Avalon

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Opened as the Beverly Carlton in the 1940s, this streetside property was renovated and regenerated by the Kor Hotel Group in 1999, setting the tone for the boutique-hotels-in-old-buildings schtick later brought to something approaching perfection by the company at the Viceroy in Santa Monica. Through the lobby, hidden behind a fabulous boomerang façade and a cluster of trees, is a kidney-shaped pool that provides a focal point for a buzzy bar scene (and, thus, rarely seems to welcome any actual swimmers). The rooms are retro-handsome but slightly worn; scheduled for 2008, a property-wide renovation should spruce things up a little.