Shabby to Chic

There’s a transformation going on in West Hollywood where boutique hotelier Jeff Klein plans to turn shabby into chic with his latest property, the San Vicente Inn. What was essentially a clothing-optional gay hotel- or a seedy gay bathhouse and drug den to some- Klein bought the property last summer and has been making over the San Vicente in stages. He plans to spend $30 million to transform the 29-room motel into a high-end auberge where straight people are welcome too by the way…as Klein stopped advertising the place as gay-friendly. Renovation and expansion plans include adding a chi-chi restaurant, a bar, a yoga studio and bigger pool as well as refurbishing the collection of quaint whitewashed bungalows surrounded by lush gardens.

Klein bought the San Vicente Inn because he feels it’s one of the most magical and special places in all of West Hollywood, and it deserved a lot of attention. A fresh slate of guests, a new staff and a general facelift of rooms and landscaping was immediate, while the breezy poolside suites will eventually be stocked with Malin & Goetz soaps among other luxe amenities. Klein is very adept at taking a rundown mess and turning it into a Hollywood hot spot, as he did 10 years ago with the celeb-filled Sunset Tower Hotel, where LA’s A-list dine regularly at the uber chic- and my personal fave- Tower Bar. A changing culture in West Hollywood is evolving where Kelin’s plans fit well with a lifestyle that is steadily drifting towards the mainstream. And although he is happily married to the movie and TV producer John Goldwyn, Klein’s designs for the hotel is for everyone to converge…as long as they’re stylish. www.thesanvicenteinn.com