Petit Ermitage

Offering a private rooftop with stunning views of Los Angeles, a saltwater pool and comfortable indoor/outdoor seating, this elegant 4-star hotel is within one mile of the Sunset Strip. Each spacious suite at Petit Ermitage is equipped with a flat-screen TV, free Wi-Fi and iPod docking station. All classically furnished rooms also include luxurious linens and goose down pillows. California Mediterranean cuisine is available 24 hours a day in-suite. Meals are created with local organic produce. Spa services such massages, makeup application and personal fitness sessions are available en suite. We allow 2 visitors per suite from Monday through Thursday and 1 visitor per suite from Friday through Sunday. The fashionable Santa Monica Boulevard and Pacific Design Center are within 5 miles of the hotel. Universal Studios Hollywood is 15 minutes away by car. Advanced reservations are now required to enjoy a pool bed (holidays and weekends only, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.) Pool beds can be reserved in 3-hour increments at no charge (maximum 2 persons per pool bed) and private cabanas may be reserved for a $400 food and beverage minimum spend for a 4-hour period (maximum 4 persons per cabana.) Email rooftop@petitermitage.com to secure your pool bed or cabana reservation. Petit Ermitage feels like what would happen if someone inherited a storied estate from their rich aunt and decided to open it up — carefully, and only to the right people.

Tucked away on a quiet residential street just steps from the Sunset Strip, it's one of West Hollywood's best-kept secrets. Awarded a Michelin Key, one of the rarest distinctions in hospitality, this is a place that takes the experience seriously without taking itself too seriously. Eighty suites, none alike. Original art in every hallway. Worn-in antiques that were always meant to be there. A rooftop that has seen things. Come as you are. Leave whenever you're ready. The rooftop is the heart of it. An iconic saltwater pool with panoramic views above Sunset Boulevard, surrounded by a certified bird and butterfly sanctuary hummingbirds included. European pool rules apply after noon. You'll figure out what that means. Cinq à Sept, the hotel's private rooftop restaurant, sits inside the garden. Chef Christopher McLaughlin serves Mediterranean-inspired shared plates with open views of the Los Angeles skyline.

Breakfast becomes lunch. Lunch becomes cocktails. Nobody is in a rush. A-listers come for the discretion. Everyone else comes for the rooftop and stays for the people they meet. Personal training, fire deck screenings, morning yoga. None of it the pool, the restaurant, the rooftop is open to the public. The only way in is to stay. The rooftop is also one of only a handful of Audubon Society-certified bird and butterfly sanctuaries in Los Angeles. Native plantings attract hummingbirds and butterflies year-round — which means on any given afternoon, you're floating in a saltwater pool above the Sunset Strip while a hummingbird does its thing three feet away. Not a bad Tuesday.