Gay-Owned Ace Hotel Chain Expands to L.A. in Jan.

The hip, gay-owned Ace Hotel chain touches down in downtown L.A.'s United Artists building in mid-January.

The Portland, Ore.-based chain spent millions to restore the United Artists building and theater, built in 1927 with funding from Hollywood luminaries like D.W. Griffiths and Mary Pickford. The 180-room property will feature a pool, restaurant, rooftop bar, screening room, and a reactivated 1,600-seat theater on the ground-floor, which will likely feature live performances. Reservations are being accepted on January 15, with rooms starting at about $200 a night. The property is at the south end of downtown L.A.'s Broadway district, a swiftly gentrifying area of old theaters, new restaurants, fashionable stores, and plenty of LGBT hipsters.

Ace already operates hotels in Portland, Manhattan, Seattle, London, and Palm Springs, Calif. Many properties were faded relics that the company restored to grandeur. Read more about the chain here, which was started in 1999 by three gay men. More information about the L.A. Ace can be found here.