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<\/p>\n\n\tIn a town where projected release dates are often missed, this is one for the record books. Hotel Lucile, a boutique hotel inside a renovated church in Silver Lake, had set a soft opening for late 2024, which was pushed to spring 2025 and then again to 2026. On Sept. 14, the 25-room property finally welcomed its first guests, marking the end of an epic, 15-year struggle to bring the 1931 property back to life. The church\u2019s stained glass remains, as does a towering cross atop the building. The nave, meanwhile, has been reborn as a New American French restaurant, Sous Sous, with floor-to-vaulted-ceiling curtains and a hulking, marble bar.<\/p>\n
\n\tIt\u2019s a welcome addition to a hip neighborhood long in need of a designer hotel, and location scouts for Netflix\u2019s Nobody Wants This and HBO\u2019s I Love LA \u2014 which both regularly shoot nearby \u2014 are likely lining up to be first inside. (The hotel\u2019s GM, Anthony Gutierrez, won\u2019t name names but says they\u2019ve had multiple inquiries.) Still, anyone who lives nearby and has watched the project unfold has the same question: What took so long?<\/p>\n
\n\tThe hotel\u2019s journey from crumbling Presbyterian church to Silver Lake hotspot is more interesting, a soap opera that involves government red tape, some nuns and Katy Perry. Of the long road, Jennifer Armbruster, president of the hotel group Casetta, the project\u2019s developer, explains with a laugh: \u201cThe deal structure of the church, combined with COVID, combined with some permitting issues, a new city council \u2014 just all of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tHotel Lucile\u2019s origin story begins in 2011, when celebrated restaurateur Dana Hollister announced plans to turn the former Pilgrim Church into a boutique hotel. It was a good idea, but well ahead of its time. (Seco, a natural wine bar whose fans include Kaia Gerber and Olivia Rodrigo, wouldn\u2019t open across the street for another 14 years, shortly after Erewhon moved in down the block.) And Hollister reportedly spent years fighting the city for permits to sell alcohol and allow dancing.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tThe Hotel Lucile, formerly the Bethany Presbyterian Church, built in 1931. <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChase Daniel<\/p>\n
\n\tAt the same time, Hollister was also engaged in a lengthy courtroom battle with Perry and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles over the rights to another property, a Los Feliz convent the singer hoped to turn into a private home. Hollister lost that fight in 2017 and sold her stake in the hotel project to cover millions in damages. In 2018, Casetta stepped in, taking over the church\u2019s lease for what one broker estimates might have been north of $4.5 million. Right partner, poor timing. By the time the architectural plans were finished, COVID hit, and Hotel Lucile was further delayed.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tRooms at the Hotel Lucile, available from $500 a night. <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChase Daniel<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tThe Lucile\u2019s plunge pool and patio, in what was once a playground.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChase Daniel<\/p>\n
\n\tThe church \u2014 on the corner of Lucile Avenue and Griffith Park Boulevard \u2014 has a rich Hollywood history, having once served as the home to the groundbreaking Asian American theater company the East West Players. What made the building worth saving was also what made the project so challenging. Rehabbing historic church pillars and archways \u2014 the grand entrance that\u2019s been an anchor of the corner \u2014 required a specialized restoration expert. After years of neglect, the once-rotating, 12-foot cross was barely attached and was nearly removed following heavy rains earlier this year.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tOysters on the half shell at Sous Sous, the new restaurant in the nave. <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPatrick Michael Chin<\/p>\n
\n\tThe setbacks were costly. But the finished product is impressive. A sense of drama abounds at the hotel, which was designed by Venice-based studio Electric Bowery. The church\u2019s center has been reborn as a 96-seat restaurant with lush velvet booths, the seasonal menu courtesy of De La Nonna chef Patrick Costa. (Local<\/a> artist Janel Foo designed custom stained glass coasters inspired by the sanctuary.) The former choir loft serves as a private bar with a martini cart, while the church\u2019s onetime playground is now home to a plunge pool and patio. In a nod to the building\u2019s religious origins, the do-not-disturb signs read \u201cSolitude.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tCreating a sense of place was paramount and befits a property that aims to once again be part of Silver Lake\u2019s fabric. Gutierrez likens the vibe to \u201cyour eclectic neighbor that has all this fabulous art up in almost contradictory ways but coming together in a really well-designed space,\u201d he says, which makes sense. \u201cWe want to be good neighbors.\u201d Amen.<\/p>\n