Hotel Raises Curtain on Renovation

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Amenities at most luxury hotels might include a spa, pool or swanky restaurant. But if you’re the London West Hollywood, you can add a plush 110-seat screening room to that list.

The crown jewel of the hotel’s $25 million renovation, the screening room will open soon. It’s already booked for a Golden Globes screening party Jan. 11, said Jeff Kulek, the hotel’s general manager.

The theater, drenched in tones of plum and cream, has seats cushy enough to be comfy, but firm enough to keep you awake. Guests can sip cocktails at a bar just outside the theater before taking their seats.

“It feels like a throwback to the ’50s and Louis B. Mayer,” said Kulek.

In more modern style, the room is fitted with fiber optics for satellite broadcasting, Dolby 3D and some serious sound proofing so as not to bother other hotel guests while keeping screenings private.

Kulek expects film studios or TV networks to book the room for awards season and new film screenings, while other corporate clients might use it for product launches or training events.

“We have corporate accounts with all the TV networks and the studios,” he said. “Adding the screening room made sense because it’s the heart of our business.”

The London will charge $350 an hour to rent the space on weekdays before 6 p.m., while weekday evening and weekend rentals will run $1,250 an hour or $1,500 to screen a feature-length film.

“We probably will be able to pay for the screening room within a couple years of being open,” Kulek said of the space, which cost almost $3 million to build.

– Marni Usheroff

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