No one asked for this staycation.
Los Angelenos who have lost their homes or had to make harrowing escapes under evacuation orders due to the fast-growing wildfires that are burning with zero containment across Los Angeles County are finding refuge in some of the city’s most storied hotels at discounted room rates, and with no FEMA emergency voucher required.
The Kimpton La Peer Hotel, just off Melrose Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood’s Design District, quickly filled up Tuesday and remains full through Thursday with fire storm evacuees. “There are lots of families and pets running around the hotel. We have laid out a grazing station for all guests in the lobby, offering warm chocolate chip cookies, cocoa, snacks and drinks for everyone to enjoy during this difficult time,” a La Peer spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter.
Shutters on the Beach, a classic Santa Monica seaside retreat amid palm trees and sandy shorelines, was at full capacity Wednesday, mostly with people left homeless by wind-whipped fires. The Santa Monica beach location is a mile from the Pacific Coast highway and the Pacific Palisades neighborhood between Santa Monica and Malibu, and the highly combustible Santa Monica Mountains range where many Hollywood and TV types displaced by the wildfires have homes.
“The property continues to closely monitor the situation, and we will provide further updates as available,” a spokesperson for Shutters on the Beach said. A full list of Santa Monica hotels offered discounted stays for fire evacuees can be found here.
Among the residents who live in the area are Jennifer Aniston, Bradley Cooper, Eugene Levy, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, Adam Sandler, Michael Keaton, Miles Teller, Michael Mann, Ann Sarnoff, Carol Lombardini, Alan Bergman, Kathleen Kennedy, Steve Guttenberg and James Woods.
Many celebrities, including Levy, who is the current honorary mayor of the Pacific Palisades, have been taking to social media to share harrowing stories as they evacuate. James Woods, Mandy Moore and Diane Warren have all lost homes to the flames. Iconic sites including several famed Malibu eateries, the Palisades Charter High School and Will Rogers’ historic ranch house and the historic Topanga Ranch Motel, once owned by William Randolph Hearst, have all been destroyed.
Given the wildfires still raging in the Santa Monica Mountain range, many hotels remain on high alert. Later on Wednesday, Santa Monica issued an evacuation order for areas of the city north of Montana Ave. between 11th St. and the PCH, which includes the Huntley Hotel, Fairmont Miramar and Palihouse Santa Monica. Orders north of San Vicente remain in effect.
A Hilton spokesperson told THR: “Our thoughts are with all who have been impacted by the wildfires in Los Angeles County. Hilton is closely monitoring the situation with the safety and security of our guests and team members as our top priority. At this time, we have no reports of physical impacts or evacuations at Hilton properties in the affected area.”
Hilton added it would waive reservation changes and cancellation fees for stays with arrivals through Jan. 10. Many local hotels are offering special evacuee room rates, including the Fairmont Miramar – Hotel and Bungalows, Santa Monica’s only seaside resort with bungalows.
The current offer to evacuees is $452 per night, which includes taxes and the resort fee. But rooms are going fast as a reservations clerk at the classic sun and sand retreat in Santa Monica added: “We’re finding we’ve had more trouble accommodating larger parties than smaller ones.”
Nearby at Hotel Erwin, a Venice Beach landmark with a classic beachfront roof top bar, a front desk agent told THR the beachfront hotel got around 80 rooms filled Tuesday night with local firestorm evacuees, many coming with pets and children.
There are special evacuee rates at The Hoxton Downtown LA on neon-soaked Broadway, and in a historic building that housed the Los Angeles Railway headquarters opened in 1922. The Hoxton has a discounted $100 per night rate until Friday, and then a $150 per night rate through to the weekend.
Book directly on thehoxton.com with the code HERE2HELP and your valet fee will drop to $40 per night and there’s free cribs and diapers for toddlers, if available. “We want anyone who needs a home to know our doors are always open for them,” a spokesperson for the Hoxton brand-parent Ennismore added.
West Hollywood’s Chamberlain Hotel, just steps from Sunset Boulevard, has a special $199 per night rate for evacuees looking for dog-friendly rooms, as does a sister property, Le Parc at Melrose, an all-suite facility. “Because pets are family too,” the Chamberlain says on its Instagram page.
And West Hollywood’s Mondrian Hotel has a 20 percent off evacuee rate (Book with code DSEVAC) available to Jan. 18. Nearby, the Petit Ermitage, a West Hollywood hotel with a sweeping view of the smoke-filled Santa Monica skyline, is offering its own special rate of $199 a night, before taxes, for those displaced by the fires.
“We have a good number of rooms available for tonight, but yes we have a good amount of evacuees in house currently,” a Petit Ermitage spokesperson told THR.
Away from LA’s toniest hotels, Airbnb.org, the nonprofit arm of Airbnb, Airbnb.org, is working with 211 LA to find temporary housing for free or at a reduced rate for needy evacuees.
“The stays are funded by Airbnb.org and the generosity of Airbnb hosts — many of whom offer their home for free or at a discount through Airbnb.org,” Airbnb, which does not offer housing directly said on Wednesday in a statement.
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