open this spring.

The bar at NoMad Los Angeles

Some rooms have freestanding pedestal tubs

One of the more unusual room elements comes by way of the NoMad art program, which sources original art from antique stores and international photography collections along with visual elements from Be-poles, a creative graphic design studio. Each guest room’s art selection is unique.

On the corner of 7th and Olive in Downtown Los Angeles

NoMad Los Angeles is at the corner of 7th and Olive Street, within walking distance of the Staples Center and L.A. Live, the Arts District, Fashion District, Flower District, Bunker Hill, Gallery Row, South Park and the Historic Core.

The company behind it all is the Sydell Group, whose other properties include NoMad New York; the Line LA and DC, and Freehand Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

Garcia’s 241 rooms include 31 suites with custom-designed furnishings and Bellino linens, original art, and, in some rooms, free standing pedestal bathtubs. The 1,250 square-foot RWB suite features a spacious king bedroom, a large living and dining room, pantry and master bath with walk-in shower with Terazzo floors. Even the starter-level rooms have marble writing desks and original art. Overnight rates begin at $319.