Finding Sunshine and Safety at DTLA’s Iconic Hotel Figueroa
Planning a recent long weekend away with friends, downtown Los Angeles was an unexpected locale, to say the least. Coordinating with three other couples, we’d created a wishlist for our would-be destination. The limiting factors: easily reachable by car, measurable safety precautions, and #vacationvibes. Scouring Airbnb and Instagram, we ping-ponged ideas until one stuck. Albeit surprising, DTLA was the move.
Our decision was made easy once we stumbled upon the beautiful Hotel Figueroa, an iconic property in the heart of downtown that was initially built as a women’s-hostel in the 1920s and hasn’t backed down as a symbol of social progress and community in the century since. Its walls have become host to rotating art from some of California’s most up-and-coming artists, many of them female.
A recent renovation breathed new life into the 94-year-old Fig, stripping it down to its gorgeous Spanish Colonial bone structure to highlight sweeping high ceilings, arched hallways, and updated tilework, giving guest rooms a major glow-up.
Outside you’ll find a sun-drenched swimming pool and terrace restaurant, separated from the city streets by 6-foot cacti and the tropically mural-ed facade of the Hotel Figueroa looming cheerily overhead.
Among the first hotels in California to receive the state’s Clean + Safe Certification, The Hotel Figueroa offers sunshine and service, with a promise of safety. We packed our bags and set our sites for poolside margaritas.
Having done little travel since March, and zero hotel stays, I wasn’t sure what to expect as we settled into our stylish suite, where a bottle of chilled rosé awaited. Throughout our stay, the team at the Fig found countless ways to help us relax — quite the task, given the months of tension and uncertainty we’d all experienced. With limited capacity and guests spread out throughout all 13 floors, our stay at the Fig felt like we had the place to ourselves. I relished mornings alone, grooving on a Peloton in the small but well-equipped fitness room (sanitized several times a day, between uses), followed by a rinse in my room’s Spanish tiled shower.
Having arrived mid-week, I spent half a day working uninterrupted in the massive lobby and the rest outside in one of the poolside lounges, sipping iced tea under the shade of an umbrella.
Zoom calls were difficult, only for the jealousy they inspired in my coworkers.
When the rest of our group arrived for the weekend, we kicked off with a socially-distant, fully-festive al fresco dinner at Veranda al Fresco, overlooking the pool. The hotel’s menu system requires only a quick scan of a QR-code, before plates of elevated Mexico City-inspired street tacos and a rainbow of margaritas — from spicy to guava-infused — are delivered almost momentarily to your table. (Over the course of the weekend, this proved to be a dangerous convenience.)
One undeniably alluring factor of DTLA, especially in COVID times, is that it’s off the beaten path for vacationers. Beloved Malibu, Santa Monica, and Venice remain abuzz, but since offices have been vacated and crowds from L.A. Live have subsided, DTLA is, for lack of a better word, quiet. Thanks to its centrality, and the foreign, yet glorious, absence of infamous LA traffic, we could split our time among beach days in Malibu, park hangs in Griffith, and patio dinners in Silverlake. LA was our playground, but it was hard to pull us from our home base for too long.
After three days of exploring the city of Angels, plus a heavy dose of poolside tacos and cocktails, we headed home thoroughly relaxed. Since, there have been more than a few times that I’ve mentally transported back, ready to book another quick weekend trip on a whim.
Marie Salcido is a freelance writer based between Mexico City and San Francisco. Whether posted in her home cities or exploring new locales, Marie’s keen interest in people has accompanied her throughout her travels — reaffirming her belief that the more you see of the world, the smaller it gets. Find her on Instagram at @mdsalcido.
Photos courtesy of Hotel Figueroa.