Find an Uncommon Community at The Wayfarer Downtown LA
The Rooftop Bar | Photo: Wonho Frank Lee, The Wayfarer Downtown LA
The Gaslighter Social Club | Photo: Wonho Frank Lee, The Wayfarer Downtown LA
Lilly Rose | Photo: Wonho Frank Lee, The Wayfarer Downtown LA
For you, the significance of travel goes much deeper than just exploring a new city. It’s your favorite thing in the world to do, because it’s where you not only imbed yourself in a new culture for a time, but you also connect with others who share your inexhaustible wanderlust. Indeed, traveling affords the opportunity to commune with other curious wayfarers you’d otherwise never meet. Lucky for you, The Wayfarer Downtown LA was designed with sojourners like you in mind.
Located in the heart of the famed Broadway corridor on Flower Street, The Wayfarer DTLA has opened in the historic building which formerly housed the Ritz Milner Hotel, and its passion for blending old with new is evident from the moment you arrive. Inside the lobby you find that The Wayfarer also pays homage to its urban location and its love for all things LA, including the beautiful outdoors SoCal is renowned for. With modern, eye-catching artwork by artists including Cheyenne Randall and Derek Gores, and verdant greenery serving as a frame for the skylights of the lobby, you feel at home as soon as you enter the lobby.
You can’t help but gawk at the riveting book installation created by David Lovejoy, known for his work at LA’s renowned The Last Bookstore. All 600 books in the installation were written about LA or by an LA author. Skimming the titles, you count books by Ray Bradbury, Charles Bukowski and Gore Vidal, alongside helpful guides covering everything from LA’s food and architecture scenes, to iconic landmarks, and more.
Although The Wayfarer DTLA offers 146 gorgeous private rooms, with plush beds, one-of-a-kind art, flatscreen televisions, high speed Wi-Fi, rainfall showers in the bathroom, and stand-up workstations, the 10 shared rooms available also offer these perks, which you’ll share with up to three others.
Inside the Shared Room, there are four single beds filling two sets of bunk beds, all of which are comfy as can be. You select the top bunk nearest the window, and take a beat to enjoy the exposed beam ceiling and exposed brick wall, which remind you of just how long the building has stood in the heart of Downtown LA. While relaxing, you note plenty of charging stations and USB ports, and find the en suite bathroom also includes a lighted makeup mirror and refreshing toiletries-reminding you that this may be a historic building, but it’s got every modern amenity you need.
Since you’re the first to arrive, you decide to do a walkabout on your own to get your bearings, before the sun sets. The location couldn’t be better for a foot traveler like you. You’re less than two blocks from L.A. LIVE and the Grammy Museum. You’re little more than a block from 7th St/Metro Center, where you can catch a train anywhere you need to go. The historic Broadway Theatre District is just two blocks from The Wayfarer. FIG at 7th, the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Museum, OUE Skyspace LA, The Broad, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Grand Central Market, and dozens of cafes, coffeehouses, and restaurants are all within a 25-minute walk.
After a few hours of exploring the city solo, you’re ready for company, and there’s plenty of opportunities for mingling at The Wayfarer. You begin by returning to The Gaslighter Social Club which serves as the social epicenter of the hotel. After pouring yourself your own beer flight from the built-into-the-wall taps, you strike up a conversation with another solo traveler, sharing what you’ve both learned since arriving in the City of Angels. The atmosphere is perfect for casual conversation, the beer is refreshing, and the locally sourced menu offers American bistro fare for dinner, all in a shared seating experience.
The evening thus far is everything you could have hoped for, and before you know it, you and your new friend have decided that you’ll meet again to make dinner together in the fully equipped onsite, community style cooking and eating venue, simply called The Kitchen. All equipment, ingredients, and recipe will be at your disposal to make a delicious meal, along with plenty of memories.
After bidding adieu to your first new friend of the trip you decide you’re not ready to call it a day, so you head to The Rooftop, to see who else you can get to know. Taking a seat on the couch next to the fire pit, you notice again the thoughtful blending of urban and raw. With modern, contemporary art and décor, and the greenest rooftop garden you can recall, you enjoy a delicious cocktail adjacent to the swimming pool and take in the gorgeous views of the city. Soon you strike up conversations with fellow travelers.
As night turns to morning, you make plans to meet up with your fellows tomorrow after dinner in The Wayfarer’s whimsical basement parlor, Lilly Rose for barrel-aged craft cocktails and live entertainment.
Back in your room, two others have arrived, and are sleeping when you climb quietly into your bunk and reflect on your first day in Los Angeles. It’s been less than 12 hours, and you’ve already made lifelong friends, but have only scratched the surface of all that remains for you to discover from The Wayfarer Downtown LA.
The Wayfarer Downtown LA
813 S Flower St, Los Angeles 90017
213.285.4400
