Female-made art in the lobby of Hotel Figueroa.
Hotel Figueroa was originally opened in 1926 by the YWCA as a safe haven for solo female travelers as an exclusive women's hostel and the first of its kind to have been financed and operated by women, for women. At the time, Hotel Figueroa was the largest project of its kind in the United States with the first-ever female managing director of a hotel in the U.S. Maude Bouldin. Fast forward to 2022, the hotel continues to honor the spirit of the women who built the property through every touchpoint that guests today may encounter.
The rich history of the hotel meets modern redesigned activations from the stay, activities, culinary experiences to the artist's showcase. Here’s how Hotel Figueroa continues to celebrate its rich female history nearly a century later.
A photograph of the founding women taken in 1926 that sits proudly in the hotel’s Gran Sala ... [+]
STAY
In March 2022, the hotel debuted its first-ever ‘H.E.R. Suite (happy, empowered and restful stay), outfitted entirely with thoughtfully curated women-owned brands for the ultimate girl power staycation. Designed to celebrate the creativity and strength of innovative female founders and businesses who are shaping culture and moving the needle of commerce, fashion, retail, and infinite style, the new custom suite is fully outfitted with a highly curated selection of luxury women-owned skincare, haircare, health, spa & activity-focused products such as Dieux Skin, OSEA Malibu, PLUS, Act + Acre, Mintly, Otherland Candles, Pomp & Whimsy, Jiggy & Parachute—available for guests to experience and explore at the hotel, and serve as a gentle reminder to continue to engage in the active practice of self-care.
H.E.R Suite features female-founded self-care brands that guests can enjoy and shop.
CULINARY
With an amplified focus on re-invigorating and re-inventing age-old hotel dining, alongside the resurgence of al fresco concepts, Hotel Figueroa offers a variety of distinctive culinary experiences including the poolside La Casita concept, all-day Café Figueroa and revitalized Bar Magnolia, alongside the hotel’s flagship coastal Italian restaurant, Sparrow, featuring a variety of masterfully crafted locally sourced cuisine & inventive cocktails to pair. Female Beverage Director, Carla Lorenzo has brought over a decade of restaurant experience, ranging from upscale neighborhood restaurants and high-volume craft cocktail bars. In true fashion to the hotel’s history of pioneering women, Carla continues to raise the bar with creative, eye-catching cocktails with a feminine twist.
Female Beverage Director, Carla Lorenzo, has elevated the cocktail experience with a feminine twist.
DO
Guests now have the chance to take classes from the world-renowned synchronized swimming performance company, Aqualillies, in the hotel’s historic coffin-shaped pool. Aqualillies are popping up poolside to teach an 8-week synchronized swimming class series, available weekly on Tuesdays through August 2022.
Aqualillies teaches synchronized 8-week swimming lessons at Hotel Figueroa.
ARTS
As one of Los Angeles’ most historic, yet progressive properties, Hotel Figueroa has been a champion for women in the art and creative fields for nearly a century. The hotel was advertised as “an ideal stopping place for ladies unattended,” and served as a meeting place for practically every woman's club in Los Angeles.
In tandem with Hotel Figueroa’s female-centric ethos, guests immediately discover that women-made art is integrated across all spaces on the property—from the walkable Featured Artist Series Exhibit, and newly launched Featured Artist Suite, to the hotel’s guest rooms and meticulously hand-painted elevator banks by local women artists such as Gabby B-Vasquez, and even the striking building exterior, which features a 14-story high custom Fig motif designed by U.K.-based muralist Bella Gomez. From its inception 96 years ago to its modern-day design, Hotel Figueroa has consistently dedicated itself to becoming a creative space designed by women, for women – making its spirit undeniably feminist.
Ruthanna Hopper, Hotel Figueroa's 2022 featured artist.
This March, Hotel Figueroa debuted its 2022 Featured Artists Los Angeles-based visual artist, Ruthanna Hopper. In homage to both its feminist roots and ongoing support of the arts, the hotel showcases the work of L.A.’s most compelling female artists and culture-makers through its Featured Artist Series Exhibit. Showcasing a fully immersive art experience during her year-long residency, Hopper’s exhibition, The Emergence, is a direct response to navigating the ebb and flow of life in a global pandemic as we process a collective change in our learned experiences over the past two years, whilst looking ahead to a new chapter that lies ahead. Displaying her works for the first time ever in Los Angeles, Hopper aims to evoke the release of new feelings and experiences. Her show reflects a renewed sense of hope for Spring. “Hotel Figueroa has championed women in the arts and creative fields for nearly a century, providing a dynamic space for both conversation and reflection. Our Featured Artist program showcases the immense breadth and depth of artistic talent within Los Angeles, and we are honored to collaborate with Ruthanna Hopper for 2022,” shared Managing Director of Hotel Figueroa, Connie Wang
The year-round exhibit located in Hotel Figueroa’s Artist Alley features between 16 – 20 original works from Hopper, providing guests and locals alike an opportunity to experience the world through a new perspective, exploring unresolved memory, heirlooms, movement, and the visceral experience of the internal and external landscape in an attempt to metabolize experience. The pieces originate from both a personal and a collective wintering and are an offering to regenerate, to surface, to renew. Seamlessly aligned with Hotel Figueroa’s overarching pillars of togetherness and rejoicing women in the arts, Hopper’s work includes “Prophetess,” a painting dedicated to her grandmother and acclaimed American choreographer and dancer, Anna Halprin, and “Consorting with Heirlooms” (for her mother, former actress and somatic-expressive arts therapist, Daria Halprin), greatly inspired and deeply influenced by the women in her life that have paved the way forward.
