{"id":385749,"date":"2026-07-04T03:28:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T03:28:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/385749\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T03:28:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T03:28:38","slug":"inside-the-multimillion-dollar-renovation-at-the-stile-dtla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/385749\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the multimillion-dollar renovation at the Stile DTLA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The historic 1920s tower that once housed the beloved Ace Hotel is entering a new era just in time for the summer. <\/p>\n

Two years after opening in the iconic Spanish Gothic building on South Broadway, Stile Downtown Los Angeles <\/a>has unveiled its multimillion-dollar renovation and its expansion from a limited-service hotel<\/a> to a full \u201ccreative hub.\u201d The makeover adds a 24\/7 membership-based creative lab with state-of-the-art music studios, co-working lounges, an updated rooftop bar called Somewhere Special<\/a>, a restored theater and a curated retail shop for the community. <\/p>\n

\"Exterior <\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t really want to call it just a hotel \u2014 it\u2019s more of a hub,\u201d says Jaisun Ihm, CEO of AJU Continuum, the investment company that purchased the historic space. <\/p>\n

Throughout the space are throwback touches \u2014 for instance, hotel guests can borrow a Walkman and browse the curated cassette library with titles like Sade\u2019s \u201cPromise,\u201d Paula Abdul\u2019s \u201cForever Your Girl\u201d and the Isley Brothers\u2019 \u201cBetween the Sheets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behind the massive overhaul is South Korea-based AJU Continuum<\/a>, which purchased the property in 2019 but didn\u2019t change the name until 2024. The project marks the investment company\u2019s first U.S. expansion. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t really want to call it just a hotel \u2014 it\u2019s more of a hub,\u201d says Jaisun Ihm, CEO of AJU Continuum, which is best known for its culture-forward Ryse Hotel<\/a> in Seoul. With Stile, Ihm says their mission was to \u201cconnect L.A. to Seoul.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ryse, Ihm says, encapsulates today\u2019s eclectic lifestyle hotel: \u201cIt\u2019s grounded in street culture. We say it\u2019s iconoclastic. It\u2019s youthful in nature.\u201d <\/p>\n

AJU Continuum teamed up with L.A. architecture and interior design studio Design, Bitches<\/a> \u2014 the group behind the chic Checker Hall<\/a> in Highland Park and Verve Coffee Roasters<\/a> in the Arts District. Ihm didn\u2019t care that it was Design, Bitches\u2019 first hotel venture. After working with several firms over the years, he was tired of seeing the same aesthetic everywhere and wanted to work with a team that would bring a \u201cbold\u201d perspective, he says.<\/p>\n

When the creatives at Design, Bitches got the invitation, they were all in. \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to do a hotel,\u201d says RA Rudolph, the studio\u2019s co-founder. \u201cI love hotels and I have opinions,\u201d they add, laughing. <\/p>\n

For Angelenos who frequented the Ace Hotel, a maverick venue that helped revitalize downtown L.A. for a decade beginning in 2014, walking through Stile will feel both familiar and new. While the building\u2019s bones remain intact \u2014 a requirement of its historic-cultural monument designation<\/a> \u2014 the space has an industrial-modern twist inspired by L.A.\u2019s creative spirit. <\/p>\n

For example, the United Theater on Broadway<\/a>, which was once the 1927 flagship movie palace for the influential United Artists collective (Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith), now features fresh carpet, modernized sound and stage equipment and roughly 125 new light fixtures inspired by the lobby\u2019s original Spanish Revival-style chandelier. As a nod to the building\u2019s legacy, where Hollywood\u2019s earliest icons broke away from major studios to control their own work, AJU Continuum has launched its own in-house booking team for the live entertainment venue. Also, the giant neon \u201cJesus Saves\u201d sign<\/a> that has sat atop the building since its days as a church is still there \u2014 and the owners have no plans to remove it. <\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

\"Lounge <\/p>\n

3 <\/p>\n

\"Rooftop <\/p>\n

4 <\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

5 <\/p>\n

\"Photo <\/p>\n

1. A clawfoot tub inside the Loft King Suite. 2. Lounge chairs inside the Loft King Suite. 3. Hotel guests lounge in the rooftop pool. 4. Adriana Castellanos and friends hanging out in the lobby bar. 5. Photos taken in the photo booth at the Somewhere Special rooftop bar. <\/p>\n

Some of the most significant changes can be found in the hotel lobby, which features a curated convenience store called the Goodie Shop, which is adorned with throwback boomboxes. Located next to the front desk, which was significantly condensed, the store is filled with a selection of California-sourced snacks and beverages, lifestyle goods, Stile-branded merch and travel essentials (phone chargers, toothpaste, hair care, etc.). <\/p>\n

On the opposite side of the lobby is SparkHouse<\/a>, a private members club and creative hub for up-and-coming musicians and creatives. The two-story space features professional recording studios, podcast and video suites, co-working lounges and meeting spaces, which are slated to open by early next year once permits are approved, Ihm says. SparkHouse\u2019s cafe and bar is open to the public and sells tea, coffee (try the honey matcha latte), wine, beer cocktails and small bites. Ihm says programming at SparkHouse will include listening sessions, live showcases and even a mentorship program for rising artists. <\/p>\n

\"RA <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to do a hotel,\u201d says RA Rudolph, the co-founder of Design, Bitches. <\/p>\n

The rooftop bar, which offers stunning skyline views of the city and a pool, is now called Somewhere Special. The design team removed about 90% of the plants that used to pack the area to maximize space for dancing and mingling. Also, the pool area, now painted in a playful shade called Carrot Orange, has more seating and a photo booth nearby.<\/p>\n

All 182 guest rooms were given a fresh coat of dusty rose paint, new custom carpet, furniture and upgraded bathrooms. In each room, you\u2019ll find Korean amenities like face masks, a custom robe by a local brand called Room Service Los Angeles<\/a> and books from the former Los Angeles University Cathedral that occupied the space from 1991 to 2011. With the hotel motto being \u201cstay by your own rules,\u201d Rudolph says it was important for them to make the rooms adaptable to each guest\u2019s needs and to prioritize comfort. The result is uncommon room layouts like the tri-suite king room equipped with two twin-sized beds and a king bed split by a privacy divider that doubles as a playful art installation. Rudolph, who used to travel often with her now-adult children, says that\u2019s the type of room they always wished had existed. <\/p>\n

Stile\u2019s arrival comes at a precarious moment for downtown L.A. In recent years, the neighborhood\u2019s once buzzy hospitality and nightlife scene has experienced dwindling foot traffic, slow pandemic recovery and increased vacancies. Some business owners say crime and neglect are driving away customers. Nearly 1,000 businesses left downtown in 2024<\/a>. Launching a high-concept lifestyle hotel is a bold gamble. <\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The Goodie Shop, a new curated convenience store, is filled with a selection of California-sourced snacks and beverages, lifestyle goods and travel essentials.<\/p>\n

But Ihm says he hopes that Stile will help rejuvenate the area and create an ecosystem that will support neighboring businesses as well. Rudolph says they already starting to see that change.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been nice to see that in the last year that I\u2019ve been coming here to work on the project, it\u2019s livened back up again,\u201d Rudolph says. \u201cEspecially this block, it feels better.\u201d<\/p>\n